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Get your business ready to employ staff: step by step (/getready-to-employ-someone)
Statutory Maternity Pay and
Leave: employer guide
1. Entitlement
This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) (https://www.gov.uk/cyflogwyr-tal-absenoldebmamolaeth).
Statutory Maternity Leave
Eligible employees can take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave. The first 26 weeks is known as
‘Ordinary Maternity Leave’, the last 26 weeks as ‘Additional Maternity Leave’.
The earliest that leave can be taken is 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, unless the
baby is born early.
Employees must take at least 2 weeks after the birth (or 4 weeks if they’re a factory worker).
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
SMP for eligible employees can be paid for up to 39 weeks, usually as follows:
the first 6 weeks: 90% of their average weekly earnings (AWE) before tax
the remaining 33 weeks: £151.97 or 90% of their AWE (whichever is lower)
Tax and National Insurance need to be deducted.
Use the SMP calculator (https://www.gov.uk/maternity-paternity-calculator) to work out an
employee’s maternity leave and pay.
Some employment types like agency workers, directors and educational workers have different rules
for entitlement (https://www.gov.uk/statutory-maternity-pay-how-different-employment-types-affectwhat-you-pay).
Extra leave or pay
You can offer more than the statutory amounts if you have a company maternity scheme. You must
make sure your maternity leave and pay policies are clear and available to staff.
If the baby is born early
Leave starts the day after the birth if the baby is born early.
The employee must give you the child’s birth certificate or a document signed by a doctor or midwife
that confirms the actual date of birth.
You must write to them confirming the new end date for their leave.
For very premature births where the child is born 15 weeks or more before the due date, you’ll need
to calculate SMP using your payroll software (if it has this feature) or work it out manually
(https://www.gov.uk/statutory-maternity-pay-manually-calculate-your-employees-payments).
If the baby dies
Employees still qualify for leave or pay if the baby:
is stillborn after the start of the 24th week of pregnancy
dies after being born
Employment rights
An employee’s employment rights (https://www.gov.uk/employee-rights-when-on-leave) (like the
right to pay, holidays and returning to a job) are protected during maternity leave.
You still have to pay SMP even if you stop trading.
2. Eligibility and proof of pregnancy
Some employees will not qualify for both leave and pay.
Statutory Maternity Leave
Employees must:
have an employment contract (https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions) - it
does not matter how long they’ve worked for you
give you the correct notice (https://www.gov.uk/maternity-leave-pay-employees/notice-period)
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Employees must:
be on your payroll in the ‘qualifying week’ - the 15th week before the expected week of
childbirth
give you the correct notice (https://www.gov.uk/maternity-leave-pay-employees/notice-period)
give you proof they’re pregnant
have been continuously employed by you (https://www.gov.uk/continuous-employment-what-itis) for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the qualifying week
earn at least £120 a week (gross) in an 8-week ‘relevant period’
If your employee usually earns an average of £120 or more a week, and they only earned less in
some weeks because they were paid but not working (‘on furlough’) under the Coronavirus Job
Retention Scheme, they may still be eligible.
Use the maternity pay calculator (https://www.gov.uk/maternity-paternity-calculator) to check an
employee’s eligibility and work out their relevant period, notice period and statutory maternity pay.
There are special rules (https://www.gov.uk/statutory-maternity-pay-employee-circumstances-thataffect-payment) for some employee situations (for example if they leave, become sick or their baby
is born before the qualifying week).
Proof of pregnancy
You must get proof of the pregnancy before you pay SMP. This is usually a doctor’s letter or a
maternity certificate (known as an MATB1 certificate). Midwives and doctors usually issue these 20
weeks before the due date.
The employee should give you proof within 21 days of the SMP start date. You can agree to accept
it later if you want. You do not have to pay SMP (https://www.gov.uk/maternity-leave-payemployees/refuse-pay-form-smp1) if you have not received proof of the due date 13 weeks after the
SMP start date.
You must keep records (https://www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave/records) of the proof of
pregnancy.
Employees not entitled to SMP may be able to get Maternity Allowance
(https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance) instead.
3. Notice period
Notice does not have to be in writing unless you request it.
Statutory Maternity Leave
At least 15 weeks before the baby is expected, your employees must tell you the date that:
the baby is due
they want to start their maternity leave - they can change this with 28 days’ notice
You must then confirm their leave start and end dates in writing within 28 days.
Employees can change their return to work date if they give 8 weeks’ notice.
You cannot refuse maternity leave or change the amount of leave your employees want to take.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
Your employees must give you 28 days’ notice of the date they want to start their SMP. This is
usually the same date they want to start their leave.
You can refuse to pay SMP if your employee does not give you this notice and they do not give you
a reasonable excuse.
4. Refuse pay form SMP1
You can refuse Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) if the employee does not qualify. They may be able to
get Maternity Allowance (https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance) instead.
To refuse it, give the employee the SMP1 form
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-maternity-pay-employee-not-entitled-form-foremployers) within 7 days of your decision. They must get this form within 28 days of their request for
Statutory Maternity Pay or the birth (whichever is earlier).
5. Record keeping
You must keep records for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), including:
proof of pregnancy - usually a doctor’s note or a MATB1 certificate (a photocopy is fine)
the date SMP began
your SMP payments (including dates)
the SMP you’ve reclaimed (https://www.gov.uk/recover-statutory-payments)
any weeks you did not pay and why
You must keep records for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to, for example by using
form SMP2 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-maternity-pay-record-sheetsmp2) or keeping your own records.
6. Help with statutory pay
For financial help with statutory pay (https://www.gov.uk/recover-statutory-payments), you can:
reclaim payments (usually 92%)
apply for an advance if you cannot afford payments
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