Work out your employee's payments for Statutory Maternity Pay
Find out how to manually calculate Statutory Maternity Pay if your payroll software or the GOV.UK calculator does not work out your employee’s payments.
Terminology explained
MATB1 Maternity Certificate
This is the medical evidence that your employee usually provides as proof of pregnancy. Your employee receives this after the 20th week of pregnancy and it includes the date the baby is due.
Qualifying week
The qualifying week is the 15th week (Sunday to Saturday) before the week the baby is due.
Before you begin
Information you need to work out your employee’s Statutory Maternity Pay:
- the date the baby’s due — from your employee’s MATB1 form
- your employee’s intended start date for Statutory Maternity Pay, if they have given you one
- your employee’s gross pay and the dates they were paid
- confirmation that your employee’s gross earnings are liable to employer’s Class 1 National Insurance contributions or would be but for the employee’s age or level of earnings
Work out average weekly earnings
Average weekly earnings must include all earnings on which Class 1 National Insurance contributions are due, or would be due if they were high enough. Statutory Maternity Pay entitlement depends on your employee’s average weekly earnings in the ‘relevant period’. The average weekly earnings in the relevant period must not be less than the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance contributions which applies at the end of the qualifying week:
- Lower Earnings Limit for 2024 to 2025 is £123
Divide all earnings paid in that relevant period by the number of days, weeks or months in that period.
The relevant period
This is usually the 8 week period before the qualifying week.
The end of the relevant period is the last normal payday on, or before the Saturday of the qualifying week.
For babies born before or during the qualifying week, the 8 week relevant period is the period between the last normal payday on or before the Saturday of the week before the baby is born, and the day after the last normal payday falling at least 8 weeks before.
The start of the relevant period is the day after the last normal payday falling at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period.
Example for an employee who is paid weekly
If an employee is paid weekly and the baby is due on 23 March 2025:
| Qualifying week | Payday | Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period | Last payday on or before the Saturday of the qualifying week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 2024 to 6 December 2024 | Friday | 11 October 2024 | 6 December 2024 |
The relevant period is 12 October 2024 to 6 December 2024.
Add up all the earnings paid between 12 October 2024 to 6 December 2024 and divide by 8 (the number of weeks in the relevant period).
Do not round the figure up or down to whole pence.
Example for an employee who is paid monthly
If an employee is paid monthly and the baby is due on 23 March 2025:
| Qualifying week | Payday | Last payday at least 8 weeks before the end of the relevant period | Last payday on or before the Saturday of the qualifying week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 2024 to 6 December 2024 | Last working day of the month | 30 September 2024 | 29 November 2024 |
The relevant period is 30 October 2024 to 30 November 2024.
Add up all the earnings paid between 1 October 2024 and 29 November 2024:
- divide by 2 (number of months in the relevant period)
- multiply by 12 (number of months in the year)
- divide by 52 (number of weeks in the year)
Do not round the figure up or down to whole pence.
Weekly paid employees without a whole number of weeks in the relevant period
This may happen if you bring forward your employee’s normal payday because of bank holidays at Easter or Christmas. Divide the earnings by the number of weeks wages actually paid, not the number of weeks in the relevant period.
Employees paid multiples of a week
This may happen if you pay your employee fortnightly or 4 weekly. Divide the earnings by the number of whole weeks in the relevant period.
Monthly paid employees without a whole number of months in the relevant period
Work out the number of rounded months as follows:
- count the number of whole months
- count the numbers of odd days
Round up or down as follows:
- February — 14 days or less round down, 15 days or more round up
- any month except February — 15 days or less round down, 16 days or more round up
Divide the earnings by this number of rounded months.
Employees not paid in a regular pay pattern
Divide the earnings by the number of days in the relevant period and multiply by 7.
Mistimed payments
This only applies to regular payments of earnings paid other than on their normal date, such as due to a bank holiday.
A mistimed payment:
- occurs when the date of the actual payment of earnings is made earlier or later than the normal contractual payday, such as an annual holiday
- should not be confused with a payroll error, where a mistake is made in the payroll resulting in a shortfall of pay when working out the average weekly earnings
Divide the total earnings in the relevant period by the number of weeks wages actually paid.
Overpaid or underpaid earnings during the relevant period
Always calculate average weekly earnings based on all earnings actually paid to the employee within the relevant period, regardless of any over or underpaid wages in that period. Where over or under payments of wages occur within the relevant period, you must include the overpaid or underpaid amount in the average weekly earnings calculation for deciding if Statutory Maternity Pay is due.
Work out Statutory Maternity Pay
When you have worked out the average weekly earnings, work out how much Statutory Maternity Pay is due and pay it on the same day that you would normally pay wages and for the same period.
Statutory Maternity Pay is a weekly payment. Statutory Maternity Pay pay weeks start with the first day of the Statutory Maternity Pay pay period, so an Statutory Maternity Pay pay period that starts on a Wednesday will have pay weeks within the pay period which runs from Wednesday to Tuesday the following week.
Statutory Maternity Pay is payable:
- 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks
- £184.03 or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the remaining weeks
Statutory Maternity Pay paid part weekly
You can pay Statutory Maternity Pay in part weeks if it helps to align the payments to your employees normal pay period. Divide the weekly rate by 7 and multiply by the number of days for which Statutory Maternity Pay is due in the week or month. For example, if the pay period covers the end of one month and the beginning of the next (2 days in April and 5 days at the beginning of May) then pay two-sevenths in one month and five-sevenths at the beginning of the next month.
Contractual benefits and Salary Sacrifice
The calculation of average weekly earnings for Statutory Maternity Pay is based on earnings which are subject to Class 1 National Insurance contributions. Some contractual benefits, such as childcare schemes provided by you, may be exempt from PAYE tax and National Insurance contributions. The value of childcare vouchers provided during the maternity pay period should not be deducted from the Statutory Maternity Pay. Statutory Maternity Pay must be paid in full.
Recovery of Statutory Maternity Pay
You may be able to recover some or all of the Statutory Maternity Pay you pay.
Help and advice
You can get advice from HMRC Employer Helpline.
Updates to this page
Published 18 March 2014Last updated 6 April 2024 + show all updates
-
The section 'Work out average weekly earnings' has been updated with the Lower Earnings Limit for tax year 2024 to 2025. The examples for an employee who is paid weekly and monthly have been updated with 2024 dates.
-
The section 'Work out average weekly earnings' has been updated with the Lower Earnings Limit for 2023. The examples for an employee who is paid weekly and monthly have been updated with 2023 dates.
-
The new rates for working out Average Weekly Earnings and Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for 2022 to 2023 have been added. The section on 'Employees who were on furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)' has been removed because calculations for SMP from April onwards will not include any periods where furlough pay was in operation.
-
The examples under the heading 'Work out Average Weekly Earnings (AWE)' have been updated for 2020 to 2021.
-
Information added on how to work out Average Weekly Earnings for employees furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
-
The new rates for working out Average Weekly Earnings and Statutory Maternity pay for 2020 to 2021 have been added.
-
The 'relevant period' section within the guidance has been amended.
-
Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for the tax year 2019 to 2020.
-
The calculate Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) section has been updated.
-
Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for the tax year 2018 to 2019.
-
Dates updated in the example for employees who are paid monthly.
-
Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for the tax year 2017 to 2018.
-
Rates, allowances and duties have been updated for the tax year 2016 to 2017.
-
Calculate Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) section amended.
-
First published.