Employees
We work out your weekly rate of Maternity Benefit by dividing your gross income in the relevant tax year by the number of weeks you actually worked in that year.
You may get 80% of this amount, subject to a minimum payment of €217.80 and a maximum payment of €262.00 a week. These rates are from 3rd January 2011.
Note
If you are eligible for Benefit but have no recorded earnings in the relevant tax year, you will receive payment at the minimum amount.
Self-employed
We work out your weekly rate of Maternity Benefit by dividing your reckonable income in the relevant tax year by 52.
You may get 80% of this amount, subject to a minimum payment of €217.80 and a maximum payment of €262.00 a week. These rates are from 3rd January 2011.
Note
If you are eligible for Benefit but have no recorded earnings in the relevant tax year, you will receive payment at the minimum amount.
Employees and self-employed
We compare the rate of Maternity Benefit to the rate of Illness Benefit that you would get if you were absent from work through illness. We will check this for you and you will get the higher of the two automatically.