Money Advice Service

To help you take time off work before and after your baby is born, you’re entitled to maternity leave and maternity pay.

What is Statutory Maternity Leave?

When you’re having a baby, you’re entitled to a year of Statutory Maternity Leave - no matter how long you’ve been in your job.

With maternity pay and leave, you’re not going to claim one without the other.

However, while you’re entitled to 52 weeks off work, you’ll only get maternity pay for 39 of them if you’re eligible.

When does it start?

The earliest your paid maternity leave can start is the 11th week before your baby is due.

If your baby is born early, your leave starts the day after the birth.

You don’t have to take the 52 weeks you’re entitled to, but you must take at least two weeks off work following the birth of your baby.

Ordinary Maternity Leave, Additional Maternity Leave and Shared Parental Leave

New eligible parents in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can use Shared Parental Leave.

Your maternity leave is made up of two different parts:

  • Ordinary Maternity Leave: this is the first six months – or 26 weeks. If you return to work during this period, you have the right to return to exactly the same job that you had before you took maternity leave.
  • Additional Maternity Leave: this is the second six months and this affects what rights you have when you go back to work. If you take more than six months’ leave, you have the right to return to the same job unless it is no longer available. In this case you must be given a similar job with the same pay and conditions.

Your rights on maternity leave

While you’re on maternity leave, you’ll still entitled to all the employee rights you normally get from work, such as:

  • Paid holiday
  • Protection from unfair dismissal
  • Pension payments and rights during your period of Statutory Maternity Pay payment
  • Any other employee benefits (e.g. gym membership, medical insurance) for your whole maternity leave period

What is Statutory Maternity Pay?

Statutory Maternity Pay is the legal minimum your employer normally has to pay you while you’re on maternity leave.

You’ll get Statutory Maternity Pay if you:

  • earn at least £116 a week on average.
  • have worked for your employer for 26 weeks when you reach the 15th week before your due date.

If you’re self-employed or earn less than £116 a week, you might be entitled to Maternity Allowance instead.

How much Statutory Maternity Pay will you get?

The amount of maternity pay you get changes during your maternity leave.

After 39 weeks, your employer doesn’t have to pay you anything.

This table shows how much you’ll get at each stage of maternity leave in the 2018-19 tax year:

Statutory Maternity Leave Statutory Maternity Pay
First six weeks 90% of your average weekly earnings before tax
The next 33 weeks £145.18 per week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is less)
The next 13 weeks Unpaid

This is the minimum amount your employer has to pay you.

You might get more, depending on what’s written into your contract.

Some employers offer more generous maternity benefits than Statutory Maternity Pay.

Just be aware, if you decide not to return to work after 52 weeks, you might have to pay back any extra.

However, you’ll get to keep the rest. So even if you’re not sure about returning, it’s still worth claiming.

You can find answers to more maternity pay questions on the MaternityAction.org.uk.

If you want to find out how much maternity leave you’re entitled to, you could take a look at your contract or talk to your boss or human resources department.

Shared Parental Leave and Pay

New eligible parents in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can use Shared Parental Leave.

This allows you to share up to 50 weeks’ parental leave and 37 weeks’ pay with your partner.

If you’re eligible, you can even take the leave in up to three separate blocks instead of taking it all in one go.

You must give your employer binding notice to end your maternity leave for either you or your partner to be eligible for Shared Parental Leave.

You must also end any maternity pay or Maternity Allowance, even if you don’t get maternity leave.

Are you eligible for Statutory Shared Parental Leave?

To be eligible for Shared Parental Leave, you must be eligible for one of the following:

  • maternity pay or leave
  • adoption pay or leave
  • maternity Allowance

Either you or your partner must:

  • have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks by the 15th week before the baby is due
  • stay with the employer during Shared Parental Leave

During the 66 weeks before the baby is due, the other one of you must:

  • have worked for 26 weeks (they don’t need to be in a row)
  • have earned at least £390 in total over 13 of those weeks (they don’t need to be in a row)

Are you eligible for Statutory Shared Parental Pay?

You can get Statutory Shared Parental Pay if:

  • you’re an employee or worker
  • you’re eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance or Statutory Adoption Pay and your partner is eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay
Find out more about Shared Parental Pay on GOV.UK
In Northern Ireland, please visit NI Direct.

How to claim maternity leave and pay

Statutory Maternity Leave and Pay

To claim Statutory Maternity Leave and Pay, you must tell your employer you’re going on maternity leave and requesting maternity at least 15 weeks before the baby’s due date.

If you’re adopting, you must tell them:

  • within seven days of being told by the adoption agency you’ve been matched with a child for maternity leave
  • 28 days before you want your maternity pay to start

You must give your employer proof of your pregnancy to get maternity pay.

This can be:

  • your MATB1 certificate
  • a letter from your doctor or midwife

Shared Parental Leave and Pay

You must tell your employer if you want to start Shared Parental Leave or Pay.

Your partner must apply to their own employer.

In most cases, you should give your employer at least eight weeks’ notice.

You can download an application form at GOV.UK.

Returning to work

When you leave, you’ll have let your employer know how long you intend to be on maternity leave for and your expected return date.

A lot can happen while you’re on maternity leave, and you have the right to change your mind about the end of your maternity leave.

But you must give your employer eight weeks’ notice if you want to return later or earlier.

If you think your employer is being unfair

If your employer doesn’t think they need to give you maternity pay, or you feel they’re not paying the right amount:

  1. find out if what’s happening is discrimination.
  2. talk to your employer. You might be able to resolve it informally. If you’re not sure where to start, Acas can help, or try speaking to your employers rep if you have one.
  3. if you’re unable to resolve the issue, you can make a written complaint.

For further help, contact:

Which? also have advice around the problems that might arise during maternity leave.

This article is provided by the Money Advice Service.