nuhahyearlyLaunch pricing - Get £50 off!nuhahyearlyUK maternity leave is up to 52 weeks, available to every employee from day one. Statutory Maternity Pay runs for 39 weeks: 90% of pay for 6 weeks, then £194.32 a week (2026/27 rate) for 33 weeks. If you do not qualify for SMP you may get Maternity Allowance at the same rate. You must tell your employer by week 25, and your job is protected by law.
In the UK you are entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, no matter how long you have worked for your employer or how many hours you do. It is made up of Ordinary Maternity Leave (the first 26 weeks) and Additional Maternity Leave (the next 26 weeks). You do not have to take all of it: the only compulsory period is the 2 weeks straight after birth, or 4 weeks if you work in a factory. Pay does not run for the whole year, though. Statutory Maternity Pay lasts up to 39 weeks, so the usual picture is 39 weeks paid followed by up to 13 weeks unpaid.
The earliest you can start your leave is 11 weeks before your due date, around week 29. Many people begin 2 to 4 weeks before the due date, but the timing is your choice. If your baby arrives early, leave starts automatically the day after the birth. You can work out your exact dates with our maternity leave calculator.
If you have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before your due date, and you earn at least £129 a week before tax, you qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). It is paid for 39 weeks:
First 6 weeks: 90% of your average weekly earnings before tax, with no cap.
Next 33 weeks: £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that is lower. These are the 2026/27 rates, which apply from 6 April 2026. Statutory rates are reviewed every April, so the figure usually rises each year.
SMP is paid through payroll in the same way as your wages, with tax and National Insurance taken off, and it starts when your maternity leave starts. Some employers offer enhanced maternity pay above this minimum, so it is always worth checking your contract or staff handbook.
Yes, your employer pays your SMP, but they are not left out of pocket for it. Employers reclaim 92% of SMP back from HM Revenue and Customs, and smaller employers can usually reclaim 103%. So qualifying for SMP does not depend on your employer being willing to fund it: if you meet the earnings and length-of-service tests, it is a legal entitlement. If an employer wrongly refuses SMP, HMRC has a statutory dispute process, and ACAS or Maternity Action can advise you.
If you do not qualify for SMP, for example because you are self-employed, have recently changed jobs, or do not earn enough, you may be able to claim Maternity Allowance instead. This is a benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions rather than by your employer.
To qualify you must have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before your due date, earning at least £30 a week in any 13 of them. Maternity Allowance is paid at £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average earnings if that is lower, for up to 39 weeks. You can claim from week 26 of pregnancy using form MA1 at gov.uk.
You can do up to 10 Keeping in Touch days during your maternity leave without bringing your leave or your SMP to an end. They are optional on both sides: your employer cannot make you work them, and you cannot insist on them. KIT days are useful for training, team days, or easing back towards a return. How they are paid is for you and your employer to agree, and any work at all, even an hour, counts as one whole KIT day.
By law, you must tell your employer about your pregnancy by the 15th week before your due date (roughly week 25 of pregnancy). You need to confirm that you are pregnant, your due date (backed by your MATB1 certificate from your midwife, usually issued around week 20), and when you want your maternity leave to start.
Your employer must respond within 28 days, confirming your expected return date.
Many people tell their employer after the 12-week dating scan, which gives plenty of time before the legal deadline. There is no legal requirement to tell them before week 25, but doing so earlier lets your employer carry out a workplace risk assessment.
From the moment your employer knows you are pregnant, you have specific legal protections:
Time off for antenatal appointments. You have the right to paid time off for all antenatal appointments, including midwife visits, scans, and antenatal classes recommended by your midwife. Your employer cannot ask you to make up the time or take it as annual leave.
Risk assessment. Your employer must carry out a workplace risk assessment to identify and remove any risks to you or your baby. This might mean adjusting your duties, providing extra breaks, or changing your hours.
Protection from unfair treatment. It is illegal to dismiss you, make you redundant, or treat you unfairly because of your pregnancy. This protection runs from the start of pregnancy to the end of your maternity leave, and from April 2024 it extends for 18 months from the birth where redundancy is concerned.
Pregnancy-related sick leave. If you are off sick with a pregnancy-related condition, it cannot be counted against you in any attendance or disciplinary process.
Partners can take 1 or 2 weeks of Statutory Paternity Leave. From April 2026, paternity leave is a day-one right with no minimum service requirement, though Statutory Paternity Pay still requires at least 26 weeks of employment by the 15th week before the due date. Statutory Paternity Pay is £194.32 a week, or 90% of average earnings if lower.
Paternity leave must be taken within 52 weeks of the birth and can be taken as one week, two consecutive weeks, or two separate weeks. Some employers offer enhanced paternity pay and extra leave, so it is worth checking the contract. Your partner can check their dates and pay with our paternity leave checker.
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) lets you share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between both parents. If the birth parent ends their maternity leave early, the remaining weeks can be transferred to the other parent, or both parents can take leave at the same time.
SPL is far more flexible than traditional maternity and paternity leave. One parent could take the first six months and the other the next six, or both could take three months off together. The arrangement is up to you. Both parents need to meet minimum employment and earnings thresholds, and there is a planning tool at gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay.
If you return within your first 26 weeks (Ordinary Maternity Leave), you have the right to return to exactly the same job on the same terms and conditions. If you return after the full 52 weeks, you have the right to the same job, or if that is not reasonably practicable, to a suitable alternative role on no less favourable terms.
You do not need to give notice to return on your expected date. To come back earlier or later, give your employer at least 8 weeks' notice. You can also request flexible working: all employees have the right to request it from day one, and your employer must consider the request seriously.
If you have concerns about your rights or your employer's behaviour, free advice is available from ACAS (0300 123 1100 or acas.org.uk), Citizens Advice (citizensadvice.org.uk), and Maternity Action (maternityaction.org.uk), which specialises in maternity employment rights. Your union, if you belong to one, can also help.
Up to 52 weeks, split into 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave. Every employee qualifies from day one. The only compulsory part is 2 weeks after birth (4 weeks for factory workers). Pay lasts up to 39 weeks, so the last 13 weeks are usually unpaid.
SMP is paid for 39 weeks: 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then £194.32 a week (or 90% of earnings if lower) for the next 33 weeks. These 2026/27 rates apply from 6 April 2026. Some employers pay enhanced maternity pay above this.
Yes. Your employer pays SMP, but reclaims 92% of it from HMRC (103% for smaller employers), so it does not come out of their own pocket. If you meet the earnings and service tests, SMP is a legal entitlement, not the employer's choice.
Up to 10 optional days you can work during maternity leave without ending your leave or your SMP. They are voluntary on both sides, useful for training or a gradual return, and any work counts as one whole day. Pay for KIT days is agreed with your employer.
The statutory maximum is 52 weeks (12 months). Some employers allow additional unpaid leave by agreement, and Shared Parental Leave can change how the time is arranged, but 52 weeks is the legal entitlement.
By law, by the 15th week before your due date (around week 25). Many people tell their employer after the 12-week scan. You provide a MATB1 certificate from your midwife, usually issued around week 20.
It is illegal to dismiss or make someone redundant because of pregnancy. Protection runs from the start of pregnancy to the end of maternity leave, with added redundancy protection for 18 months from the birth. If you think you have been treated unfairly, contact ACAS or Maternity Action.
It lets parents share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay. Both parents can take leave at the same time or take turns, giving far more flexibility than traditional maternity and paternity leave.
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