Statutory maternity pay and leave in the UK: SMP, paternity, SPL

In short

• Statutory maternity leave is 52 weeks, and Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid for up to 39 weeks (as of November 2026, GOV.UK). For the leave itself, what counts is being an employee, not how long you have worked or what you earn.
• SMP is 90% of your average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks, then £194.32 or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks (2026/27 tax year).
• Tell your employer at least 15 weeks before your due date.
• Paternity leave is up to 2 weeks from the first day of employment, for employees; Paternity Pay requires, among other things, 26 weeks of employment (as of November 2026, GOV.UK). Northern Ireland has different rules.
• If you cannot get SMP, you may be able to get Maternity Allowance, for up to 39 weeks (as of November 2026, GOV.UK).
• Eligible parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay, known as Shared Parental Leave (as of November 2026, GOV.UK).

Maternity leave: how long it lasts and when it starts

Statutory Maternity Leave is 52 weeks (as of November 2026, GOV.UK). You do not have to take all of it, but you must take 2 weeks' leave after the birth (4 weeks if you work in a factory).

You are entitled to the leave if you are an employee, not a "worker", and you give your employer the correct notice. It does not matter how long you have been with your employer, how many hours you work or how much you are paid.

• Start: usually the earliest you can start is 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. If the baby arrives early, the leave starts the day after the birth. It also starts automatically if you are off work with a pregnancy-related illness in the 4 weeks before the week (Sunday to Saturday) your baby is due.
• Returning to work: if you want to change your return date, give your employer at least 8 weeks' notice.

SMP: how much it is, who gets it and how to claim

SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks (as of November 2026, GOV.UK): 6 weeks at 90% of your average weekly earnings (before tax), then 33 weeks at £194.32 or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. The same rate (£194.32 or 90%, whichever is lower) applies to Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) and Maternity Allowance for people who are employed.

The GOV.UK guides give amounts without a tax year. The 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027) is confirmed by the HMRC and DWP rate tables. There are no rates for 2027/28 yet, so from April 2027 the amounts may be different.

You can get SMP if you:

• earn on average at least £129 a week (the Lower Earnings Limit for 2026/27, HMRC),
• give the correct notice and proof of pregnancy,
• have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks, continuing into the "qualifying week", the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.

How to claim:

1. At least 15 weeks before your due date, tell your employer when the baby is due and when you want to start your leave (your employer can ask for this in writing).
2. At least 28 days beforehand, tell them you want to stop work and the day you want your SMP to start (in writing, if they ask).
3. Within 21 days of your SMP start date (or as soon as possible if the baby is born early), give proof of pregnancy: a letter from your doctor or midwife, or your MATB1 certificate, which they give you no more than 20 weeks before the due date. You need proof for SMP, not for the leave.
4. If you cannot get SMP, your employer must give you form SMP1 explaining why within 7 days of making their decision, and you may be eligible for Maternity Allowance.

If you disagree about the amount, or your employer cannot pay (for example because they are insolvent), contact the Statutory Payment Disputes Team.

Maternity Allowance: if you cannot get SMP

Maternity Allowance (as of November 2026, GOV.UK) is for people who are employed but cannot get SMP, are self-employed, or have recently stopped working. It is paid for up to 39 weeks.

The conditions include a work record: at least 26 of the 66 weeks before your baby is due, either employed or registered as self-employed. If you were employed, you must have been earning, or classed as earning, at least £30 a week (the threshold is confirmed by the DWP) in at least 13 weeks of your employment. The weeks do not have to be consecutive.

• Employed or recently stopped working: £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. If you take the full 52 weeks of leave, the final 13 weeks are unpaid.
• Self-employed: from £27 to £194.32 a week. The maximum requires registration with HMRC for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the baby is due and Class 2 National Insurance contributions for at least 13 of those 66 weeks; with no Class 2 contributions you get £27. The Class 2 rate for the 2026/27 tax year is £3.65 a week (GOV.UK).

To get the full amount you are entitled to, claim (form MA1) within 3 months of your Maternity Allowance start date. Include proof of your due date (for example MATB1), even if the baby has already been born.

Paternity leave and Statutory Paternity Pay

Paternity leave is up to 2 weeks (as of November 2026, GOV.UK), taken together or as two separate one-week blocks. The leave cannot start before the birth and must end within 52 weeks of the birth (or the due date if the baby is early). The rules are different if you adopt.

To get paternity leave, you must be an employee, take the time off to look after the child and give your employer the correct notice. Those who can take it include the baby's father, and the husband or partner of the mother (or adopter), including same-sex partners. The leave is available from the first day of employment; "Day 1" Paternity Leave has applied since 6 April 2026 (government timeline). Paternity Pay requires you to be employed by your employer up to the date of the birth, to earn an average of at least £129 a week (before tax) and to have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks up to the end of any day in the "qualifying week" (the 15th week before the baby is due).

You claim leave and Paternity Pay through your employer, with no need for proof of the pregnancy or birth:

1. At least 15 weeks before the due date, tell your employer, for example with the online form (previously called SC3), which you need to download or print and give to your employer once completed.
2. At least 28 days before the leave, give the start date (for example the day of the birth or the week after) and say whether you want 1 or 2 weeks. You give the same notice to change the date.
3. If you do not qualify, your employer must tell you within 28 days and explain why on form SPP1.

The partner of a pregnant woman has the right to unpaid time off for 2 antenatal appointments (GOV.UK). We cover antenatal care in the NHS in our guide to dentists, vaccinations and pregnancy in the NHS.

Shared Parental Leave: how to split leave with your partner

Eligible parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay (as of November 2026, GOV.UK) in the first year after the child is born or placed with the family. The mother takes less than the 52 weeks of maternity leave and the eligible parents use the rest as Shared Parental Leave (SPL). Pay works the same way: they use the rest of the 39 weeks of SMP (or Maternity Allowance) as ShPP if the mother takes less. ShPP is the same as SMP, except that during the first 6 weeks SMP is paid at 90% of whatever you earn, with no maximum.

If both parents want to share SPL and ShPP:

• you must both share responsibility for the child at birth,
• each of you must have been employed continuously by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the due date, and stay with that employer until at least the week before you start SPL,
• for SPL you must both be "employees"; a "worker" might be able to share ShPP but not SPL,
• for ShPP you must each earn on average at least £129 a week.

If the mother is on maternity leave, then for SPL to start she must return to work (which ends the leave) or give her employer "binding notice" of the date she plans to end her leave, which you cannot normally change. If she does not get maternity leave, she must end her SMP or Maternity Allowance so that she or her partner can get SPL. For ShPP she gives her employer binding notice of the date she plans to end SMP; for Maternity Allowance, notice to end payments goes to Jobcentre Plus. Maternity pay or Maternity Allowance cannot be restarted once it has ended. To apply for SPL or ShPP, give your employer at least 8 weeks' written notice of your leave dates.

Rights at work: returning, redundancy and upcoming changes

• Returning (as of November 2026, GOV.UK): after no more than 26 weeks of maternity or adoption leave, you return to the same job. After a longer period of leave, you have the right to return to your job or a similar one, if it is not possible to give you your old job.
• Redundancy: if you are selected for redundancy while on maternity leave, SPL or some other types of leave, you have the right to be offered a suitable alternative job, where one is available. The right lasts from the start of your leave until 18 months from the date the child is born or adopted, and continues when you return to work. If you take less than 6 continuous weeks of SPL (the same applies to short Neonatal Care Leave and Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave), this right lasts only until you return to work.
• During pregnancy: protection starts from the date you tell your employer you are pregnant and lasts for up to 18 months from the date the child is born (GOV.UK). If the pregnancy ends early and you are not entitled to Statutory Maternity Leave, the protection lasts for 2 weeks after the pregnancy ends.

Announced changes from the Employment Rights Act timeline: bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss, is due in April 2027, and enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers in October 2027. All future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change. More in our guide to employment rights in the UK.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The GOV.UK paternity guide says there are different rules if you live in Northern Ireland. According to nidirect (as of November 2026):

• paternity leave requires working for your employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the start of the week the baby is due,
• it is 1 or 2 weeks, with no odd days, and 2 weeks must be consecutive,
• it cannot start before the baby is born and must finish within 56 days of the birth (if the baby is born before the expected week of childbirth, within 56 days of the first day of that expected week),
• you cannot take it if you have first taken shared parental leave,
• a "worker" does not qualify for paternity leave but may qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay; an agency worker, office holder or subcontractor will not normally have the right to paternity leave either, but might be eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay.

In Northern Ireland, rely on nidirect rather than the description of paternity leave above. We have not checked separately the maternity and SPL rules in Northern Ireland, or any rules in Scotland and Wales.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get maternity leave if I have only just started a job?

For the leave itself, what counts is being an employee, not how long you have worked (as of November 2026, GOV.UK). Paid SMP has extra conditions: 26 weeks of employment continuing into the "qualifying week" and earnings of at least £129 a week.

Can I combine paternity leave and Shared Parental Leave?

According to GOV.UK (as of November 2026, paternity leave), you can take them in any order. Northern Ireland is different: nidirect says you cannot take paternity leave if you have first taken shared parental leave.

Can I work during maternity leave?

You can work up to 10 days during maternity leave (as of November 2026, GOV.UK). These are called keeping in touch days: they are optional, and both the employee and the employer need to agree to them.

Where to get help

• Acas: helpline 0300 123 1100, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm (as of November 2026). The advice is free, but you may be charged for the call, depending on your phone provider.
• Maternity Allowance: 0800 169 0283 for reporting changes by phone, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm (GOV.UK).
• After the baby is born: we cover your child's documents in our guides to the Polish birth certificate, PESEL and passport and to British citizenship and passport for a child born in the UK.