Your circumstances | What to check | More information |
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If you are employed | Check your entitlement to statutory maternity pay (SMP) from your employer. You must meet certain employment and earnings conditions to qualify. Note that: If the qualifying conditions are met you can give up your SMP early, from at least two weeks after the birth, in order for you and/or your partner (or the child’s other parent) to get statutory shared parental pay (SSPP) instead (if you both qualify you can share the weeks of SSPP between you). In some circumstances doing so may increase your overall household income. See below for more information about SSPP. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):
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Check if you qualify for SSPP. For you to qualify, you must give up your SMP early so the remaining weeks of your 39-week maternity pay period can be replaced by weeks of entitlement to SSPP. As you can get SSPP until a year after the birth, this can give you more flexibility in when you take paid leave - for example, by allowing you to return to work and take paid leave later. You may also want to give up your SMP early if it would mean your partner or the baby’s father would qualify for SSPP (if you both qualify you can share the weeks of SSPP between you). In some circumstances, this may increase your overall household income. Note that: Depending on your earnings and whether you or your partner are claiming SSPP, SMP may be more than SSPP in the first six weeks of the maternity pay period. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):
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If your child was born on or after 6 April 2025, and has needed neonatal care for at least seven continuous days (not counting the day the care started), check your entitlement to statutory neonatal care pay from your employer. The period of neonatal care must have started in the 28 days after the birth and you must meet certain employment and earnings conditions to qualify. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):
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If you do not qualify for SMP | Check your entitlement to maternity allowance (MA). You can qualify based on your own current or past employment or self-employment, or the self-employment of your spouse or civil partner if you helped with their business but were not employed by them. Your claim for MA is also treated as a claim for employment and support allowance (and vice versa). Note that: You can give up your MA early, from at least two weeks after the birth, in order for your partner (or the child’s other parent) to get statutory shared parental pay (SSPP) instead, if they meet the qualifying conditions for it. In some circumstances doing so may increase your overall household income. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers): GOV.UK:
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If you live in England or Wales | Check whether you can get a Sure Start maternity grant. You or your partner need to get a qualifying benefit and usually there must be no other children aged under 16 in your family. The grant is a one-off payment of £500 and is not repayable. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):
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If you are pregnant or responsible for a child aged under four, check if you qualify for the Healthy Start food and vitamins scheme. In most circumstances, to get Healthy Start food and vitamins, you or your partner must be getting a qualifying benefit. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers): GOV.UK:
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If you live in Scotland | Check whether can get a Best Start grant pregnancy and baby payment. In most circumstances, to get a pregnancy and baby payment, you or your partner must get a qualifying benefit. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):
Children's Handbook Scotland:
CPAG in Scotland
mygov.scot:
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If you are pregnant or responsible for a child under three, check if you qualify for Best Start foods. Note that: If you are pregnant you are entitled to receive free vitamins in Scotland regardless of your income. Vitamin D is available free for people who are breastfeeding and children under the age of three. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):
Children's Handbook Scotland:
CPAG in Scotland
mygov.scot:
NHS Inform (Scotland)
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If you need help with prescription charges | In England, you qualify for free prescriptions if you are pregnant or have given birth in the last 12 months. After this, check if you qualify for free prescriptions on another ground. Prescriptions are free in Wales and Scotland. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers):
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If you need help with the cost of dental treatment | In England and Wales, you qualify for free NHS dental check-ups and free NHS dental treatment if you are pregnant or have given birth within the last 12 months. After this, check if you qualify for free NHS dental check-ups and treatment on another ground. In Scotland, NHS dental check-ups are free for everyone and NHS dental treatment is free for pregnant women and women who have given birth in the past 12 months. After this, check if you qualify for free NHS dental treatment on another ground. | Welfare Rights Handbook (for subscribers):
NHS Business Services Authority:
NHS Inform (Scotland):
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If you are subject to a universal credit (UC) sanction | If you are getting UC and have been sanctioned because you have not met your work-related requirements, check if you can challenge the sanction. In some circumstances, you should have no work-related requirements imposed on you. For example, this includes if: •there are 11 weeks or fewer before the week your baby is due; or •you had a baby not more than 15 weeks ago (including if this was a stillbirth); or •you are the responsible carer of a child aged under one.
You should not be sanctioned for failing to meet a work-related requirement if the requirement should not apply to you. Use our tools to check your work-related requirements and to request a mandatory reconsideration of a sanction decision. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers): CPAG Welfare Rights tools (for subscribers): |
If you are subject to a benefit sanction | If you have been given a benefit sanction, in addition to considering challenging the decision, also consider applying for a hardship payment. Check whether you qualify. If, because of a sanction, your income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) has been reduced, including if it has been reduced to nil, check if you qualify for a hardship payment of ESA. You usually have to repay hardship payments of UC but do not have pay back hardship payments of ESA. | Welfare Benefits Handbook (for subscribers): |