An employee gives you a due date, HR records the maternity leave, and payroll calculates statutory maternity pay. The calculation starts with average weekly earnings: pay 90% for six weeks, then apply the statutory weekly cap for the remaining 33 weeks.
Using basic salary, last year’s rate and an assumed start date can each seem reasonable. Together, they can produce the wrong payment. Start with the qualifying week and earnings record before putting figures into payroll.
Key takeaways
Statutory maternity pay (SMP) lasts up to 39 weeks, while statutory maternity leave lasts up to 52 weeks. Leave and pay have separate eligibility rules.
For 2026/27, the standard weekly SMP rate is £194.32, and the minimum average earnings threshold is £129. These figures apply to different parts of the eligibility and payment calculation.
How the 39 weeks of statutory maternity pay are paid
Your employee’s payment changes during maternity leave, even when their normal salary stays the same.
| Maternity leave period | Statutory payment |
|---|---|
| First six weeks | 90% of average weekly earnings, with no upper limit |
| Next 33 weeks | £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower |
| Final 13 weeks | Unpaid under the statutory scheme |
The lower figure matters during weeks seven to 39. Employees with lower average earnings don’t automatically receive the flat rate.
HMRC’s 2026/27 employer rates set the standard rate at £194.32. The £187.18 rate applied in 2025/26, while £184.03 applied in 2024/25.
SMP is treated as earnings. Pay it through normal payroll, with Income Tax and employee National Insurance deducted where applicable. The figures here are gross amounts, not guaranteed take-home pay.
Establish eligibility before calculating the payment
Apply the service and earnings tests
The employee must be employed for SMP purposes and paid through PAYE. Genuinely self-employed people don’t qualify.
They need at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment extending into the qualifying week. That’s the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. Check the employee’s record for any break in continuous employment.
Keep start-date evidence showing how the 26 weeks’ continuous employment requirement is met.
For a qualifying week in 2026/27, average weekly earnings must meet the minimum earnings threshold of £129. Earlier thresholds were £125 in 2025/26 and £123 in 2024/25. Acas explains the service and earnings requirements.
An employee who fails the pay test may still qualify for maternity leave. Don’t treat the two decisions as interchangeable.
Separate leave notice from pay notice
By the end of the 15th week before the due week, employees should tell you they’re pregnant, their due date and intended leave start.
For SMP, they must normally give at least 28 days’ notice of when they want payment to start. These deadlines cover different requirements.
Proof of pregnancy is usually a MATB1 certificate, issued by a doctor or midwife after 20 weeks. Employees should provide proof within 21 days of SMP starting, unless that isn’t reasonably practicable. Record the MATB1 certificate and the date you received it. Check the expected week on the MATB1 against the employee’s notice.
Keep the notice, certificate and agreed dates together.
Calculate average weekly earnings, not basic salary
Find the relevant earnings period
For weekly-paid employees, the relevant period normally covers eight weeks. It ends on the last normal payday on or before the Saturday of the qualifying week.
For monthly-paid employees, it usually covers two monthly payments. Divide their total by two, multiply by 12, then divide by 52.
Include earnings subject to National Insurance, such as overtime, bonuses and relevant sick pay. Unpaid leave and salary sacrifice can reduce the earnings figure.
Maternity Action’s maternity pay guidance explains how earnings changes affect entitlement. A pay rise taking effect between the start of the relevant period and the end of maternity leave can require recalculation.
Apply both stages to the same earnings figure
Two normal monthly payments of £2,600 produce this calculation:
£5,200 divided by two, multiplied by 12, divided by 52 gives £600 average weekly earnings.
The first six weeks are £600 multiplied by 90%, giving £540 weekly. Across six weeks, that’s £3,240.
For the next 33 weeks, £194.32 is lower than £540. That produces £6,412.56, giving total gross SMP of £9,652.56.
This assumes the standard rate stays unchanged throughout those weeks.
At £150 average weekly earnings, 90% is £135. Because £135 is below the cap, it applies throughout all 39 weeks. You don’t increase payment to £194.32 after week six.
Put the calculation into payroll and reclaim it
Use the GOV.UK calculator with the right records
The GOV.UK maternity pay calculator helps establish entitlement and produce a payment schedule. Have the pregnancy notice, contract and payroll history ready.
- Enter the baby’s due date and intended maternity leave start date.
- Provide the employment start date, contract details and normal pay schedule.
- Enter the relevant earnings and how SMP will be paid.
- Save the calculation and give the employee their payment dates and amounts.
Track SMP weeks across calendar months. A month isn’t four weeks, and a change in payment phase can fall between paydays.
For partial weeks, SMP uses calendar days at one-seventh of the weekly amount. Don’t use scheduled working days.
Recover the statutory payment through HMRC
Employers normally reclaim 92% of SMP through an Employer Payment Summary.
For 2026/27, HMRC’s Small Employers’ Relief, often searched as “Small Employer’s Relief,” lets eligible businesses recover 109%. Eligibility normally requires Class 1 National Insurance contributions of £45,000 or less in the relevant previous complete tax year.
The small-employer rate was 108.5% in 2025/26 and 103% in earlier years. Don’t carry an old percentage into your payroll settings.
Reconcile each reclaim against the payroll record, and retain the calculation supporting that reclaim.
The reclaim covers statutory payments, not your contractual maternity top-up.
If SMP is refused, explain the next payment route
Issue SMP1 and record the reason
If your employee doesn’t qualify, decide within 28 days of their request. Give them an SMP1 form within seven days of your decision.
Explain which condition wasn’t met and provide the calculation behind any earnings decision. A refusal without the supporting dates leaves payroll and the employee arguing about different information.
If disagreement remains, the employee can ask HMRC’s Statutory Payments Disputes Team for a formal decision.
SMP1 supports a Maternity Allowance application. It doesn’t guarantee an award.
Explain how Maternity Allowance differs
Maternity Allowance is a government benefit for people who don’t qualify for SMP, including eligible self-employed workers.
The employment-based test normally requires work in at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due date. Employed applicants also need average earnings of at least £30 across any 13 weeks.
Eligible employed applicants can receive 90% of average weekly earnings, capped at £194.32, for up to 39 weeks. Unlike SMP, there isn’t an uncapped first-six-week payment.
For self-employed applicants, the Maternity Allowance payment range is £27 to £194.32 weekly, depending on their National Insurance record.
Keep contractual pay and leave changes on the same record
Enhanced maternity pay sits above the statutory minimum. Record the statutory amount and contractual top-up separately, with any return-to-work conditions clearly stated.
You can’t recover SMP simply because an employee doesn’t return to work. Any repayment condition must relate to the contractual enhancement.
Employees can work up to 10 Keeping in Touch days, known as KIT days, without ending maternity leave or SMP. Agree the work and payment beforehand. Even part of a working day counts towards the ten-day limit.
If leave crosses an April rate increase, update the standard-rate phase when the new rate applies. Keep the original calculation and the adjustment, rather than replacing the earlier record.
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Frequently asked questions
What happens if the baby arrives early?
If the baby arrives before the planned start, maternity leave and SMP start the day after birth. Update payroll rather than retaining the original dates.
A stillbirth after 24 weeks doesn’t remove maternity leave or SMP entitlement, subject to the normal eligibility conditions.
Does SMP continue if employment ends?
Once an employee qualifies, you normally remain responsible for SMP even if they resign or are made redundant.
Ending employment needs its own lawful process. Continuing maternity pay doesn’t settle questions about pregnancy discrimination or redundancy protection.
Can an employee receive SMP and SSP together?
Employees can’t receive Statutory Sick Pay while receiving SMP. Our Statutory Sick Pay eligibility guidance covers the separate sickness rules.
Keep the payment schemes separate. Their earnings tests, qualifying periods and daily calculations aren’t interchangeable.
Make the dates and earnings record your starting point
A correct payment during maternity leave starts with the qualifying week and relevant earnings, followed by the two payment stages. Using salary alone can miss overtime, bonuses or changes in pay.
Keep the calculation, notices and payroll adjustments together. That gives your employee a clear payment schedule and your business a record of how each amount was reached.