5. Challenging a decision

If you think a decision about your maternity allowance is wrong, you can ask the DWP to look at it again. This process is known as a ‘mandatory reconsideration’. Provided you ask within the time limit (usually one month), the DWP notifies you of the decision in a ‘mandatory reconsideration notice’. If you are still not happy when you get this notice, you can appeal to the independent First-tier Tribunal. If it was not possible to ask the DWP to reconsider the decision within a month, you can ask for a late revision (within 13 months), explaining why it is late. You can also ask the DWP to look at a decision again at any time if certain grounds are met – eg, if there has been an official error.

If you disagree with your employer’s decision on your entitlement to statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental pay or parental bereavement pay, or your employer fails to make a decision, you can ask HMRC to make a formal decision on your entitlement.