Updated October 2026
It’s been a while since we have spoken about maternity pay, so we thought it was the ideal time to update this blog. If you’re a business owner and an employee is expecting a baby, you may be wondering: how much is maternity pay, who pays it and can you get any of it back from the government?
You’ve just found out that your first employee is pregnant. Exciting! As part of your legal requirements as an employer, you may need to provide Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) to an eligible employee for up to 39 weeks. The good news is that you can usually reclaim some or all of this cost from HMRC.
How much is Statutory Maternity Pay?
Statutory Maternity Pay is the statutory payment an employer makes to an eligible employee during maternity leave. For the 2026/27 tax year, it is paid for up to 39 weeks:
- 90% of their average weekly earnings for the first six weeks
- £194.32 a week or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks
So, if you’re wondering how much maternity pay is in the UK, these are the current rates employers need to know about.
Who pays maternity pay?
Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by the employer through their normal payroll, rather than directly by the government. To qualify for SMP, an employee must generally have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks into the qualifying week, earn an average of at least £129 a week and provide the required proof of pregnancy, usually a MAT B1 certificate.
This is essentially how maternity pay works for employers, so it’s important to make sure your payroll is set up correctly and that you know whether an employee qualifies for Statutory Maternity Pay.
Can employers reclaim maternity pay?
Don’t panic. Covering SMP doesn’t have to be a cash flow nightmare for your creative business.
Most employers can reclaim 92% of the SMP they pay from HMRC. If your business qualifies for Small Employers’ Relief, you can reclaim 100% of the statutory payment plus an additional 9% compensation, meaning you can reclaim 109% in total.
Small Employers’ Relief generally applies where you paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 National Insurance contributions in the previous tax year, ignoring reductions such as Employment Allowance. You normally reclaim the money through your Employer Payment Summary (EPS).
What if I can’t afford to pay maternity pay upfront?
If you don’t have enough cash flow to cover your employee’s SMP, you can apply to HMRC to receive the money in advance.
You can apply up to four weeks before you want to make the first payment. You’ll need your HMRC employer details and information about the employee and their maternity pay. If you provide incorrect information, you could face a penalty of up to £3,000 per employee for each tax year.
This can be particularly useful for smaller creative businesses where a temporary cash-flow squeeze could make maternity pay difficult to manage.
What is the difference between maternity pay and Maternity Allowance?
One important distinction: Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance are not the same thing.
SMP is paid by an employer to an eligible employee. Maternity Allowance is a government benefit that may be available to someone who does not qualify for SMP, including some people who are self-employed or have recently stopped working.
For employers, the key point is that you are generally dealing with Statutory Maternity Pay, rather than Maternity Allowance.
If you’d like some assistance understanding how maternity pay could affect your business and cash flow, our team of accountants for creatives is here to help. We can also help you take the next step with your creative business by taking care of the financial side of things.
