Money Blog: New rules for roaming charges from today – what you need to know

Author: Katie Williams, Money Team

Basically, maternity pay is the pay that women receive while on leave after giving birth.

Conservative Party leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch sparked backlash over the weekend by claiming that statutory maternity pay in the UK is “excessive”. Basically… function.

The shadow housing secretary later backtracked, claiming her comments had been “misinterpreted” and telling Sky News she thought maternity pay was a “good thing”.

So what is statutory maternity pay and what remuneration are employees entitled to?

What you need to know

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) was introduced in the UK in 1987.

A person who is legally classed as an employee (explained in our ‘Employment rights basics’ article) can receive SMP if:

They had worked continuously for 26 weeks for the same employer before the ‘qualifying week’ (15 weeks before the due date);
They earn on average at least £123 a week for the eight weeks before qualifying week.

SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks of the 52 weeks of leave offered to eligible employees.

However, some employers may offer ‘boosted’ maternity pay packages to employees who work with them for a certain period of time – for example basic pay for 26 weeks followed by statutory 13 weeks.

Importantly, eligible women are still entitled to maternity leave and/or pay if their baby is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy or is born alive at any time but does not survive.

What is it worth?

For the first six weeks, SMP will be paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings.

You will then be paid whichever is lower:

£184.03 per week
90% of your average weekly earnings

Maternity benefit is the same regardless of the number of children you have (e.g. twins or triplets).

If you receive full maternity pay for 52 weeks, the last 13 weeks are free unless your employer offers you an extended package.

Who pays for it?

An employer pays SMP to its employee first, but they can claim most or potentially all of the amount back from HM Revenue and Customs, depending on the size of the company.

If the company is smaller and paid less than £45,000 in Class 1 National Insurance contributions last tax year, it can claim back the full amount of SMP from the government plus 3% additional small employer relief.

Larger employers can usually claim back 92% of their SMP.

How does UK maternity pay compare to other countries?

The UK ranks very differently on two different measures of maternity pay in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), a 38-member economic and social policy group.

When it comes to overall pay, the UK is at the bottom of the pack, but according to a 2023 OECD study, it is near the top when it comes to the amount of paid working time that women are entitled to leave.

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