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Maternity pay

Useful information on statutory maternity pay (SMP) and maternity allowance (MA) and advice on your entitlement to each.


Discuss maternity pay on our forums, right now! Or, post a comment below.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)

You are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) if you have been in the same job for at least 26 weeks and by the 15th week before your baby is due, and you earn at least an average of £84 per week before tax.

What is Statutory Maternity Pay?

For babies due before 31st March 2007 SMP is maternity pay for 26 weeks, for those due after 1st April 2007 SMP is for 39 weeks. Your employer pays it to you and then claims most or all of it back from the Inland Revenue. You can get it even if you don't plan to go back to work. You do not have to pay SMP back if you don't return to work.

Who can get SMP?

You get SMP if:
  • You have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (which is approximately the 26th week of pregnancy). In other words you need to have started the job before you got pregnant, and you are still in your job in the 15th week before your baby is due - even if it's only for one day that week - or you are off sick or on holiday, and you actually receive at least £84.00 (before tax) per week in earnings, on average the eight weeks (if you are paid weekly) or two months (if you are paid monthly) up to the last pay day before the end of the 15th week before your baby is due.


  • To get SMP you must give the correct notice to your employer. If you are not sure if you're entitled to SMP ask anyway. Your employer will work out whether or not you should get it and if you don't qualify they will give you form SMP I to explain why.
How much SMP will I get?

SMP is paid at two rates:
  • For the first six weeks you get 90% of your average earnings. The average is calculated from the pay you actually received in the eight weeks or two months up to the last pay day before the end of the qualifying week (i.e. the 15th week before your due date).


  • You will then get £117.18 per week for the remaining weeks, or 90% of your average earnings if this is less. Your employer pays your SMP in the same way as your salary is paid. They deduct any tax and National Insurance contributions.
When can I get SMP?

As with maternity leave, the earliest you can start your SMP is 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. You can work right up until the date the baby is born, unless:
  • you have a pregnancy-related illness/absence in the last 4 weeks of your pregnancy or


  • your baby is born before you have started your maternity leave.SMP usually starts on the Sunday after you go on maternity leave. So if your last day of work is a Friday or Saturday it will start immediately. If your maternity leave and pay is triggered by one of the reasons above, your SMP will start as follows:


  • if you are off sick with a pregnancy-related Uness in the last four weeks of pregnancy, your SMP will start on the day after your first day of absence from work. So. if you phone in sick on a Wednesday, your SMP will start on Thursday.


  • if you give birth before the start of your maternity leave, your SMP will start on the day following the actual date of birth.


  • You cannot get any SMP for any week in which you work - even part of a week. So. if your SMP is triggered midweek by one of the reasons above you will start to receive it in the week following the week you stopped work and if you return to work early your SMP will stop.
Do I still get SMP if my job ends after the 15th week before my baby is due?

You can still get SMP as long as you are employed in the 15th week before your baby is due and you meet the normal qualifying conditions stated above. It doesn't matter if you are off sick or on holiday that week. Once you have qualified for SMP you are entitled to receive it for the full 26 weeks. This is true even if you are made redundant, you leave your job or a fixed term contract comes to an end at any time after the 15th week before your baby is due or during your maternity leave. Remember SMP is not repayable if you are not going back to work and your employer can claim back all or most of it from the Inland Revenue regardless.

My employer gives extra maternity pay. Do I have to repay it if I don't go back to work?

If your employer has given you extra (contractual) maternity pay you only have to repay it if that was agreed in advance or specifically stated in your maternity policy. You only ever have to repay the extra contractual pay, never the SMP part of your maternity pay. SMP is 90% of your wages for 6 weeks and £117.18 per week for the remaining weeks (or 90% of your average earnings if this is less) and is yours to keep whether you go back or not.

Maternity Allowance (MA)
  • you can get it if you have changed jobs during pregnancy or


  • you do not earn enough to get SMP or


  • you are unemployed or self-employed during pregnancy.
What is it?

Maternity Allowance (MA) is paid for 26 weeks if your baby is due before 31st March, 2007 and 39 weeks if your baby is due after 1st April, 2007. You may qualify for it if you do not qualify for SMP from your employer, for example, because you started a new job when you were already pregnant, your earnings are too low or you are self-employed.

You can claim standard-rate MA if:
  • you have worked for at least 26 weeks of the 66 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, and you can find 13 weeks (not necessarily in a row) in which you earned over £30 per week on average.
You should choose the weeks in which you earned the most. You can add together earnings from more than one job. If in doubt, ask your local Jobcentre Plus for form MAI and make a claim. They will work out whether you can get the benefit. If you are not entitled to MA. they should automatically use the same claim form to check whether you can get Incapacity Benefit instead.

The earliest you can claim MA is 15 weeks before your baby is due and the earliest it can be paid to you is 11 weeks before you are due. You should put in your claim form as early as possible and notify the Jobcentre Plus of the date you intend to stop work.

How much it Maternity Allowance?

There are two rates:
  • Standard-rate MA is £117.18 per week for 26 weeks (for babies due before 31st March, 2007) or 39 weeks (for babies due after 1st April 2007).
  • 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings, if this calculation results in a figure which is less than the standard rate of MA.
Incapacity Benefit (IB)

If you do not qualify for Maternity Allowance but have paid some National Insurance contributions during the last three years, but not many recently.What is incapacity benefit?

A weekly allowance which can be paid to women who don't qualify for SMP or Maternity Allowance. It is also possible to get IB if you are incapable of working because of illness or disability.

Who gets incapacity benefit?

You get IB if you have paid or been credited with enough National Insurance contributions during the last three tax years that do not overlap the current calendar year. Your Jobcentre Plus will work out whether you can get the benefit. If in doubt, claimTo claim IB. use the claim form for Maternity Allowance (MA I from the Jobcentre Plus) If you are not entitled to MA. the Jobcentre Plus should check automatically to see if you can get IB.

How much do I get?

It is from £63.75 per week from six weeks before your baby is due until two weeks after your baby is born.

For more information on maternity pay Click Here.

Your Comments

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hey im 30 weeks pregnant and am 17 i only work part time for 8 hours a week my weekly pay is over £45 a week just wondering am i intitled to get MA ?
added by Danica28 [Mon 18th Aug 2008 @ 09:15:00]
hi im 20 weeks pregnant i dont work as got sacked in may 2008 i claim jobseekers but was just wanting to know can i still claim maternity allwonce and when is it i can start claiming it if anyone can let me know would be a great help
added by charlotte8908 [Mon 18th Aug 2008 @ 09:14:50]
Hi, I'm 7 weeks pregnant and I start working with them 18 May 2008 , I would like to keep working until 7 or 8 months pregnant I just would like to be make sure can i get maternity pay , and also what does smp pay?
Many Thanks.
added by theory [Thu 14th Aug 2008 @ 08:52:26]
i was just wondering if any1 knew how 2 keep track of your maternity allowance form just 2 check what stage its at in being prossesed ???
added by xxjuiexx [Tue 5th Aug 2008 @ 09:10:45]
I dont intend to work after my baby is born. Does that mean I will get any money at all? Should I tell my employer this? or is it the government that pays my maternity pay?
added by Christinem79 [Mon 4th Aug 2008 @ 09:03:17]
HI , NEW MEMBER - JUST READING THROUGH EVERY ONES COMMENTS AND I AM DISGUSTED AT KHUSHEE FROM 17TH JUNE - HOW DARE SHE EVEN ASK FOR MORE BENEFITS - SHE HASNT BEEN IN THIS COUNTRY ( THAT MY GRANDAD AND UNCLES FOUGHT FOR!!!) FOR A YEAR- SHE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT TAX PAYERS ARE GIVING TO HER ALREADY- THERE IS TOO MANY PEOPLE ON THE PC BRIGADE SURELY IM NOT THE ONLY PERSON WHO THINKS LIKE THIS?
added by newlymallin [Mon 4th Aug 2008 @ 09:02:56]
hi. i am 21 weeks pregnant next week, and am going to give up work on the 29th august.i have been working for a company since dec 07. could someone please tell me what i am entitled to/not entitled to?
added by TWINSHOCKMUMMY [Mon 4th Aug 2008 @ 09:02:38]
I have started working for a company on 10th May 2008, only to find out I am 8weeks pregnant, I also only have a letter stating that this is a 6months trial, I have received a pay increase after my first month and really need to know where I stand with materinity pay, can the boss stop my contract, I would like to continue working for the company and also do not know when I should tell them.

Can someone please advise me on the best way to deal with my situation
added by VIPS [Fri 18th Jul 2008 @ 10:02:04]
hello i am 19 wk pregnant had to leave my job and home in march due to violence i will not qualify for maternity allowence or smp i am claiming jobseekers at moment have been told i can claim income support befor my baby is born one guy told me 21 wks i can claim and enoughter told me 29 weeks does any one know when i can claim
added by MCCABE [Mon 14th Jul 2008 @ 08:48:08]
hi! i came to this country on 06/09/07, i started working from nov. But i started another job from jan and i took maternity leave from march. they told me i will not get SMP. Now i am getting child benefit 18.80 per week and income support for me 60.50. Recently i appelied for Sure Start Maternity Grant also, is there any other benefits that i am supposed to get that i am not geting because income support that i get is not enought for me to do everything.
added by khushee [Tue 17th Jun 2008 @ 13:19:49]
Hi I am looking for some advise I work at my present job since September and am now 3 month pregnant.
My partner lives in England and myself in Scotland he has asked me to move down in August where my first child can start secondery school. But i loose all benifits from work if I leave but want to go with my partner. Do you know if I can get help from the government until after the baby is born, and I am able to work again.

Thanks for you help
Suzi
added by Yazzy [Thu 29th May 2008 @ 08:48:59]
Hi I am currently connected to a private company but when I had my baby 2 years ago, my employer paid me only 4 weeks, 90% of my monthly pay then i will receive £117.18/week if i will extend more than 4 weeks, but I just read that my employer should have paid 6 weeks instead of 4 weeks, I had to be back to work after 4 weeks because i could not afford to receive £117.18/week.
added by January [Mon 21st Apr 2008 @ 08:38:13]
hi can u pl advice me if i am work with agency since 5 years is any problem with smp
added by mausami [Tue 15th Apr 2008 @ 08:44:57]
Help and advice please.
I have worked for the same employer for 8.5years. I moved to Canada with this employer 6.5yrs ago and I will be retuning to the UK, still with the same employer in April this year. My concern is what my entitlements will be in the UK I will not have worked the 26 out of the "66 week test period" in the UK. I will be taking a break for 5 weeks when I return to the UK so will not start my new role until the first of June and my baby is due on Nov 2nd. Does anyone know how the benefits work re this situation?

Thanks,
Joanne
added by 1summer [Mon 14th Apr 2008 @ 08:41:40]
mrw she is still entitled to go back to the same job and have the same position offered to her but she can also ask for flexible working hours if she wishes i am in the same situation and she is also entitled to ma (*maternity allowance) £112.00 per week from the jobcentre while on maternity and is allowed 9 mths leave paid at this rate her employer has to consider her request for flexible working hrs but if they refuse she can appeal against the decision but its not really worth it if they said no to start with


adele from the day you start you are entitled to pay weather it be from the jobcentre or your employer all the help will be on the jobcentre web page look up make a claim and it tells you all you are entitled to and where to apply for it hope all helps
added by kaz01 [Wed 26th Mar 2008 @ 09:02:17]
just had one question- if you are getting SMP from your employer, and then you decide you would like to work elsewhere while you are on maternity leave, do you still get SMP from your previous employer or is it automatically stopped? basically, can you claim SMP from one employer while you are working somewhere else?
added by papi29 [Wed 27th Feb 2008 @ 09:17:06]
My wife is expecting in August, however she will have only been with her new employer six months by this time. Does anybody know what her options would be if she wanted to go back on reduced hours given the short amount of time she would have spend with her new employer?
added by MRW [Thu 17th Jan 2008 @ 10:11:34]
ive worked part time 20 hours per week for 10 months in a heavy job left work as not a good job while pregant do i quilfiy for state maternity money if so how much? thanks
added by emmsy30 [Fri 21st Dec 2007 @ 10:23:33]
how long do i need to work as a employed to get the maternity leave?
added by adela [Wed 13th Jun 2007 @ 08:40:18]





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