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:

• week. The Lower Earnings Limit for 20242025 to 20252026 is £123

£125

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.

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£187.18 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.