Maternity Leave Planner
Plan your maternity leave dates and calculate statutory maternity pay entitlements. UK maternity benefit calculator.
UK Statutory Maternity Allowance Calculator. Based on 2025-26 rates.
Leave earliest from 11 weeks before due date. If blank, assumes due date.
Entitlements summary:
- - Statutory Maternity Leave: up to 52 weeks (26 weeks if statutory mat pay available)
- - Statutory Maternity Pay: 39 weeks (6 weeks at 90%, 33 weeks at statutory rate)
- - 11 weeks' notice period before taking leave
- - Must inform employer of pregnancy by end of 15th week (MATB1 form)
- - Job protection for 26 weeks maternity leave
This tool is for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for medical decisions. For specific HR/employment questions, contact your employer or ACAS.
What This Planner Calculates
Give the planner your due date, employment start date, average weekly earnings and (optionally) your intended leave start, and it works out four things: the earliest date you can start maternity leave (11 weeks before due date), your MATB1 deadline (you must give your employer the form by the end of the 15th week before due date), your Statutory Maternity Pay schedule, and your return-to-work date if you take the full 52 weeks. SMP is paid for 39 weeks: 6 weeks at 90% of your average weekly earnings, then 33 weeks at the statutory rate of £184.03 per week (or 90% of earnings, whichever is lower).
Worked example. Due date 1 October 2026, average weekly earnings £600, employment started January 2024. The planner shows: earliest leave start 17 July 2026, MATB1 deadline 18 June 2026, SMP weeks 1-6 at £540/week (£3,240 total), SMP weeks 7-39 at £184.03/week (£6,073 total), total SMP £9,313 across 39 weeks, leave end 30 September 2027. Weeks 40-52 of leave are unpaid. Job protection runs the full 52 weeks; you have a right to return to the same job if you take 26 weeks or less, a similar job if longer.
How to Qualify for SMP
You qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay if you have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before your due date (the 'qualifying week'), and your average weekly earnings in the 8 weeks before that qualifying week are at least £125 (the lower earnings limit for 2025/26). Earnings means gross pay including overtime and bonuses, not just basic salary. The planner uses your declared earnings figure to compute SMP; double-check it against actual payslips for the calculation reference period.
If you do not qualify for SMP, you might qualify for Maternity Allowance via the DWP, which pays the same statutory rate (£184.03 for 2025/26) for 39 weeks but has different employment requirements. You can be self-employed, recently changed jobs, or have low earnings and still qualify for MA in many cases. The form is MA1 and you can claim from week 26 of pregnancy. This calculator focuses on SMP; for the alternative track, the gov.uk maternity-allowance page has the eligibility checker.
Picking the Right Leave Start Date
The earliest you can start maternity leave is 11 weeks before your due date. The latest is when the baby arrives. Most people start somewhere in between, and the choice matters financially. Starting at 11 weeks before due date means SMP starts at 11 weeks before due date - so you are paid 39 weeks from then, ending at 28 weeks postpartum. Starting at 4 weeks before due date pushes the SMP end date out to roughly 35 weeks postpartum but leaves you working in late pregnancy.
There is also an automatic trigger: if you are off sick with a pregnancy-related illness in the 4 weeks before due date, your maternity leave starts automatically the day after the first day of sickness. So planning to work until the day before due date is risky; many people aim to start leave at 35 to 38 weeks pregnant to give themselves cushion. You must give your employer 28 days' notice of your intended leave start (or 28 days' notice of any change to it), and the MATB1 form is the formal evidence. The [paye calculator](/paye-calculator) is useful alongside this if you are working out tax on the SMP figures (SMP is taxable income just like salary).
What Happens to Pension and Benefits During Leave
Pension contributions continue during the paid 39 weeks at the level you would have received if working normally. So if your employer contributes 5% of salary, they should contribute 5% of your normal salary (not 5% of SMP) for the full 39 weeks. Your own contributions are based on what you actually receive - 5% of SMP, not 5% of normal salary. During the unpaid 13 weeks (weeks 40-52), employer pension contributions are not legally required, though some employers continue them.
Holiday accrues throughout the full 52 weeks of leave at your normal rate. So 28 days statutory holiday over a year of leave is still 28 days you can take when you return (or before, by tagging it on to maternity leave). Universal Credit, child benefit and tax credits work alongside SMP; child benefit kicks in once the baby is born and is currently £26.05 a week for the first child. The [child benefit calculator](/child-benefit-calculator) handles the high-income charge if either parent earns over £60,000. SMP itself is taxable and counts as earnings for tax credit purposes, so include it in your annual earnings declarations.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do I have to tell my employer I am pregnant?
By the end of the 15th week before your due date, which is 25 weeks pregnant, give or take a week depending on cycle. Most people tell their employer earlier than that for practical reasons (occupational health, risk assessments), but the legal deadline for triggering SMP entitlement is the 15th-week-before mark. You also need to give them the MATB1 form (issued by your GP or midwife from week 20) by the same deadline.
What is the actual difference between SMP and Maternity Allowance?
SMP is paid by your employer (who recovers most of it from HMRC). Maternity Allowance is paid directly by the DWP. The pay rates and 39-week duration are identical at the statutory level (£184.03/week for 2025/26). The difference is in qualifying conditions: SMP needs 26 weeks with the same employer, MA needs 26 weeks of work in the 66 weeks before your due date but allows multiple jobs, gaps and self-employment.
Can I take all 52 weeks of maternity leave?
Yes. Statutory maternity leave is up to 52 weeks regardless of how long you have worked there. The first 26 weeks are 'ordinary maternity leave' and the second 26 weeks are 'additional maternity leave'. Pay only runs for 39 of those 52 weeks, so weeks 40 to 52 are unpaid unless your employer offers enhanced terms. You can return earlier than 52 weeks; you must give 8 weeks' notice of an early return.
Does the planner account for shared parental leave?
Not directly. This tool plans your maternity leave assuming you take it all. If you and a partner are converting unused maternity leave into shared parental leave, you can transfer up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay (the 39 SMP weeks minus the 2 mandatory post-birth weeks). The maths gets fiddly and depends on how you split the time. Use the gov.uk shared parental leave calculator for that scenario, or the [child benefit calculator](/child-benefit-calculator) for the income-tax knock-on effects of either route.
What is the MATB1 form and when do I get it?
MATB1 is the maternity certificate issued by your GP, midwife or hospital from 20 weeks pregnant. It states your due date and is the legal evidence your employer needs to start SMP. You must give the original (not a copy) to your employer no later than the end of the 15th week before due date - so usually around week 25 of pregnancy. Without MATB1, the employer is not legally required to start SMP.
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