SMP or Maternity Allowance: which will you get, and what's the difference?
Two payments, almost the same name. One is Statutory Maternity Pay, or SMP. The other is Maternity Allowance. Both top out at £194.32 a week. GOV.UK: Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave, Pay, GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, What you'll get. But SMP comes from your employer, and Maternity Allowance comes from the government.
That sounds like paperwork. It isn't. Which one you get changes your take-home pay, your pension and any Universal Credit.
Here's the part that catches people out. You can work right through your pregnancy and still miss out on SMP. It counts unbroken service with one employer, so a secondment or a job move can reset the clock. GOV.UK: Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave, Eligibility, GOV.UK: Continuous employment. Getting Maternity Allowance for one baby and SMP for the next is more common than you'd think.
Statutory Maternity Pay: the employer test
Your employer pays SMP, and your employer checks whether you qualify.
You need to have worked for them without a break for at least 26 weeks, running into the 15th week before the week your baby is due. GOV.UK: Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave, Eligibility. You also need average earnings of at least £129 a week, and you have to give the right notice and proof that you're pregnant. GOV.UK: Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave, Eligibility.
Those 26 weeks have to be continuous employment, which means working for one employer without a break. GOV.UK: Continuous employment.
Some changes don't break it. Moving between associated employers still counts, and so does a business being transferred to a new owner. GOV.UK: Continuous employment. A secondment that puts you on another company's payroll is a different matter. So ask HR which employer paid you, and whether there was a gap.
If you don't qualify, your employer must give you form SMP1 within 7 days of their decision, explaining why. GOV.UK: Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave, Eligibility. You may be able to get Maternity Allowance instead. GOV.UK: Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave, Eligibility.
Maternity Allowance: the government test
Maternity Allowance ignores your employer. It looks at the 66 weeks before your due date. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, Eligibility.
You need to have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 of those weeks. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, Eligibility. In 13 of them you need to have earned, or been treated as earning, at least £30 a week. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, Eligibility.
The weeks don't have to run together, and different jobs or spells out of work don't matter. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, Eligibility.
Self-employed? The amount turns on your Class 2 National Insurance. You can get between £27 and £194.32 a week. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, What you'll get. For the full rate you need Class 2 paid for at least 13 of the 66 weeks. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, What you'll get. Pay none, and you get £27 a week. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, What you'll get.
Side by side
Statutory Maternity Pay | Maternity Allowance | |
|---|---|---|
First 6 weeks | 90% of average weekly earnings | £194.32, or 90% if that's lower |
Weeks 7 to 39 | £194.32, or 90% if that's lower | £194.32, or 90% if that's lower |
After week 39 | Nothing; leave can carry on unpaid | Nothing; leave can carry on unpaid |
Tax and National Insurance | Both come off | None; it's tax-free |
Who pays you | Your employer, like your wages | The government, every 2 or 4 weeks |
Earliest start | When your maternity leave starts | 11 weeks before your due date |
Employer top-up | Depends on your contract | Depends on your contract |
The SMP rates and the payroll deductions come from GOV.UK. GOV.UK: Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave, Pay. So do the Maternity Allowance rates, the payment pattern and the unpaid final weeks. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, What you'll get. Maternity Allowance sits on the list of tax-free state benefits. GOV.UK: Income Tax, tax-free and taxable state benefits. It can start from the 11th week before your due date. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, How to claim. Enhanced or company maternity pay is a matter for your contract, so ask your employer what theirs says. Acas: Statutory maternity leave and pay, Eligibility for pay. You might still get their scheme even if you can't get SMP. MoneyHelper: What happens to my workplace pension during maternity or paternity leave?.
The real gap is in the first 6 weeks. Here's a made-up example. Say you earn £400 a week. On SMP, weeks 1 to 6 pay 90% of that, which is £360 a week. On Maternity Allowance those weeks pay £194.32. That's £165.68 a week less, or £994.08 across the 6 weeks, before tax.
Earn under about £215.91 a week and the gap closes. At that point 90% of your pay is £194.32, so both routes pay the same.
Three knock-on effects
Your pension. On Maternity Allowance, your employer's contributions usually carry on for the first 26 weeks. MoneyHelper: What happens to my workplace pension during maternity or paternity leave?. After that they usually stop, unless your scheme rules or your contract say otherwise. MoneyHelper: What happens to my workplace pension during maternity or paternity leave?. So weeks 27 to 39 are the ones to ask about. Our guide to your pension on maternity leave has the questions.
Universal Credit. SMP counts as earnings. It reduces your Universal Credit the same way your normal wages would. DWP: Universal Credit and earnings. Maternity Allowance doesn't count as earnings. Your Universal Credit is cut by an amount equal to it instead. DWP: Universal Credit, What you'll get.
Shared leave. You can take less than your 39 weeks of pay and hand the rest to your partner as Shared Parental Leave and Pay. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay. That works from Maternity Allowance as well as SMP. GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay. Our guide to Shared Parental Leave covers both tests.
If you're turned down for SMP
Ask for the SMP1 form. Your employer has 7 days to hand it over. GOV.UK: Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave, Eligibility.
Then claim Maternity Allowance on form MA1. You can apply once you've been pregnant for 26 weeks. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, How to claim. Send the SMP1 in with your claim. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, How to claim. A decision should reach you within 20 working days. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, How to claim. Claim within 3 months of your start date to get the full amount. GOV.UK: Maternity Allowance, How to claim.
Then run your own numbers. Our maternity leave money planner now models Maternity Allowance as well as SMP. The new parent benefits checker shows what else you may be able to claim.
You're not on a worse deal because you did something wrong. You're on a different route, with different rules. Plan around them.
