Read the text below and complete questions 7-11.
Maternity allowance for working women:
You can claim Maternity Allowance once you've been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments start 11 weeks before the date on which your baby is due.
The amount you can get depends on your eligibility. You could get either:
• £140.98 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is less) for 39 weeks
• £27 a week for 14 weeks
Maternity Allowance for 39 weeks:
You might get Maternity Allowance for 39 weeks if one of the following applies:
you're employedyou're self-employed and pay Class 2 National Insurance (including voluntary National Insurance)you've recently stopped working.
You may still qualify even if you've recently stopped working. It doesn't matter if you had different jobs, or periods when you were unemployed.
Maternity Allowance for 14 weeks:
You might get Maternity Allowance for 14 weeks if for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby is due:
you were married or in a civil partnershipyou were not employed or self-employedyou took part in the business of your self-employed spouse or civil partner
How to claim
You'll need an MA1 claim form, available online. You can print this and fill it in, or fill it in online. You also need to provide a payslip or a Certificate of Small Earnings Exemption as proof of your income, and proof of the baby's due date, such as a doctor's letter.
You should get a decision on your claim within 24 working days.
You should report any changes to your circumstances, for example, if you go back to work, to your local Jobcentre Plus as they can affect how much allowance you get.
Complete the sentences below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/ OR A NUMBER from the passage.
7. The maximum amount of money a woman can get each week is £ Answer.
8. Being Answer for a time does not necessarily mean that a woman will not be eligible for Maternity Allowance.
9. In order to claim, a woman must send a Answer or a Small Earnings Exemption Certificate as evidence of her income.
10. In order to claim, a woman may need to provide a Answer as evidence of the due date.
11. Payment may be affected by differences in someone's Answer such as a return to work, and the local Jobcenter Plus must be informed.
