MrEmjoy

Just done that for my little one

radion

Got to say, I thought that, don't you have Mat. leave, then need to pay back the employer for giving you said amount of Mat. leave, teachers I work with have done just that, and they were not happy about it either, but teachers never are a happy bunch.

I would love to have 9 months pay and a total of 12mths off, whilst living abroad... but being a man, thens the breaks...

MrsOwen

HI

My company will give me a full year off and 9 months pay (not full pay)regardless of it I intend to go back to work or not. We do have it good in the UK if you work for a good company.

I have worked out that with holiday I could finish work in december, have 6 weeks paid holiday and then my mat leave would start.

My husbandmayhave to start work in October / November though so I am concerned about travelling in december without him!

meauxna

In what way? Why are you concerned?

christmasoompa

That's statutory, so every company has to give that, regardless of whether they are a 'good company' or not. It's also the government that pays SMP, not the company. They are not allowed to ask if you are intending to return to work after the year, so that cannot influence anything. But you will probably have to produce various documents to get your SMP which will prove rather tricky if you are in the US, so make sure you don't count on that money!

As for Radion's question re: paying it back, the answer is no unless they have paid over and above the statutory amount, in which case they can. Case in point is my old company that gave 6 months on full pay plus the additional 3 months on statutory, if you didn't return then you had to pay back the extra money.

When is the baby due by the way?

Rete

Only now found out she were preggers so would assume she would be due January or February which would be cutting it too close to travel safely or be allowed by the airline to board a plane.

N1cky

I think the confusion may come from a few years ago before they extended the maternity leave. I seem to remember it was 16 weeks at X amount, and then you could take longer up to 9 months at a reduced rate. A few people I worked with at the time, took the longer period. The reduced rate amount had to be paid back if you didn't return to work at the end of the 9 months for a 4 week period. So people used to return to work after 9 months and hand their notice in on the 1st day. Work notice and then not have to pay back.

I guess since they extended the initial 16 weeks, this ruling might have changed

Good luck with the move and Congrats OP. Also keep in mind that you may need a doctors note to travel late in your pregnancy, and if you have any complications it may mean you cannot fly.

Make sure to buy loads of baby clothes at Next before you come out, I find kids clothes are rubbish quality out here

Adnams

As another poster has already said most airlines wont let you to travel after you're 8 months pregnant. Also how are you going to find a good OB / Gyn here in the US from the other side of the pond?

My daughter is 8 months old and we moved from Connecticut to Missouri when I was five months pregnant, It was a bit of a hassle. All the docs wanted to see my full pregnancy history (all tests, scans, my medical history etc etc etc) before they took me on as a patient. Reason being that if I was in a high pregnancy risk category they may have refused me. The US system isnt like the Uk one where you just use your local GP or hospital. You can choose which OB / Gyn you use and vice versa they can opt not to have you as a patient.

Others have posted this but I'll reiterate the child will be USC if it's born here. We just did the whole application for her UK citizenship / passport etc as well

Check this link out for the Consular office: -

https://ukinusa-stage.fco.gov.uk/en/...-registration/

It cost about $485 is then end. Its not cheap but we found the service excellent and the consular office very helpful.

If the child is born in the US the hosptial will give you a form to fill out for the social security number for the child and then you can apply for its USA birth certificate on the back of that. Local state offices normally handle that and the service was fast. To juxtapose this to the UK prices, it cost about $50 to get the USA birth cert.

Again triple check the insurance your OH's co are offering. Get the name of the company the Group policy number and CALL THEM. Do not rely on what the employer are saying. Its costs thousands to have a baby in the US so triple and quadruple check this. Its about $2000 just for the epidural part alone!

Having said all that congratulations on your baby and your imminent move to the US.

Rete

Just to say that in NYS and in Mississippi there was no charge for the initial birth certificate from the birth registry office.

We can always opt for a mid-wife and a home delivery.

lansbury

3 years ago there wasn't a Consular office at Heathrow, there were CBP officers there who could give or deny authority to travel. They were there mainly to overseas the US no fly list but came in useful for other things.

Not sure what the arrangements are now, if they are still there or not. Originally part of the idea of them being there was to see if it was feasible to have the same set up at Heathrow as they have in Eire, ie clear US immigration in the UK

JulieinAustin

Another thing to check is whether there is a waiting period before you're actually covered for pregnancy.. my insurance policy for example wouldn't have covered us for pregnancy had I fallen pregnant within a year of having it.. When I was shopping around it seemed that many policies seemed to work this way; something worth checking as mentioned above and from what I've heard, having a baby in the US can get very expensive.. Congrats by the way..

MsElui

Make sure you take photocopies of your doc notes (the big pile the midwives give you and update each time you visit) when you come over - so the US docs can see your mediacl history to date.

I had 2 kids in the UK, came here on an L2 and then had my 3rd kid here in the US (5 months ago). Ive posted several times on here about pregnancy/maternity so have a look in the search function. Id be happy to answer anything else too if you have more qu.'s

I would not leave it too late to travel to the US - as most airlines will not take people beyond a certain date in their pregancy- and you wont want the hassle etc when you are further along. You can take mat leave early in the UK - it just comes OFF the time afterwards (ie the max length doesnt change - it just starts earlier). You can also butt up against this with holiday entitlement etc. so id do what you can to come over earlier with your husband. Id want to be settled here and know i had everything ready well in advance of any possible birth.

Ozzidoc

You may be covered immediately..... this is some information from one of the lovely posters on here called Tracym.

If thinking you'd come over during your pregnancy, and get on your husband's insurance, your goal is to be HIPAA eligible. Then, all sorts of rules apply.

Group policies, which your husband apparently is part of (NOT individual policies) apparently cannot consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition. I believe you have to be HIPAA eligible though.

If you are HIPAA eligible, without a significant break in coverage (more than 63 days) group plans must cover all pre-existing conditions.

Here is what I had found on HIPAA and the NHS (aargh, well hidden):

http://www.bcbsil.com/PDF/legislative_update_405.pdf

Look at the bottom of page 2, re. creditable coverage - it specifically includes the NHS.

There is such a thing as a "certificate of creditable coverage" - I wonder if a NHS doc would fill one out? In a friend’s case, we just had a doctor write a letter stating that as a British citizen, he had been covered continuously since birth by the NHS. Which was accepted. However, we have a particularly "friendly" policy.

I would suggest asking your husband's insurer what they will accept as proof - if they even need anything specific, or will just understand that British citizens are covered.



http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_hipaa.html

It says:

"Are there illnesses or injuries that cannot be subject to a preexisting condition exclusion?
Yes, as follows:

* Pregnancy, even if the woman had no prior coverage before enrolling in her current employer's plan"





http://www.dol.gov/federalregister/P...px?DocId=10270

They even talked about the logic of it being unfair not to.

If you search the document for 'foreign' you will find the references. It also talks about how to prove that you had the coverage satisfactorily.

Bob

Welcome to BE...have a read of the wiki, good list on citizenship and the like.

Either way, before you head here, get your doctors records, they should provide a copy for free but it can get pricey if they have to send them out

Definitely understand the insurance policy and don't take some jobsworth for it...understand the co-pays, deductions and what's covered if you have the baby here like if they'll cover scans and check-ups as well as the blood work. They ought but they might not. See if pre-natal classes will be included or not, also if you'll have complimentary tour of the hospital facilities (I mention as it was $90 to do at ours unless you did the pre-natal class, which was $150 a person I think, insurance only covered the mother).

Get recommendations for doctors and see if you need a specific pedo doc for the kid or if you can use a family doctor...depends on the state.

made of kent

maybe just try the US embassy, okay they seem cold on the outside, but once within... a years mat leave is a lot of money, I had mine when it was 6 months paid/6months not, but with the occupational mat pay of 90% and ord' mat pay for some reason I was earning about £70 a month more, then for several months more not paying pension, I got tax back, then my employers realised, after I pointed it out and they didn't believe me, I was accruing holidays? (8 weeks).
In the event of 1 years mat leave 6 months paid I took my holidays that I had accrued returning to work 4 days before my twins 1st birthday, I had also (thank you SVT) been on bed rest for 4 months before their birth on full pay (sick) as the old condition forced me to, I only lost 2 months wages in 15 months, and even then I had the tax back).
I was a F grade working 30 hours, no unsocial, £30K pro ra, so about £22-23K
An employer as I left the UK legally (may 2008) can not force you to take mat leave until 36 weeks and only then for a pregnancy related condition, not a cold bad or bad back,or anything you have had previously.
Do you work for the NHS? as I did? or another government employer? the only sting in the tale, I found out was as I returned to work I had to, in order to keep my pension up to date, pay £700 for the time of unpaid mat leave.
as for paying it back talk to your HR, many companies, it depends on circumstances, as in you have used us, NHS rarely does goes for the money, but sometime does!
Oh I paid the pension, you don't have to, but depending on your years, it's worth it, 14 for me at the time.
And yes ,
you are allowed to moan about the NHS and if benefits you must! but remember Nurses in the US earn a lot more and that is in you insurance! and also for me, it was they only thing that kept me working 19 years in the nhs experience and all that. (ICU qualified and Occupational Health) Head hunted many times by the private sector!...just don't give a shit about dollies..and that is a whole nother post! ( my time in private health care UK. be afraid be very afraid! not going back there!)