Maternity Leave (UK)

A statutory entitlement under the Employment Rights Act 1996 giving eligible UK employees up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, split into 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave, with Statutory Maternity Pay covering up to 39 of those weeks.

What Is Maternity Leave in the UK?

Key Takeaways

  • ✓All pregnant employees in the UK can take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, regardless of how long they've worked for the employer or how many hours they work per week.
  • ✓The 52 weeks split into two blocks: 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave (AML).
  • ✓Statutory Maternity Pay covers 39 weeks: 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings, then 33 weeks at the flat rate of £184.03 (2024/25) or 90% of earnings, whichever is lower.
  • ✓Employees must give at least 15 weeks' notice before the expected week of childbirth. The employer then has 28 days to confirm dates in writing.
  • ✓Dismissing or treating an employee unfavourably because of pregnancy or maternity leave is automatically unfair dismissal under UK law.

UK maternity leave is one of the most employee-friendly systems in Europe, at least on paper. Every pregnant employee has a day-one right to 52 weeks off work. No qualifying service needed. No minimum hours. Part-time, full-time, zero-hours contract: it doesn't matter. The leave itself is unconditional. Pay, however, is a different story. Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) requires 26 weeks of continuous service by the 15th week before the due date, plus minimum earnings of £123 per week (2024/25 threshold). Employees who don't qualify for SMP may be eligible for Maternity Allowance from the government instead. The first 6 weeks of SMP are paid at 90% of average weekly earnings with no upper cap, which makes those weeks surprisingly generous for higher earners. After that, the rate drops to a flat £184.03 per week for the remaining 33 weeks. The final 13 weeks of the 52-week entitlement are completely unpaid. Most employees take between 9 and 12 months. The 2-week compulsory maternity leave period immediately after birth is legally enforced (4 weeks for factory workers). An employer who allows a woman to work during this window commits a criminal offence.

52 weeksMaximum total maternity leave entitlement in the UK, regardless of length of service (Employment Rights Act 1996)
90%First 6 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay are paid at 90% of average weekly earnings with no cap (HMRC)
£184.03Weekly rate for Statutory Maternity Pay from week 7 to week 39, or 90% of earnings if lower (2024/25 rate, HMRC)
26 weeksMinimum service needed with the same employer to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (not required for leave itself)

Maternity Leave Eligibility and Pay Structure

Understanding who qualifies for what requires separating the leave entitlement from the pay entitlement. They have different rules.

ComponentRequirementDurationPay Rate
Maternity Leave (OML)Day-one right, no qualifying periodWeeks 1-26Depends on SMP eligibility
Maternity Leave (AML)Day-one right, no qualifying periodWeeks 27-52Depends on SMP eligibility
SMP: First 6 weeks26 weeks' service + earning above £123/weekWeeks 1-690% of average weekly earnings (no cap)
SMP: Next 33 weeksSame as aboveWeeks 7-39£184.03/week or 90% of earnings (lower amount)
Unpaid leaveAutomatic if taking full 52 weeksWeeks 40-52£0
Maternity AllowanceEmployed/self-employed for 26 of 66 weeks before due dateUp to 39 weeks£184.03/week or 90% of earnings (lower amount)

Notification and Documentation Process

The UK has a structured notification process that both sides need to follow. Getting the timing wrong can create headaches.

Employee notification requirements

The employee must inform the employer by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (roughly the 25th week of pregnancy). They need to provide three things: confirmation they're pregnant, the expected week of childbirth, and the date they want maternity leave to start. The start date can be changed later with 28 days' notice. If the baby arrives early, leave starts automatically on the day of birth regardless of the planned start date.

Employer response obligations

Within 28 days of receiving the employee's notification, the employer must write back confirming the date the employee is expected to return. This isn't optional. Failing to respond in writing means the employer can't enforce the requirement for the employee to give 8 weeks' notice if they want to return early or change their return date. Many employers miss this step, which weakens their ability to manage workforce planning.

MATB1 certificate

To claim SMP, the employee must provide a MATB1 form (Maternity Certificate) issued by a doctor or midwife no earlier than 20 weeks before the due date. Without the MATB1, the employer can't process SMP. If an employee can't provide the MATB1, they should apply for Maternity Allowance directly from the government instead.

Employee Rights During Maternity Leave

Maternity leave doesn't freeze the employment relationship. Most contractual terms continue as if the employee were still at work.

  • Holiday accrual continues throughout all 52 weeks of maternity leave. An employee on 12 months' maternity leave will return with a full year's holiday entitlement, which must be accommodated.
  • Contractual benefits like gym membership, private health insurance, and company car access must continue during OML and AML (except salary, which is replaced by SMP).
  • Pension contributions from the employer must continue based on the employee's normal salary during paid maternity leave, even though actual pay is lower.
  • The employee has the right to return to the same job after OML (first 26 weeks). After AML, they're entitled to the same job or a suitable alternative if returning to the exact role isn't reasonably practicable.
  • Protection from redundancy is enhanced: if a redundancy situation arises during maternity leave, the employee must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy in preference to other employees.
  • Keeping-in-touch (KIT) days allow the employee to work up to 10 days during maternity leave without ending the leave or losing SMP. These are voluntary for both parties.

Employer Cost Recovery (SMP Advance Funding)

Many smaller employers worry about the cash flow impact of maternity pay. The good news: HMRC lets you recover most or all of it.

Small employers (annual NIC liability under £45,000)

Small employers can recover 100% of SMP paid out, plus an additional 3% compensation to cover the administrative cost of running SMP through payroll. This means maternity pay costs a small employer nothing in net terms. The recovery is done by reducing PAYE, NIC, and student loan payments owed to HMRC each month. If the monthly HMRC bill isn't large enough to cover the SMP recovery, the employer can apply for advance funding from HMRC.

Large employers

Employers with annual Class 1 NIC liability of £45,000 or more can recover 92% of SMP, offset against PAYE and NIC payments to HMRC. The remaining 8% is the employer's cost. For a 39-week SMP claim at the flat rate, that's roughly £575 in net employer cost, well below what most companies budget for. The real cost of maternity leave isn't the pay itself: it's the temporary replacement hire, knowledge transfer, and workflow disruption.

Enhanced Maternity Pay Policies

Statutory pay is the legal minimum. Many UK employers go further with enhanced maternity policies to attract and retain talent.

Common enhanced pay structures

Enhanced policies typically offer full pay for a set number of weeks, then revert to SMP. A competitive package in 2025 might offer 16 to 26 weeks at full pay, followed by SMP for the remaining eligible weeks. Some employers (particularly in financial services, tech, and the public sector) offer 6 months at full pay. The Civil Service offers 26 weeks at full pay. NHS employees get 8 weeks at full pay plus 18 weeks at half pay plus SMP, then 13 weeks of SMP only.

Clawback clauses

Most enhanced maternity policies include a clawback clause requiring the employee to repay the enhanced portion (above SMP) if they don't return to work for a specified period, usually 3 to 6 months. These clauses are generally enforceable, but the wording must be clear and the repayment terms reasonable. Courts have been skeptical of clawback clauses that require repayment of the SMP portion, since that's a statutory entitlement.

UK Maternity Leave Statistics [2026]

Key data on maternity leave take-up, pay, and workforce impact in the UK.

52 weeks
Maximum statutory maternity leave for all pregnant employeesEmployment Rights Act 1996
39 weeks
Duration of Statutory Maternity Pay, covering 75% of the leave periodHMRC, 2024/25
72%
Of UK mothers who returned to the same employer after maternity leaveEHRC, Working Forward Survey 2023
54,000
Estimated number of women pushed out of their jobs each year due to pregnancy or maternity discrimination in the UKEHRC, 2023

Converting Maternity Leave to Shared Parental Leave

Since 2015, UK employees can convert unused maternity leave into Shared Parental Leave (SPL), allowing partners to share the time off.

How the conversion works

The mother must end (curtail) her maternity leave early. Any unused weeks of leave and pay (above the compulsory 2-week minimum) can be shared with the partner. If the mother takes 20 weeks of maternity leave, 32 weeks of SPL become available for either parent to take. SPL can be taken in blocks rather than all at once, and both parents can be off at the same time.

Take-up rates and barriers

Despite being available since 2015, SPL uptake remains low. Government estimates put the take-up rate at around 2% to 5% of eligible couples. The main barrier is financial: Shared Parental Pay mirrors SMP at the flat rate, which is too low for many families to afford having the higher earner off work. Cultural factors also play a role, with many workplaces still treating parental leave as primarily a mother's benefit.

Common Compliance Mistakes Employers Make

Maternity leave disputes are among the most common employment tribunal claims. These are the errors that get UK employers into trouble.

  • Failing to conduct a pregnancy risk assessment once notified of the pregnancy. Health and safety regulations require this, and the assessment must be documented.
  • Treating enhanced maternity pay differently from enhanced sick pay when calculating redundancy entitlements or pension contributions.
  • Not offering suitable alternative employment during redundancy exercises. Pregnant employees and those on maternity leave have priority over other at-risk employees.
  • Restructuring a role while the employee is on leave without following a proper consultation process. Courts view this as a strong indicator of discrimination.
  • Requiring the employee to use accrued holiday before starting maternity leave. Holiday and maternity leave are separate entitlements.
  • Forgetting to maintain contact during leave. While excessive contact can be harassment, reasonable periodic updates about workplace changes are expected and protect both parties.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an employer refuse maternity leave in the UK?

No. Maternity leave is a statutory right from day one of employment. An employer can't refuse it, delay it, or attach conditions to it. They can ask the employee to follow the notification process (informing them by the 15th week before the due date), but the leave itself is unconditional. Refusing maternity leave would result in an automatic unfair dismissal claim, which has no qualifying service requirement.

Do agency workers and zero-hours contract staff get maternity leave?

Yes. All employees and workers are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, regardless of contract type. The distinction matters for pay: agency workers and zero-hours staff still need to meet the SMP qualifying criteria (26 weeks' service and minimum earnings). If they don't qualify for SMP, they can apply for Maternity Allowance, which is paid directly by the government at the same flat rate.

What happens if the employee is made redundant during maternity leave?

If a genuine redundancy situation arises, the employee on maternity leave must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy before other at-risk employees. This is a legal priority right under the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999. If no suitable alternative exists, the redundancy can proceed, but the process must be fair and documented. Selecting someone for redundancy because of maternity leave is automatic unfair dismissal.

Can maternity leave start before the baby is born?

Yes. The earliest maternity leave can start is 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. The employee chooses their start date, with one exception: if the employee is off work with a pregnancy-related illness in the 4 weeks before the due date, maternity leave is triggered automatically. Many women start leave 2 to 4 weeks before the due date, though some work right up to the week before.

Does maternity leave reset with each pregnancy?

Yes. Each pregnancy triggers a fresh entitlement to 52 weeks of maternity leave and 39 weeks of SMP (if the employee meets the qualifying conditions). There's no lifetime cap on the number of times an employee can take maternity leave. The SMP qualifying conditions are assessed separately for each pregnancy based on service and earnings at the relevant time.

What are Keeping-in-Touch (KIT) days?

KIT days allow an employee to work up to 10 days during maternity leave without ending the leave or losing SMP for that week. Both parties must agree: the employer can't demand them, and the employee can't insist on them. KIT days are often used for training, team meetings, or handover updates. Payment for KIT days is agreed between the employer and employee. There's no statutory rate. Most employers pay the normal daily rate minus any SMP already received for that week.
Adithyan RKWritten by Adithyan RK
Surya N
Fact-checked by Surya N
Published on: 25 Mar 2026Last updated:
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