Statutory Maternity Pay is a benefit paid to some women who stop working because they are going to have a baby. It is paid whether or not you return to work after the birth of the baby.
Am I entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay?
Not all women who work are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay. You need to know your qualifying week to find out if you are entitled.
How to work out your qualifying week
- Take the date your baby is due and write down the Sunday at the beginning of that week.
- Use a diary or calendar to count back 15 weeks from this Sunday.
- This will give you another Sunday, which is the date at the start of your qualifying week.
You are entitled to SMP if:
- You are age 16 or over.
- You have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks, up to and including the qualifying week, and
- You are expecting to have a baby within 11 weeks, or to have recently given birth, and
- You have also earned, on average, at least as much as the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit during the 8 weeks up to and including the qualifying week .
The National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit is currently £97(April 2010 - April 2011) a week. This means that you must have earned at least £97 a week in each of the 8 weeks up to and including the qualifying week. This means that you may lose your right to Statutory Maternity Pay if you are on reduced hours or on sick pay during the eight weeks before the qualifying week.
You do not have to have paid national insurance contributions to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay.
What if I'm not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay?
You may be entitled to Maternity Allowance instead. Your employer should give you form SMP1 if you are not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay. You need this form when you apply for Maternity Allowance.
How do I claim?
Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by your employer. You should let your employer know at least 28 days before you want to take maternity leave. If this is not possible, for example because the baby is born sooner than you expected, then you should let your employer know as soon as you can.
You will also have to give your employer proof of the expected date of birth. Normally this will be a MAT B1 form, which you can get from your doctor or midwife. You should give this to your employer no later than three weeks after your maternity leave starts. If there is a good reason why you can't do this, you might be allowed up to 13 weeks after your maternity leave starts to give the form to your employer.
Some facts about Statutory Maternity Pay
You will be paid 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first six weeks of your maternity leave. For example, if you usually earn £200 a week you will get £180 a week.
For the next 33 weeks of your maternity leave you will be paid 90% of your average weekly earnings, or £123.06 a week- whichever is the lowest amount.
Some employers offer to pay more than the amount of Statutory Maternity Pay that the government says they have to, but they cannot pay you less.
Statutory Maternity Pay is paid for a maximum of 39 weeks. It stops being paid when you return to work, even if this is before the end of the 26 week period. (You can get SMP and get paid for up to 10 days these are called 'keeing in touch days')
Statutory Maternity Pay is normally paid to you in the same way as your wages.
What if I am sick?
If you become sick while you are getting Statutory Maternity Pay, your claim will not be affected and will carry on as normal.
If you become sick before you start claiming Statutory Maternity Pay you should get Statutory Sick Pay as normal. Any days or weeks you spend on Statutory Sick Pay will still count towards the 26 week period that you must have worked before you can claim Statutory Maternity Pay.
Your employer cannot ask you to start your Statutory Maternity Pay early instead of claiming Statutory Sick Pay. The exception to this is if you become sick with a pregnancy related illness within 4 weeks of the week you are expected to give birth to your child.
If your employer asks you to claim Statutory Maternity Pay when you think you should be able to claim Statutory Sick Pay get advice:
If you return to work early i.e. before your Statutory Maternity Pay has run out, and you become sick, you can claim Statutory Maternity Pay instead of Statutory Sick Pay until the date it would have finished.
For example, Cilla has been off work claiming Statutory Maternity Pay for 16 weeks. She returns to work for two weeks and then becomes sick. She can claim Statutory Maternity Pay for up to a further twenty weeks as long as she remains sick during this period. She cannot claim Statutory Maternity Pay for longer than 39 weeks from the time she first received it.
If you were receiving Incapacity Benefit or contributory Employment and Support Allowance before you became pregnant, the rules can be complicated. You can get Incapacity Benefit or contributory Employment and Support Allowance while you are claiming Statutory Maternity Pay, but you will probably not get the full amount.
Information on other websites
Department for Work and Pensions
Government information on Statutory Maternity Pay
Greater Manchester Employment and Rights Advice Service
Employment rights information follow the link for Having a baby, Your rights at work
WorkSMART
Information from the Trades Union Council about maternity leave and maternity pay.
Adviceguide
Information from Citizen's Advice on Benefits for families and children
Working Families
Includes links to factsheets on a range of rights for working families
Directgov
Information and links about Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay
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Information Provider:
Manchester Advice
Date Reviewed:
26 July 2010
This information is for guidance only and is not an authoritative statement on the law. Please read our Terms and Conditions.
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