Statutory maternity pay runs for 39 weeks and is paid at two different rates. Paternity pay is up to two weeks at a single rate. Both are taxed as ordinary earnings, which people often do not expect.
The first 6 weeks are 90% of your earnings with no cap at all. The next 33 are the lower of £194 or 90%. The final 13 weeks of leave are unpaid unless your employer offers more.
Maternity pay: two rates, not one
The first six weeks are paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings with no cap at all. The remaining 33 weeks are paid at whichever is lower — the standard weekly rate, or 90% of your earnings.
The uncapped opening six weeks are the part most calculators get wrong, and they are worth the most to anyone earning above the standard rate. Someone on £1,000 a week receives £900 a week for six weeks before dropping to the flat rate.
Leave is longer than pay
Maternity leave can run to 52 weeks regardless of length of service. Statutory pay covers 39 of those, so the final 13 weeks are unpaid unless your employer offers more.
Paternity pay
Up to two weeks, paid at the lower of the standard rate or 90% of average weekly earnings. There are no uncapped opening weeks, so most people receive the flat rate.
Since April 2024 it can be taken as two separate one-week blocks rather than consecutively. The amount is the same whether you have one baby or twins.
Shared parental leave
A mother can convert leave and pay she has not used so a partner can take it instead. Up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay can be shared, and it can be taken in blocks rather than one continuous stretch.
Qualifying
- 26 weeks of continuous service by the 15th week before the baby is due
- Average weekly earnings at or above the lower earnings limit
- Proper notice given to your employer
If you do not qualify for SMP, Maternity Allowance may be available instead. It is paid by the government rather than your employer and is aimed at the self-employed and recently employed.
The earnings window catches people out
Average weekly earnings are measured over the eight weeks ending with the 15th week before the baby is due. That specific window matters: a pay rise just after it, or a quiet period inside it, changes the figure and there is nothing you can do about it afterwards.
Tax
All statutory family pay is treated as earnings, so income tax and National Insurance are deducted as normal. Because your total income for the year is likely lower than usual, you may end up owed a refund.
Holiday also continues to accrue throughout the whole period of leave, including the unpaid portion.
Sources
- Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave: employer guide — GOV.UK
- Paternity pay and leave — GOV.UK
- Shared Parental Leave and Pay — GOV.UK
Checked against source on 30 August 2026. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Written by Nathan Cole
I built the calculators on HoursHQ and check every statutory figure against GOV.UK, Acas and the legislation itself before it goes live. Where the law is genuinely unclear, I say so rather than guessing.