Maternity Allowance Paid by Job Centre Plus is allowed/not?

[angel62]

Hi,
My wife has a Tier-2 PBS dependent Visa and with condition of no recourse to Public funds.
I know that Statutory Maternity pay(SMP) paid by Employer does not breach her condition but I have a confusion about [b]Maternity Allowance paid by Job Centre Plus [/b]because My wife'a employer told her that she
did not work long enough to be eligible for SMP but she is eligible to claim Maternity allowance paid by job centre Plus.

Will anybody advice me whether my wife should claim Maternity allowance or not?
If she claim maternity allowance then whether its breach of her Visa condition or not?
And any impact on her future Visa extensions and Indefinite Leave to Remain(ILR)?

Kind regards
Angel62[/b]

[Lucapooka]

Public fundsdo not include benefits that are based on National Insurance contributions. National Insurance is paid in the same way as income tax and is based on earnings. Benefits to which a person is entitled as a result of National Insurance contributions include:

contribution-based jobseeker's allowance;
incapacity benefit;
retirement pension;
widow's benefit and bereavement benefit;
guardian's allowance;
statutory maternity pay;
maternity allowance; and
contribution-related employment and support allowance.

[angel62]

Thanks for your reply