Maternity pay UK guide
Maternity pay in the UK: what could you receive while you are off?
Maternity pay can move through several very different stages. A useful plan starts by separating normal salary, employer-enhanced pay, Statutory Maternity Pay and any unpaid weeks.
What is Statutory Maternity Pay in 2026/27?
For eligible employees, Statutory Maternity Pay can be paid for up to 39 weeks. The first 6 weeks are normally paid at 90% of average weekly earnings before tax.
The following 33 weeks are normally paid at £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. SMP is taxable and National Insurance can be deducted in the normal way.
What if your employer pays more?
Many employers offer contractual or enhanced maternity pay. That might mean a period of full pay, half pay, a percentage of salary, a fixed amount or several stages one after another.
The wording matters because some schemes describe an amount that already includes SMP, while others pay an employer top-up in addition to SMP. Use the written maternity policy rather than guessing from a colleague's previous package.
Why monthly take-home can still vary
Statutory rates are usually described weekly, but employees may be paid monthly. Calendar months also contain different numbers of days and can straddle two maternity-pay stages, so a simple “weekly amount × four” estimate can be misleading.
Bump & Balance models the timing of the pay stages and then uses the resulting household cash flow for budgeting. It remains a planning estimate rather than a payroll calculation.
Maternity pay is only half the planning question
Two families with identical maternity pay can need very different savings because their housing, transport, debts, lifestyle costs, partner contributions and planned leave lengths are different.
A pay estimate becomes useful when you compare it with the life that income needs to fund.
Official sources
For entitlement and legal rules, always check the latest official guidance.