Right to claim Maternity Pay, whilst registering as a sole trader...

A question about : Right to claim Maternity Pay, whilst registering as a sole trader...

Hello there,

I am after some advice, hopefully someone will be able to help!
I am currently employed - soon to go onto maternity leave.

I wanted to register as a sole trader, whilst on maternity leave and wasn't sure if this was possible, whilst in receipt of maternity pay, so I researched online and came across this information with working mums.

Right to maternity pay as a sole-trader I Q&A I Advice & Support | WorkingMums.co.uk

It states that....

The general rule is that if you begin a new job after your Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) has started, you lose your entitlement to SMP (s.165(6) Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992). However, this rule only applies if you start work for another 'employer'. As you are working as a sole trader and are self employed, then there is an argument that this rule does not apply to you and your employer should continue to pay your SMP.

With that in mind, I contacted HMRC, who informed me, that, that would not be the case and that if I choose to go self employed I WILL lose any maternity pay entitlement.

I was hoping as it will only be a little freelance work, (which is not likely to be anything more than Ј100 a month) that it would count as a secondry earning?

Can anyone help with this?

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