Maternity & Paternity Pay 2026/27 — SMP, SPP & Shared Parental Leave

When you are expecting a child in the 2026/27 tax year, you may be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP): 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then £194.32 a week (or 90% if lower) for the remaining 33 weeks. Eligible partners can get Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) of £194.32 a week for one or two weeks, and Shared Parental Leave lets parents divide up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between them. These statutory payments are taxable and National Insurance may be deducted through payroll. Model your pay through family leave with the Maternity & Paternity Calculator→.

This guide covers the eligibility conditions, the rates in detail, how maternity and paternity pay interact with tax, the fallback of Maternity Allowance for the self-employed, and the employer's recovery position. It also runs through a full worked example for a £35,000 salary so you can see the real cash position.

The 2026/27 Statutory Rates

The flat rate of £194.32 applies for 2026/27 and sets the standard rate for Statutory Paternity Pay and Shared Parental Pay. Maternity Allowance has route-specific rules: eligible employed or recently employed claimants may receive £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, while self-employed claimants can receive a rate between £27 and £194.32 depending on their Class 2 National Insurance record. For SMP, anyone whose 90% average weekly earnings are below £194.32 receives the lower 90% amount for the flat-rate weeks. The six weeks at 90% is uncapped, which is why higher earners see a much larger payment in the early weeks.

Eligibility for SMP and SPP

To qualify for SMP, you generally need to have been continuously employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks into the qualifying week (the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth), average earnings of at least £129 a week, and the correct notice and pregnancy evidence. Statutory Maternity Leave itself is a separate employee right and does not depend on service length, hours or pay. From 6 April 2026, Paternity Leave is a day-one leave right in Great Britain, but Statutory Paternity Pay still requires employment up to the birth, average earnings of at least £129 a week, the correct notice and 26 weeks' continuous service into the qualifying week. Paternity Leave can be one or two weeks, taken consecutively or separately, and must finish within 52 weeks of the birth; Northern Ireland has different rules. If you do not meet the SMP tests — for example, because you are self-employed — you may qualify for Maternity Allowance, whose rate depends on your employment and National Insurance record rather than being an automatic flat £194.32 payment.

How the Payments Are Taxed

SMP, SPP, Shared Parental Pay and Maternity Allowance are taxable payments. PAYE income tax, National Insurance, student-loan deductions and pension deductions can affect the amount received, depending on the payment, payroll position and pension scheme. Do not treat the statutory rate as a guaranteed net amount. The employer’s secondary National Insurance treatment and any pension contribution obligations should be checked against the current payroll rules and the relevant workplace scheme.

Worked Example — £35,000 Salary

Amira earns £35,000 a year, so a simple annual-to-weekly illustration gives average weekly earnings of about £673.08. For the first six weeks she receives 90% of that — about £605.77 a week — then £194.32 for the remaining 33 weeks, because that flat rate is lower than 90% of her earnings.

Because SMP is paid through PAYE, the actual deductions depend on the employee’s tax code, other pay in the tax year, payroll timing and any pension or student-loan deductions. The example is a gross illustration, not a personal net-pay forecast.

Shared Parental Leave — Splitting the Year

Shared Parental Leave lets the mother end maternity leave after the compulsory two weeks and convert the rest into shared leave, which either parent can request in blocks under the statutory notice and booking rules. The pot is up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay. A common pattern: the mother takes 26 weeks (six at 90% plus 20 at £194.32), the partner takes 13 weeks of Shared Parental Pay at £194.32, and the remaining 11 weeks are unpaid. Pension contributions during statutory family leave depend on the type of contribution and the scheme rules, so check the employer’s scheme rather than assuming every contribution is based on normal salary.

Employer Recovery

The 92% (or 109%) recovery is claimed through the employer’s payroll, which is why SMP appears on the payroll as a normal payment. Eligibility for Small Employers’ Relief depends on the employer’s Class 1 National Insurance bill and the statutory recovery rules; it is not simply a universal uplift for any business below an informal size threshold.

Ordinary and Additional Maternity Leave

Statutory leave rights are separate from statutory pay, and both matter for planning. Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) runs for the first 26 weeks of leave and carries the right to return to the same job. Additional Maternity Leave (AML) covers the next 26 weeks, taking total leave entitlement to 52 weeks, and carries the right to return to the same job or, where that is not practicable, a similar role on no worse terms. Most employees qualify for the full 52 weeks regardless of whether they qualify for SMP, because the leave rights depend on service and notice rather than the earnings test. Pay during the unpaid tail of leave is nil unless the employer's contractual scheme tops it up, which many larger employers do for the first few weeks — worth checking in your contract, because contractual maternity pay can comfortably exceed the statutory floor.

Planning Your Leave

Checking a change in circumstances

Statutory family pay is calculated from specific dates, not simply from the salary showing on the latest payslip. If employment began recently, pay varies through the reference period, or the employee has been absent, payroll should identify the qualifying week and the average weekly earnings calculation it used. Keep the written calculation and ask which weeks and payments were included. A bonus, commission payment, unpaid absence or a change in working pattern can affect the average without changing the employee's annual salary.

Changing employer also needs a careful handover. SMP is normally the responsibility of the employer that meets the qualifying conditions, while Maternity Allowance is a separate claim where SMP is unavailable. A new job does not automatically transfer an existing SMP calculation, and an employee should not resign or change employment on the assumption that the headline statutory rate will continue unchanged. Ask both employers for written confirmation of the payment responsibility, leave dates and evidence required.

If the amount on the payslip is wrong, compare the payment period, statutory rate, tax code, National Insurance, pension deduction and any contractual enhancement separately. Payroll may need to correct the statutory payment or recover an overpayment through a later run. Keep the original payslip and the correction notice. Do not confuse an employer's enhanced maternity policy with SMP: the contractual top-up may have its own repayment terms, while the statutory amount follows the GOV.UK rules.

Shared Parental Leave adds another planning layer. The parents should record the total leave and pay already used, the blocks requested, the notice dates and the remaining shared entitlement. A booking change can alter which parent receives the next payment, but it does not create a new 37-week pay pot. Check the employer's confirmation before relying on the household budget, especially where one parent has irregular pay or a separate employer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Checking statutory family-pay calculations

The employer should retain the notice, qualifying-week evidence, average-earnings calculation, leave dates and payroll entries. The employee should keep payslips and check when the payment starts, changes rate or stops. Contractual enhanced pay, statutory pay, holiday pay and a salary-sacrifice arrangement should be shown separately because they can have different tax and National Insurance treatment.

If the employee changes job, becomes ineligible, takes another type of leave or has an irregular pay pattern, the calculation may need to be revisited. Do not infer entitlement from a headline salary. Check the current GOV.UK rules for the relevant leave type and tax year, and keep a written explanation for any difference between the expected and actual payment.

Household support and statutory family pay are separate systems. Review benefits, pension deductions and tax codes independently and budget from the actual payment schedule rather than assuming full salary continues.

Retain the employer's calculation and the employee's notice evidence.

Confirm the current statutory rates and qualifying-week rules on GOV.UK before the employer finalises the payroll forecast.

Evidence for payroll and family leave decisions

Employees should give the employer the relevant notice and medical or adoption evidence by the employer's deadline, and retain copies. Payroll should record the qualifying week, average earnings calculation, leave dates, payments made and any recovery or compensation claim. Statutory pay is not the same as the employee's contractual salary, and a company policy can provide enhanced pay with separate repayment or return-to-work conditions.

Check the payslip when leave starts and when the rate changes. A tax-code change, pension deduction, salary sacrifice or unpaid leave can alter net pay without changing the statutory entitlement. Keep the payroll calculation and ask the employer to explain any difference between the published statutory rate and the amount paid. If employment ends or the employee changes employer, the payment responsibility and evidence may change.

Household budgeting should use the actual payment schedule rather than a full-salary assumption. Review Universal Credit or other support separately, because benefit rules and statutory pay interact but are administered under different systems. Use GOV.UK for the current rates and qualifying conditions before planning a future leave period.

Plan your family leave cash flow with the Maternity & Paternity Calculator→, then read the Statutory Sick Pay guide for other 2026/27 statutory-pay rules, and the Holiday Pay Tax guide for how leave pay is taxed when it is paid in a lump sum.

Official sources

• GOV.UK — Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027
• GOV.UK — Employers: maternity pay and leave
• GOV.UK — Statutory Maternity Pay eligibility
• GOV.UK — Statutory Paternity Pay eligibility
• GOV.UK — Statutory Paternity Pay
• GOV.UK — Shared Parental Pay
• GOV.UK — Maternity Allowance
• GOV.UK — Recover statutory payments