Maternity Pay Calculator 2026/27

Many employers pay more than the statutory minimum, for example a number of weeks at full pay, then some weeks at half pay, then SMP alone. The detail that changes the total is whether SMP is included in those figures or added to them.

• Inclusive of SMP (most common): the employer tops your SMP up to the scheme amount. Half pay means half pay in total, not half pay plus SMP.
• On top of SMP: the scheme amount is paid in addition to SMP, usually capped so you never get more than normal pay. Policies often word this as "half pay plus SMP".

Example on £600 a week with 6 weeks at full pay and 12 weeks at 50%: on the inclusive basis the total is £11,280.72 (of which £9,652.56 is SMP). If the 50% is paid on top of SMP, the total is £13,612.56. Some schemes ask you to repay the enhanced part if you do not return to work for a set period, so read the policy before you rely on it.

Partners can take 1 or 2 weeks of Paternity Leave, either together or as two separate one-week blocks. Leave cannot start before the birth and must end within 52 weeks of it (in Northern Ireland: one or two consecutive weeks, ending within 56 days of the birth). From 6 April 2026 Paternity Leave is a day-one right in England, Scotland and Wales (not yet in Northern Ireland, where the leave still needs 26 weeks' service), but Statutory Paternity Pay still needs 26 weeks' continuous service by the end of the qualifying week, average earnings of at least £129 a week, and employment up to the birth.

SPP is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. On £600 a week, 2 weeks pay £388.64. Some employers enhance this to full pay.

Shared Parental Leave lets parents share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay in the first year. The birth parent takes less than the full maternity leave and pay and converts the rest into shared leave and pay. Shared Parental Pay is paid at the same flat rate, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower.

Maternity Allowance is paid by DWP, not your employer, for up to 39 weeks. It helps people who earn below the SMP threshold, have changed jobs recently, or are self-employed. You usually need to have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before your due week, and, if employed, to have earned £30 a week or more in at least 13 of those weeks (they need not be in a row).

The rate is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is less. On £100 a week, that is £90.00 a week, £3,510.00 over 39 weeks. Self-employed people without Class 2 contributions get £27 a week, and people who do unpaid work in a spouse or civil partner's business can get £27 a week for up to 14 weeks. Unlike SMP, Maternity Allowance is tax free, though it can affect means-tested benefits.

SMP and SPP are paid through payroll like wages, with income tax and National Insurance deducted. In the first 6 weeks your pay may be close to normal, so the deductions are too. In the flat-rate weeks, £194.32 a week is below the weekly National Insurance threshold of about £241.73, so usually no NI is due.

Because maternity leave usually straddles two tax years, you often pay less income tax over the year than the take-home table suggests, and PAYE can refund tax overpaid earlier in the year. For a fuller picture of your normal pay, try the salary calculator or the income tax calculator. If a pay rise or bonus lands during leave, the salary sacrifice calculator shows how pension contributions change your take-home. Parents on higher incomes should also check the Child Benefit charge calculator and our HICBC guide.