Statutory Maternity Pay Calculator UK

Statutory Maternity Pay looks simple on a poster, "39 weeks of maternity pay", but the actual structure has a shape that catches people out: six good weeks, thirty-three flat weeks, thirteen unpaid ones, and an eligibility test anchored to a date fifteen weeks before your baby is due. Planning your household finances around maternity leave means understanding all four phases, not just the headline.

This calculator works out your week-by-week SMP using 2026/27 rates.

The 2026/27 structure

The first six weeks are the only earnings-related phase: someone averaging £700 a week receives £630 a week during them, then drops to £194.32. That cliff at week seven is the single most important number for budgeting. Lower earners, anyone averaging under about £216 a week, receive 90% of earnings throughout all 39 weeks, since that's below the cap.

Who qualifies

Two tests, both anchored to the qualifying week, the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth:

• Service: 26 weeks of continuous employment with the same employer by the end of the qualifying week. In practice, this means being in the job before you became pregnant, roughly speaking, employment must have started before conception
• Earnings: average weekly earnings of at least the Lower Earnings Limit, £129 a week for 2026/27, over the eight weeks up to the qualifying week

The earnings averaging window matters more than people realise: it typically covers weeks 18–26 of pregnancy, so a bonus, commission spike or pay rise landing in that window increases your SMP, particularly the uncapped first six weeks, while a salary-sacrifice arrangement reduces it. If you're planning pension sacrifice changes around pregnancy, time them carefully.

If you don't qualify: Maternity Allowance

Miss either test, too new in the job, self-employed, or recently changed employer, and the fallback is Maternity Allowance, claimed from the government rather than your employer: £194.32 a week (or 90% of earnings if lower) for 39 weeks. The qualification is looser: 26 weeks of work in the 66 weeks before your due date, earning at least £30 a week in any 13 of them. Your employer must give you form SMP1 explaining why SMP was refused, submit it with your MA claim.

Leave versus pay: 52 vs 39

You're entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave regardless of pay: 26 weeks Ordinary and 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave. SMP covers only 39 of them. The final 13 weeks are unpaid at the statutory level, and you must take at least 2 weeks off after the birth (4 if you work in a factory). Throughout leave, your holiday entitlement keeps accruing, and employer pension contributions continue based on your normal salary while you're receiving SMP, both frequently overlooked and both valuable.

Worked example

Amara earns £36,400 a year (£700 a week average):

• Weeks 1–6: 90% x £700 = £630 a week → £3,780
• Weeks 7–39: £194.32 a week (the cap, since 90% of her earnings is higher) → £6,412.56
• Total statutory pay across 39 weeks: £10,192.56, against £27,300 she'd have earned working those weeks
• Weeks 40–52, if taken: unpaid

SMP is taxable and NI-able like normal pay, though in most weeks the amounts fall below the thresholds, so deductions are small or nil.

Other things worth knowing

• Enhanced maternity pay: many employers top up SMP, full pay for a period is common. Some enhanced schemes include clawback clauses if you don't return, check yours before deciding
• Keeping in Touch days: you can work up to 10 KIT days during leave without ending your SMP
• Redundancy protection: from pregnancy notification until 18 months after birth, you have priority rights to suitable alternative vacancies in a redundancy situation
• Employer reclaim: employers recover 92% of SMP from HMRC, and small employers (Class 1 NI of £45,000 or less last year) recover 109%, worth knowing if your employer implies SMP is a burden they choose to carry
• Shared Parental Leave: you can end maternity leave early and convert the remainder into leave and pay shared with your partner

This is general guidance, not financial advice. For your specific entitlement and dates, check gov.uk's maternity pay calculator or speak to your HR team.