Maternity Leave and Pay in the UK, Explained Simply

Maternity money is one of the most-searched and worst-explained topics in UK parenting. Here's the plain-English version. Rates change every April — we describe the structure and link to gov.uk for today's numbers rather than printing figures that go stale.

Maternity leave: the time

Every employee is entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave from day one of a job — there's no minimum service requirement for the leave itself. It splits into 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave. You must take at least 2 weeks after birth (4 if you work in a factory).

Statutory Maternity Pay: the money

SMP is different — it does have qualifying conditions. Broadly, you need to have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before your due date, and earn above the lower earnings limit.

SMP pays for 39 weeks:

• Weeks 1–6: 90% of your average weekly earnings, uncapped
• Weeks 7–39: the flat statutory weekly rate (£187.18 a week for 2025/26), or 90% of average earnings if that's lower

Rates change most Aprils — our maternity pay calculator runs the current formula on your own pay, and gov.uk is the source of truth for the live figure. The final 13 weeks of the 52 are unpaid unless your employer offers enhanced maternity pay — always check your contract, because occupational schemes vary enormously.

Don't qualify for SMP? Maternity Allowance

If you're self-employed, recently changed jobs, or earn below the threshold, Maternity Allowance from the DWP is the fallback. It also runs up to 39 weeks and the standard rate mirrors the SMP flat rate. You claim it yourself with form MA1 and your MATB1 certificate — it is not automatic.

Shared Parental Leave

You can convert unused maternity leave and pay into Shared Parental Leave (SPL), splitting up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between partners, taken together or in turns. The paperwork is genuinely fiddly — each parent gives their own employer 8 weeks' notice — but for families where the other parent wants real time at home, it's the mechanism that makes it possible.

The deadlines that catch people out

• Tell your employer by the 15th week before your due date (your MATB1 is the evidence)
• SMP starts automatically if you're off sick with a pregnancy-related illness in the last 4 weeks
• Keeping in Touch (KIT) days: you can work up to 10 days during leave without ending it — agree the pay rate first
• Returning early needs 8 weeks' notice

Beyond the statutory basics

Check whether your employer offers enhanced pay (many return-to-work clauses claw it back if you leave — read yours). Look at Tax-Free Childcare and the expanding free childcare hours for working parents once you're planning your return; eligibility and hours have changed several times in recent years, so use the gov.uk childcare calculator for your situation.