maternity benefit denied

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Mary Anne

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Hi all,
I know from this post I can sound quite dumb, but here I am.
My maternity benefit application has been turned down because I have filled in the claim more than 6 months after the baby was born (in fairness, yes, when she was 7 months).
What I said as an explanation for the delay was that from my HR department the message wasn't clear, they just gave me a pat in the back and sent me off saying I was entitled to full pay so the fact that I had to fill in a separate form with SW never crossed my mind. I know, here is where I sound idiotic.
When I rang the SW Maternity Benefit section, the employee, quite sympathetic, suggested I could get a letter from the doctor saying I was suffering of post-natal depression and that could be accepted as a good reason for such a delay.
Now, I wouldn't be a fan of pretending such a thing, because I am afraid it will follows me in case I get pregnant again and it will be recorded somewhere anyway.
Would anybody be able to suggest a different but effective option?
Thanks!
Mary Anne
 
Hi Mary Anne,

PND is very very common. I think you should take the advice you were given. Its certainly worth it for the mat benefit. I dont think it would be recorded in any detrimental way for you! Itll just be part of your medical history.
 
Hi Mary Anne,

PND is very very common. I think you should take the advice you were given. Its certainly worth it for the mat benefit. I dont think it would be recorded in any detrimental way for you! Itll just be part of your medical history.
Ah, ok, so I was worrying for no reason! Yes, it's quite some money and I could really get depressed if I don't get it at the end. Thanks Jim!
 
Did your employer pay you in full, or did they deduct the MB from your salary? If they paid you in full then there is no point in claiming? Remember that MB is now taxable so you are no better or worse off tax wise by not claiming it. Unless your employer is looking to recoup the MB.?
 
Mary Anne congratulations on the birth of your baby - Wishing you and your family every good fortune.

Personally I think this is your money and you should get every cent the same as everyone else does - If you need to tell a couple of innocent white lies then just force yourself to do it.....

- All credit for being a decent and honest person who telling even a harmless lie never came naturally to.
 
You are supposed to claim Maternity Benefit six weeks before you go on maternity leave so I don't know if post natal depression will cover you. Will they take your word for it or will they require a Doctors Cert - you would need to clarify this as a G.P is unlikely to put something in writing that he/she can't stand over. If you were paid in full and H.R. is now looking for a refund of the M.B. they seem to be very lax - you should have got a document outlining the procedure before you went on Maternity leave.
 
1. You or your employer is entitled to the money. If you were paid in full, then it's your employer is short changed.
2. You failed to claim in time. The fault is entirely with you. If you were supposed to claim 6 weeks before giving birth and you have waited several months after the birth. How much time do you need to fill in a form?
3. Telling lies is just adding to the situation.

You asked for a solution:- Get your TD to represent you. If his name is Healy-Rae you have a better chance.
 
Oh guys thanks a lot!
Well the problem is I didn't know I had to fill a form, otherwise, yes, it takes no time really. I did all the paperwork for employer in perfect time like.
And no I got the M.B. deducted from salary I wouldn't be losing sleep over it if it wasn't so.
Ill try to ask GP nicely, or I will get depressed for real, since after all it's money everyone gets and delay doesn't really change any of the other circumstances.
I can't vote in Ireland, so I don't think any TD would actually bother with me. I take it that should be a good one thanks for the advice Leper.
Will get you a virtual round if this works out!!
Thanks,
Mary Anne
 
Mary Anne congratulations on the birth of your baby - Wishing you and your family every good fortune.

Personally I think this is your money and you should get every cent the same as everyone else does - If you need to tell a couple of innocent white lies then just force yourself to do it.....

- All credit for being a decent and honest person who telling even a harmless lie never came naturally to.

Thanks a lot!! And for the good words!!
 
Noting another post on here Mary..... Personally I think you should be enjoying special bonding time with your baby and not off chasing sketchy local politicians begging for favours - Definitely take the shortest easiest route and don't feel any bit bad about it....

Lots of GPs are very practical and fair minded in these situations.

PS Thanks also the same, unnamed poster, for the diligent, astute and insightful reminder that the form was not filled in on time.... wonderful, simply wonderful.
 
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Will most GP's really tell lies in order to defraud the Department of Social Protection?
 
Personally I think this is your money and you should get every cent the same as everyone else does - If you need to tell a couple of innocent white lies then just force yourself to do it.....

- All credit for being a decent and honest person who telling even a harmless lie never came naturally to.
Really? A decent and honest person wouldn't be contemplating falsely claiming to be suffering from a mental illness in order to get money from their fellow tax payers.
There should be an appeals procedure in the SW Maternity Benefit section. If they can't help then anything else is fraud.
 
Oh guys thanks a lot!
Well the problem is I didn't know I had to fill a form, otherwise, yes, it takes no time really. I did all the paperwork for employer in perfect time like.
And no I got the M.B. deducted from salary I wouldn't be losing sleep over it if it wasn't so.
Ill try to ask GP nicely, or I will get depressed for real, since after all it's money everyone gets and delay doesn't really change any of the other circumstances.
I can't vote in Ireland, so I don't think any TD would actually bother with me. I take it that should be a good one thanks for the advice Leper.
Will get you a virtual round if this works out!!
Thanks,
Mary Anne

The person in Social Welfare told you what to do to get the claim. No need in doing anything else.


Will most GP's really tell lies in order to defraud the Department of Social Protection?

It's not defrauding the dept of Social protection. She is late with her claim through an honest mistake. There is an actual baby and she is entitled to it. Do you think the personal in Social Welfare would have told her to defraud the welfare? I'd say it is quite common.
And yes, a GP would sign a note.
 
Really? A decent and honest person wouldn't be contemplating falsely claiming to be suffering from a mental illness in order to get money from their fellow tax payers.
There should be an appeals procedure in the SW Maternity Benefit section. If they can't help then anything else is fraud.

…..Getting money from her fellow tax payers that she is wholly and absolutely entitled to....This falsification you're referring to is merely to thwart the inflexible mechanics of the bureaucratic machine in this instance.....

In my opinion its best to not get blinded by technicalities and begin brandishing moral concepts like they matter when they absolutely do not to the ordinary, fair minded, balanced and objective person.
 
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It's not defrauding the dept of Social protection.

Of course it is. The requirement for the benefit is that it be claimed within 6 months.

Now a fraud has been proposed to get around the failure to meet that requirement. (The blithe assumption that a GP will be happy to oblige is a thing of beauty)

If I were in this situation I wouldn't hesitate to get the GP to sign and make the claim, but I wouldn't delude myself by thinking that it wasn't fraud. The rules are stupid I am happy to break them, but I recognise that is what I am doing.
 
It's not defrauding the dept of Social protection. She is late with her claim through an honest mistake. There is an actual baby and she is entitled to it. Do you think the personal in Social Welfare would have told her to defraud the welfare? I'd say it is quite common.
What do you call telling lies to get the money? It may not be that big a deal but I certainly wouldn't be extolling someone's honesty with "All credit for being a decent and honest person" after advising them to tell lies to make up for their own mistake.

And yes, a GP would sign a note.
I suppose they will,sure they sign sick certs all the time...
 
Of course it is. The requirement for the benefit is that it be claimed within 6 months.

Now a fraud has been proposed to get around the failure to meet that requirement. (The blithe assumption that a GP will be happy to oblige is a thing of beauty)

If I were in this situation I wouldn't hesitate to get the GP to sign and make the claim, but I wouldn't delude myself by thinking that it wasn't fraud. The rules are stupid I am happy to break them, but I recognise that is what I am doing.
Exactly.
 
…..Getting money from her fellow tax payers that she is wholly and absolutely entitled to....
... if you claim within 6 months. Outside that you need to commit fraud to get it.

In my opinion its best to not get blinded by technicalities and begin brandishing moral concepts like they matter when they absolutely do not to the ordinary, fair minded, balanced and objective person.
You know what they say about opinions.
 
Obviously a system such as this needs to actively encourage applicants to submit their paperwork within a finite timing window or else people would routinely retrospectively claim 18 or 24 months later or just randomly whenever they felt was a good time.....

To suggest that anyone who genuinely needs to submit a claim outside of this window is committing fraud is frankly directing your attention away from what is the just and fair end result.
 
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