What will I actually get paid on maternity leave?

The short answer: In 2026/27, Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is 90% of your average weekly earnings for 6 weeks. Then it's £194.32 a week, or 90% if that's lower, for 33 weeks. Tax and National Insurance come off. The flat rate goes up 3.5% in April 2027, including for leave that has already started.

"Six weeks at 90%, then statutory pay." That describes the policy. It doesn't answer the question you actually have: what will land in my bank account each month?

Is maternity leave paid?

Yes, for most of it, if you qualify. Leave lasts up to 52 weeks, but statutory pay covers only 39 of them. So a full year off usually ends with 13 weeks of no pay at all.

Statutory Maternity Leave is 52 weeks: 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave, then 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave. SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks. And an employer doesn't have to pay anything for the last 13 weeks.

Qualifying for leave and qualifying for pay are separate tests. If you're an employee, you get the leave however long you've worked there. To get SMP, you usually need to:

• earn at least £129 a week on average

• have worked for your employer without a break for at least 26 weeks, into the "qualifying week" (the 15th week before the week your baby is due)

• give at least 28 days' notice and proof you're pregnant, such as your MATB1 certificate

If you don't qualify, your employer must give you form SMP1 within 7 days of deciding. You may get Maternity Allowance instead. It pays £194.32 a week or 90% of your average earnings, whichever is less, and it's a tax-free benefit. It can also cover some people who are self-employed. Our guide to SMP or Maternity Allowance shows who gets which, and what the difference is worth.

Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future.

How much do you get paid on maternity leave?

On SMP alone, you get 90% of your average weekly earnings for 6 weeks. Then you get £194.32 a week for 33 weeks, or 90% if that's lower. These are gross figures, so tax and National Insurance still come off.

The 2026/27 SMP rate applies from 5 April 2026, and it works like this:

Assumes you qualify for SMP and take the full 52 weeks, at 2026/27 rates. Your employer may pay more on top.

SMP is paid the same way as your wages, weekly or monthly, and goes through payroll. Your employer pays it. Most employers can claim back 92% of it from HMRC, and small employers can claim 109%. So asking for it isn't asking for a favour.

"Average weekly earnings" isn't the salary on your contract. HMRC works it out from what you were actually paid in a set window, usually the 8 weeks before the qualifying week.

Two things can change that figure:

• A pay rise. If one takes effect between the start of that 8-week window and the end of your leave, your employer must recalculate your SMP and pay you any extra.

• Salary sacrifice. Your average is based on the pay you actually got, after the sacrifice. SMP itself can't be sacrificed. It must be paid in full.

Is Statutory Maternity Pay going up in April 2027?

Yes. The government has confirmed that statutory payments, including SMP, will rise by 3.5% for 2027/28. That matches inflation (the consumer prices index) in the year to September 2026.

The Department for Work and Pensions says the full list of 2027/28 rates will follow "in due course". Until then, here's the sum: £194.32 plus 3.5% comes to about £201.12 a week. That's our estimate, not an official rate, so check it when the list comes out.

What the rise changes, and what it leaves alone:

• It lifts the flat rate for weeks 7 to 39, by about £6.80 a week on our estimate.

• It doesn't change your first 6 weeks. Those are 90% of your own average earnings.

• If 90% of your average earnings is below the flat rate, you get the 90%, so the rise won't change your pay.

• Maternity Allowance's top rate moves with it, because the law links it to the SMP rate.

• The earnings test moves too. Your average must reach the National Insurance lower earnings limit at the end of your qualifying week. That limit rises from £129 to £133 a week in 2027/28.

Does the April rise apply if my maternity leave has already started?

Yes, for the weeks you're paid after the change. The SMP rate is reviewed every year, and HMRC's guidance for employers says the yearly rise kicks in from your next full SMP week. Weeks paid before the change stay at the old rate.

So if you start leave before April 2027, your flat-rate weeks before April are paid at £194.32 and the rest at the new rate. Once the official figure is out, check your next payslip uses it.

Do you get full pay on maternity leave?

Not by law. Even the first 6 weeks of SMP are 90% of your earnings, not 100%. Full pay only happens if your employer offers "enhanced" maternity pay in your contract or maternity policy.

Acas gives one example: 26 weeks of full pay, then 13 weeks of SMP. So check your own policy for:

• whether you're entitled to enhanced pay

• how much you'll get

• how long it lasts

• whether you'd have to pay any of it back if you don't return

The one question that answers most of it: "Is that the total, or is SMP paid on top?" Say a policy offers "12 weeks' full pay including SMP". If your normal gross pay is £600 a week, you get £600 that week, not £600 plus SMP.

You might have to repay the enhanced part if you don't go back, or leave soon after. That has to be clearly set out in your contract. But you never have to repay SMP.

How long do you get full pay on maternity leave?

It depends entirely on your employer's scheme. There's no legal minimum of full-pay weeks.

The NHS scheme is a good example. If you have 12 months' NHS service and plan to go back for at least 3 months, the NHS handbook gives you:

1. 8 weeks of full pay (with SMP counted inside it)

2. 18 weeks of half pay plus SMP, capped at your full pay

3. 13 weeks of SMP only

4. 13 weeks with no pay

So "full pay" lasts 8 weeks, not the whole year.

Here's how three patterns compare, for someone earning £36,000 a year (about £692 a week):

Weekly gross pay, before tax, National Insurance and any other deductions. Made-up salary, 2026/27 SMP rate. NHS half pay is £346.15 plus £194.32 SMP. Weeks paid after the April 2027 rise get the new rate.

Example: what £36,000 a year looks like month by month

Now put the "SMP only" column into real months, for leave that runs past April 2027. Say you earn £36,000 a year and start leave on Sunday 1 November 2026. Your employer pays monthly and splits SMP into daily amounts (the weekly rate divided by 7), which HMRC allows for part weeks.

Made-up figures, before tax and National Insurance. Assumes no enhanced pay, no pay rise and no other income. Also assumes the new rate is our estimated £201.12 and starts on Sunday 4 April 2027. The official figure and date may differ.

Over 39 weeks, SMP comes to about £10,267 before deductions. That's roughly £115 more than if every week were paid at this year's rate. Normal pay for the same 39 weeks would be £27,000. Even the "flat" months wobble between £777 and £891. That's 28, 30 and 31-day months doing their thing, not a payroll mistake.

Why is my maternity pay different each month?

Because maternity pay is set in weeks and your bills arrive in months. A month can hold a mix of normal pay, enhanced pay and SMP, and deductions shift as your pay falls.

The usual causes:

• Weeks don't fit neatly into months. SMP is a weekly payment. A month can hold 4 or 5 pay weeks, or a split week, depending on your payday.

• The rate changes partway through a month. Your 6 weeks at 90% will rarely end on a payday, so one month usually mixes the two rates.

• The yearly rise lands. If your leave runs past April, the flat rate goes up partway through.

• Enhanced pay steps down. Full pay to half pay to SMP can each land mid-month.

• A pay rise gets backdated, so extra SMP can arrive as a one-off top-up.

• Deductions change. They're worked out on each payslip, not copied from last year.

Your workplace pension is one of those deductions. During paid leave, your own pension contributions are based on your actual pay, so they fall when your pay does. Your employer keeps paying in based on your normal salary. SMP counts as earnings for workplace pension contributions too. If your leave becomes unpaid, your employer still has to pay in for the first 26 weeks. Our guide to your pension on maternity leave goes through it.

Capital at risk. The value of your pension can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay in.

Student loan repayments work in a similar way. You repay 9% of your income over a threshold that depends on how often you're paid, such as £2,448 a month on Plan 2. Once your pay drops below that, the deductions stop.

How much should I save for maternity leave?

There's no single right number. It depends on the gap between what you'll get and what you spend each month. The useful question is when your spending overtakes your income, and how much you'll need in the bank at that point.

Start with the month-by-month table for your own pay, then put your regular bills next to it. The months to look at hardest are usually:

• the drop after week 6, when 90% becomes the flat weekly rate

• the point where any enhanced pay ends

• weeks 40 to 52, if you're taking the full year with no pay

Our guide on how much to save before maternity leave walks through building that buffer step by step. And it's worth thinking now about when you expect to go back, since childcare and part-time hours change the picture again.

What can I check with payroll now?

You need a usable answer with the assumptions written down.

1. Ask for a month-by-month estimate showing gross pay, deductions and expected take-home pay.

2. Ask which payslips they used for your average weekly earnings.

3. Ask whether any enhanced pay is "including SMP" or "plus SMP", and when each stage ends.

4. If your leave runs past April 2027, ask them to show the new rate from April.

5. Note when SMP ends and the date you expect to go back.

6. Keep your policy wording next to the estimate, so you can check one against the other.

Your employer must confirm within 28 days how much SMP you'll get and when it starts and stops. If the figure looks wrong, ask them to explain it first. If you still disagree, HMRC's Statutory Payment Disputes Team can look at it.

Still got questions?

Who pays the 90% maternity pay? Your employer pays SMP through payroll, including the 6 weeks at 90%. They can usually reclaim 92% of it from HMRC. Maternity Allowance is different: the government pays it, every 2 or 4 weeks.

How much is Statutory Maternity Pay from April 2026? £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that's lower, after the first 6 weeks. The 2026/27 rate applies from 5 April 2026. It rises 3.5% in April 2027. Some older pages still show £187.18, the rate before April 2026, so check the date on anything you read.

Can I get SMP again if I have another baby soon after? Yes, if you meet the tests again. Statutory leave doesn't break your continuous employment. But your SMP is based on pay in the 8 weeks before the new qualifying week. If those weeks fall during your first leave, your average, and so your 90%, may be lower.

Do I have to pay back maternity pay if I don't go back to work? Never SMP. Some contracts ask you to repay the enhanced part, the amount above SMP, if you don't return or leave soon after. Acas explains the rules.

I'm self-employed. Do I get SMP? No. People who pay tax through Self Assessment can't get SMP, but you may get Maternity Allowance of £27 to £194.32 a week, depending on your Class 2 National Insurance record.