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Free Maternity Pay Calculator
Instantly calculate maternity leave start dates, Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) eligibility, and total entitlement — using the 2026/27 UK rates (from 5 April 2026).
2026/27 rates Checked against GOV.UK on 2 October 2026
The due date on her MATB1.
Add the due date to see when her leave starts, when SMP ends and when she's back.
90% of £500.00 is £450.00 a week. After week 6 that is more than £194.32, so £194.32 is paid: 6 × £450.00 + 33 × £194.32 = £9,112.56, before tax and National Insurance. This assumes 26 weeks with you by the qualifying week.
The year off, week by week
£450.00 a week for 6 weeks, then £194.32 for 33 (£305.68 a week less than she usually earns), then 13 weeks unpaid: £9,112.56 in all. Add the due date to see the dates.
Her holiday keeps building up all year: at least 5.6 weeks (28 days for five days a week). TimeTally carries her unused holiday into the next leave year, up to 5.6 weeks, whatever your carryover rule.
Before the leave starts
Five dates decide when maternity leave can start and whether SMP is paid. They are counted back from the week the baby is due, Sunday to Saturday. Add the due date above to see them as real dates.
20 weeks before the due date
Midwives and doctors give the MATB1 certificate from 20 weeks before the due date. It is the proof of pregnancy SMP needs.
YouHave it within 21 days of her SMP starting
The 15th week before the week the baby is due
By the end of it she tells you the due date and when she wants to start. The 26 weeks and her average earnings are counted to it.
YouWrite back within 28 days with her start and end dates
11 weeks before the week the baby is due
She chooses the day, from here on. If the baby comes earlier, her leave starts the day after the birth.
YouSMP needs 28 days' notice of its start
4 weeks before the week the baby is due
If she is off with a pregnancy-related illness in these weeks, her leave and SMP start automatically the day after.
YouRecord it as maternity leave, not sickness
Sunday to Saturday, the week of the due date
The qualifying week and the earliest start are counted back from it, even if the baby comes early or late.
YouShe can't work in the 2 weeks after the birth
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid for up to 39 weeks: 90% of average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks, then £194.32 a week or 90% of earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks (2026/27 rates, from 5 April 2026). To get it, an employee needs 26 weeks' continuous employment into the qualifying week and average earnings of at least £129 a week. Maternity leave itself is 52 weeks, from day one of employment.
Worked example: average weekly earnings of £500
Total SMP: £9,112.56 before tax and National Insurance.
This calculator gives you the numbers. TimeTally tracks leave, accrual, and approvals automatically — so you never need to calculate it manually again. From £3/employee/month.
Staff submit leave requests via the iPhone or Android app. For maternity leave they give the start date and the due date, and see the 52 weeks it covers before they send it. No emails, no forms, no back-and-forth.
All leave requests land in your dashboard. Open one to see the dates, the due date and her pay stage by stage, worked out from her average weekly earnings. Approve or reject with a single tap. Every decision is timestamped — no more disputes about who approved what.
Every account starts with a Maternity Leave type: 52 weeks, 39 of them paid, 6 at 90% of earnings and 33 at £194.32 or 90%, whichever is lower. If your policy pays more, change the weeks or the pay stages in Settings.
Every approved leave request — maternity, annual leave, sick leave — sits on one calendar. Spot cover gaps and plan workloads before they become a problem.
Approved leave is included in your payroll export, maternity leave at the statutory pay worked out for it. Check it, then export to Xero, QuickBooks or CSV — no manual adjustments, no missed deductions.
The rest of your leave, in the same place
Maternity leave sits beside holiday, sickness and every other kind of leave, booked and approved the same way.
Employees see their current balance and their projected future balance — accounting for leave already booked but not yet taken. Optionally let staff see who else in their department has booked time off, so they can plan around colleagues. Managers can manually adjust any employee's balance at any time — ideal when setting up mid-year from a previous system.
Pick the accrual method that fits each employee: upfront (full entitlement from day one), monthly accrual (earned gradually each month), daily accrual (builds day by day), or hours worked (earned per hour worked at a rate you set, 12.07% by default). All calculations are handled automatically — no spreadsheets needed.
TimeTally comes with annual leave, sick leave, maternity, paternity and bank holidays set up. Need something else, like compassionate leave? Create unlimited custom leave types with any name. For each type you control: whether it's paid or unpaid, whether it deducts from the annual leave balance or has its own separate pot, and who it's turned off for.
Decide exactly what happens at year end: toggle carryover on or off, set a maximum number of days that can carry, and optionally add an expiry date so carried-over days must be used within e.g. 3 months. You can also allow employees to book leave before they've earned it (negative balance), with an optional cap to limit exposure.
Set each employee's contracted hours per day of the week (or use a company default). TimeTally uses this to deduct the right amount of leave — a half-day Tuesday only costs half a Tuesday's hours — and to pay the correct amount for each day taken. Pro-rata entitlements for new starters and leavers are calculated automatically from their start date.
Employees can request leave in hours, half days, or full days from the app or website — no training required. Managers can book leave on behalf of any employee. Public holidays are added automatically for the country you choose. Set a custom leave year start date (e.g. 7th April) and balances reset automatically. Easy to set up even when migrating from another system mid-year.
Managers can approve any leave request in one tap. Rejections include an optional reason so employees know why, and they can send a new request. Employees can also ask to change or cancel approved leave, and you approve or turn it down. Any booked leave can be deleted if plans change, and the days go back on the balance — all with a full audit trail.
Leave sits in the main team calendar alongside timesheets and rota shifts — one view of the whole business. If you use time tracking, overtime converts to TOIL automatically at a rate you define. Leave analytics give managers a clear picture of absence patterns, entitlement usage, and remaining balances across the whole team.
Meet TimeTally
TimeTally automatically calculates, tracks, and manages leave for your entire team. Explore all features or see how it works.
£3/employee/month
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See what we offerYour staff get the free TimeTally app for iPhone and Android.
“TimeTally has been excellent for our business. The app is simple to use, reliable, and makes managing holidays, absences, and staff records straightforward. The system has saved us a significant amount of administration time and gives both managers and employees clear visibility of leave balances and requests. Highly recommended for any business looking for an easy-to-use workforce management solution.”
Jordan Ingoe, CLI ManchesterUK maternity leave law is more detailed than most managers realise. Here's what the rules actually say.
Maternity leave is split into two parts: Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) covers the first 26 weeks, and Additional Maternity Leave (AML) covers the following 26 weeks. All employees are entitled to the full 52 weeks from day one of employment.
SMP is paid for 39 weeks. The first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of average weekly earnings. The remaining 33 weeks are paid at the flat statutory rate (£194.32/week from April 2026) or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
To qualify, an employee must have at least 26 weeks' continuous employment by the qualifying week, and average earnings of at least the Lower Earnings Limit (£129 a week in 2026/27). SMP is paid by the employer and reclaimed from HMRC — most employers recover 92% or 109% (Small Employers' Relief).
Employees on maternity leave can work up to 10 KIT days without ending their maternity leave or losing SMP for those days. KIT days must be agreed by both parties — the employer cannot require them. Pay for KIT days is agreed separately.
Many employers pay full or partial salary for some or all of maternity leave, above the statutory minimum. Enhanced schemes often include a return-to-work obligation — requiring repayment of enhanced pay if the employee does not return for a minimum period.
All annual leave — including any contractual leave above the 28-day statutory minimum — continues to accrue throughout the full 52 weeks of maternity leave. Employers must plan for accrued leave to be taken on return or added to the maternity period.
Returning within the first 26 weeks (OML) carries the right to return to exactly the same job. Returning after 26 weeks (into AML) carries the right to return to the same job or, if not reasonably practicable, a suitable alternative on no less favourable terms.
Employees on maternity leave have enhanced redundancy protection. If their role is at risk, they must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy before other at-risk employees. Failure to do so is automatically unfair dismissal under the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations.
Common questions about maternity leave and Statutory Maternity Pay in the UK.
SMP is paid for 39 weeks. The first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings (no cap). The remaining 33 weeks are paid at £194.32 per week (the 2026/27 rate, from 5 April 2026) or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. The final 13 weeks of the 52-week entitlement are unpaid unless your employer offers enhanced maternity pay.
UK maternity leave is split into 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave (AML), totalling 52 weeks. Your terms and conditions of employment (apart from normal pay) continue through both OML and AML, and holiday keeps building up. The main difference is the right to return: after OML you return to the same job; after AML you return to the same job or, if that is not reasonably practicable, a suitable alternative on terms no less favourable. Every employee is entitled to both OML and AML from day one of employment, provided they give the correct notice.
KIT days allow an employee on maternity leave to work up to 10 days for their employer without losing SMP for those days. KIT days must be agreed by both employer and employee — the employer cannot insist on them. Any work done on a KIT day counts as a full day regardless of hours worked. Payment for KIT days is agreed between the parties, though SMP continues to be paid.
Eligible fathers and partners are entitled to 1 or 2 weeks of statutory paternity leave, taken as one 2-week block or two separate 1-week blocks, ending within 52 weeks of the birth. Statutory Paternity Pay is paid at the lower of £194.32/week (2026/27) or 90% of average weekly earnings. Paternity leave is separate from maternity leave and both parents can take their entitlement simultaneously if they wish.
If you adopt a child, you may be entitled to Statutory Adoption Leave (52 weeks) and Statutory Adoption Pay, which mirrors SMP in structure and rates. Only one adopter in a couple can take adoption leave — the other may take paternity leave. The primary adopter must tell their employer within 7 days of being matched with a child.
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allows eligible parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay after the mother ends maternity leave early. Parents can take SPL at the same time or in turns, in blocks or concurrently. Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) is paid at the same rate as SMP's flat rate (£194.32/week in 2026/27, or 90% of earnings if lower).
To qualify for SMP, your average weekly earnings must be at least £129 (the Lower Earnings Limit for 2026/27). Average earnings are calculated over the 8 weeks (if paid weekly) or 2 months (if paid monthly) leading up to the end of the qualifying week — which is the 15th week before your due date. One-off payments and bonuses are included in the calculation.
If you return within the first 26 weeks (OML), you have the right to return to the same job. If you return after 26 weeks (into AML), you have the right to return to the same job or, if that's not reasonably practicable, a suitable alternative on no less favourable terms. You cannot be disadvantaged or dismissed for taking maternity leave — this is automatically unfair dismissal.
Enhanced maternity pay is any maternity pay above the statutory minimum that an employer chooses to offer. Common arrangements include full pay for the first 12 or 26 weeks, or 50% pay for a longer period. Enhanced maternity pay is a contractual benefit — check your employment contract or staff handbook. Employers can usually reclaim 92% of SMP from HMRC (or 109% if they qualify for Small Employers' Relief).
Yes. Annual leave continues to accrue throughout the full 52 weeks of maternity leave, including any additional maternity leave. An employee returning from a year's maternity leave may have up to 28 days of unused holiday to use. Employers should plan for this and discuss how accrued leave will be taken — it can often be added before or after the maternity period.
Still have a question? See all FAQs →
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Last checked against GOV.UK: 2 October 2026
2026/27 rates: SMP's £194.32 from 5 April 2026, the £129 lower earnings limit from 6 April 2026. This calculator is a guide, not legal advice; the employer's payroll works out the exact average earnings.
Family leave sits in the same calendar as holiday and sickness, with balances, cover and return dates in one view.
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