Maternity leave and pay: the basics

Every employee has the right to take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, regardless of how long they’ve worked for you — 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave followed by 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave. That right to take leave is a day-one entitlement with no qualifying period.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is a separate matter, and it isn’t payable for the full 52 weeks — only for up to 39 of them. The rate itself changes partway through:

Two weeks immediately after the birth are compulsory maternity leave — the employee cannot return to work during this period even if she wants to (four weeks for factory workers), and it’s an employer’s legal duty to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Who qualifies for Statutory Maternity Pay

This is where leave and pay diverge. To qualify for SMP, an employee needs to have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks by the end of the “qualifying week” — the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth — and to earn, on average, at least £129 a week (the Lower Earnings Limit for 2026/27).

An employee who doesn’t meet this test still has the right to take maternity leave. She simply won’t receive SMP from you. In most cases she’ll instead be able to claim Maternity Allowance directly from the Department for Work and Pensions, paid at the same rate and for the same maximum period, but that’s a DWP payment, not something you administer or fund as the employer.

Paternity leave and pay: what’s changed

Paternity leave became a day-one right under the Employment Rights Act 2025 — previously it required 26 weeks’ continuous service, so this is a genuine change if you haven’t updated your policies since. An employee can take up to two weeks of paternity leave, either as a single block or as two separate, non-consecutive weeks, at any point within 52 weeks of the birth.

Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), however, still requires the same qualifying test as SMP: 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the qualifying week, and average earnings at or above the £129 Lower Earnings Limit. SPP is paid at whichever is lower of £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, for a maximum of two weeks.

Notice requirements for paternity leave also matter here. As of the current rules, an employee needs to tell you the baby’s due date by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, and then confirm the actual dates of leave at least 28 days before each period begins.

Shared Parental Leave, in brief

Parents who both qualify can choose to end maternity leave early and share the remaining leave and pay between them — up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay, in almost any combination, including overlapping periods where both parents are off at once. It’s a genuinely flexible system but an administratively heavy one, with separate notice and evidence requirements from ordinary maternity or paternity leave. If an employee raises it with you, it’s worth treating as its own conversation rather than trying to handle it as an extension of a standard maternity or paternity request — the eligibility and notice rules are different enough to catch employers out.

Neonatal Care Leave and Pay

If a baby needs neonatal care for seven or more continuous days, starting within the first 28 days of life, the parents may be entitled to Neonatal Care Leave — up to 12 additional weeks, on top of maternity or paternity leave, and it’s a day-one right regardless of length of service.

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay follows the same pattern as SMP and SPP: it’s only payable if the employee meets the 26-week service and earnings threshold test, at the same rate of £194.32 a week or 90% of average earnings, whichever is lower.

Notice periods and paperwork

For maternity leave, an employee needs to tell you she’s pregnant, the expected week of childbirth, and when she wants her leave to start, by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (or as soon as reasonably possible if the pregnancy is confirmed later). You’re entitled to ask for a MATB1 certificate, issued by a midwife or GP from around 20 weeks into the pregnancy, as evidence.

For paternity leave, notice of the due date is required by the same 15-week point, with the specific leave dates confirmed at least 28 days beforehand. Keep this paperwork on file — it’s what you’ll need if HMRC ever queries a reclaim.

Claiming it back: Small Employers’ Relief

Most small businesses can reclaim considerably more than they expect. If your total Class 1 National Insurance contributions were under £45,000 in the tax year before the qualifying or matching week, you qualify for Small Employers’ Relief, which lets you reclaim 109% of what you’ve paid out in SMP, SPP, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, and Shared Parental Pay — the extra 9% is compensation for the employer National Insurance contributions you’ve paid on top.

If you don’t qualify for Small Employers’ Relief, the standard reclaim rate is 92%. Either way, this is usually handled through your regular payroll software or your PAYE payments to HMRC, rather than as a separate claims process.

Getting it wrong is more costly than getting it right

Pregnancy and maternity are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, and dismissing, disadvantaging, or selecting someone for redundancy because of pregnancy or family leave is unlawful. Since April 2024, redundancy protection has also been extended: employees are protected from redundancy — meaning they must be offered any suitable alternative role ahead of colleagues not on leave — not just during maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave itself, but for 18 months from the start of the pregnancy or the birth.

For a small employer, the safest approach is usually the simplest one: treat every request for maternity, paternity, shared parental, or neonatal care leave as a process to follow carefully rather than a judgement call to make on the spot. Getting the paperwork and notice periods right protects the employee’s rights and your reclaim — getting them wrong tends to cost far more in either a tribunal claim or an HMRC dispute than it would have taken to do the first time properly.

Useful resources

• Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave: employer guide — at gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave
• Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave: employer guide — at gov.uk/employers-paternity-pay-leave
• Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and Leave — at gov.uk/neonatal-care-leave-pay
• Small Employers’ Relief — reclaim guidance through your payroll software provider, or gov.uk/recover-statutory-payments
• Your accountant or payroll provider — for anything involving Shared Parental Leave or overlapping statutory payments, worth a check before you confirm figures with an employee