Chapter 9: Maternity, paternity and other parental benefits

CPAG

1. What are maternity, paternity and other parental benefits

2. Who is eligible

Basic facts

•Women having a baby can claim statutory maternity pay (SMP) if they have an employer, or maternity allowance if they have recently worked.

•The mother’s partner can claim statutory paternity pay (SPP).

•Parents adopting a child can claim statutory adoption pay (SAP) and SPP – one partner can claim SAP and the other SPP.

•Either partner in a couple can claim statutory shared parental pay instead of SMP, SPP or SAP.

•Part-time and full-time students are eligible for these benefits.

1. What are maternity, paternity and other parental benefits

Statutory maternity pay

You can get statutory maternity pay (SMP) for 39 weeks if you are pregnant or have just had a baby, have an employer and earn at least £123 a week (April 2024 rate).

Maternity allowance

If you cannot get SMP but you have recently worked, either employed or self-employed, you may be able to get maternity allowance (MA) for 39 weeks. You may also qualify if you have helped your partner with their self-employment. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for details.

Statutory paternity pay

You can get statutory paternity pay (SPP) for two weeks if your partner is having a baby and you are taking leave from work to care for her or for the child. You can also get statutory shared parental pay (SSPP) in some circumstances. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for details. Unmarried partners, including same-sex partners, can claim SPP.

Statutory adoption pay

You can get statutory adoption pay (SAP) for 39 weeks if you are adopting a child and are earning at least £123 a week from employment (April 2024 rate). If a couple (including same-sex couples) are adopting a child, one can claim SAP and the other can claim SPP for two weeks (or SSPP, in some circumstances).

Statutory shared parental pay

You or your partner can get SSPP instead of SMP, MA or SAP in certain circumstances.

Statutory parental bereavement pay

You can get statutory parental bereavement pay for up to two weeks if a child dies or is stillborn and you are earning at least £123 a week from employment (April 2024 rate).

2. Who is eligible

Students are eligible for maternity, paternity, adoption and parental bereavement benefits if they pass the basic rules for these. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for details. What follows is a brief outline of the qualifying conditions.

Statutory maternity pay

You can get statutory maternity pay (SMP) if:

•you are pregnant or have recently had a baby; and

•you have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before your expected week of birth; and

•your average gross earnings are at least £123 a week (April 2024 rate); and

•you give your employer the correct notice.

Maternity allowance

You can get maternity allowance (MA) if you cannot get SMP and:

•you are pregnant or have recently had a baby; and

•you have worked, either as an employee or self-employed, for at least 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks before the expected week of birth; and

•your average earnings are at least £30 a week.

Statutory paternity pay

You can get statutory paternity pay (SPP) if:

•you are the child’s father or partner of the child’s mother and you will be caring for the child or supporting the mother; and

•you have worked for the same employer for 41 weeks before the baby is born; and

•your average gross earnings are at least £123 a week (April 2024 rate); and

•you give your employer the correct notice.

You can also get SPP if you are adopting a child – you cannot get SPP for adoption and statutory adoption pay (SAP) at the same time, although one member of a couple can claim SAP while the other claims SPP (for adoption).

Statutory adoption pay

You can get SAP if:

•you are adopting a child; and

•you have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks ending with the week in which you are told you have been matched with a child for adoption; and

•your average gross earnings are at least £123 a week (April 2024 rate); and

•you give your employer the correct notice.

Statutory shared parental pay

You can get statutory shared parental pay (SSPP) if you are caring for a child and either:

•you are the mother of the child or have adopted the child, and you have reduced your MA, SMP or SAP period; or

•you are the father of the child or the partner of the mother/adopter and your partner has reduced their MA, SMP or SAP period.

Your partner must also meet employment and earnings tests. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for more details.

Statutory parental bereavement pay

You can get statutory parental bereavement pay if:

•on or after 6 April 2020, your child (under 18) died or was stillborn (after 24 weeks of pregnancy); and

•you have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks ending with the week before your child died and you still work for them on the day your child died; and

•your average gross earnings are at least £123 a week (April 2024 rate); and

•you give your employer the correct notice.

3. Amount of benefit

Weekly rate from April 2024
Statutory maternity pay (SMP)	for the first six weeks	90% of average weekly earnings
	for the following 33 weeks	£184.03 (or 90% of earnings if less)
Statutory paternity pay	for two weeks	£184.03 (or 90% of earnings if less)
Statutory adoption pay (SAP)	for 39 weeks	£184.03 (or 90% of earnings if less)
Statutory shared parental pay (SSPP)	for 37 weeks	£184.03 (or 90% of earnings if less)
Statutory parental bereavement pay	for two weeks	£184.03 (or 90% of earnings if less)
Maternity allowance (MA)	for 39 weeks	£184.03 (or 90% of earnings if less)

You can end your SMP, SAP or MA early and your partner can take parental leave instead of you and be paid SSPP. Or you can end your SMP, SAP or MA early and get SSPP yourself, as it gives you more flexibility in when you take your paid leave. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for more details.

4. Claiming maternity, paternity and other parental benefits

You claim statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental pay and parental bereavement pay from your employer. You can get a form for maternity allowance from or by telephoning Jobcentre Plus on 0800 055 6688.

5. Challenging a decision

If you think a decision about your maternity allowance is wrong, you can ask the DWP to look at it again. This process is known as a ‘mandatory reconsideration’. Provided you ask within the time limit (usually one month), the DWP notifies you of the decision in a ‘mandatory reconsideration notice’. If you are still not happy when you get this notice, you can appeal to the independent First-tier Tribunal. If it was not possible to ask the DWP to reconsider the decision within a month, you can ask for a late revision (within 13 months), explaining why it is late. You can also ask the DWP to look at a decision again at any time if certain grounds are met – eg, if there has been an official error.

If you disagree with your employer’s decision on your entitlement to statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental pay or parental bereavement pay, or your employer fails to make a decision, you can ask HMRC to make a formal decision on your entitlement.

6. Other benefits and tax credits

There are a number of other benefits you may get when you have a baby, such as:

•child benefit when the baby is born;

•universal credit, if you do not already get child tax credit (CTC) for other children you have, or working tax credit (WTC) because you are working and on a low income;

•CTC in some cases (if you already get WTC), or an increase in your existing CTC award, if you already get CTC. Tell HMRC within three months of the birth;

•a Best Start grant, if you are under 18 or get a qualifying benefit (see here);

•Best Start foods, if you are under 18 or get a qualifying benefit (see here);

•Scottish child payment, if you get a qualifying benefit (see here).

Maternity allowance is taken into account when calculating whether the benefit cap applies (see here and here). Statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental pay and parental bereavement pay are not taken into account.

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