Maternity Leave Planning Guide 2026
52 weeks of leave, 39 weeks of statutory pay — where does the gap land for you?
A practical timeline for statutory leave, 2026/27 maternity pay, employer notice, annual leave, KIT days, the unpaid tail and the childcare/working decisions that shape your return.
Legal scope: This guide summarises statutory maternity rules for Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) using current GOV.UK guidance. Northern Ireland has separate employment-law guidance on nidirect. Employer-enhanced schemes can be more generous.
Leave and pay are different entitlements. Statutory Maternity Leave can be up to 52 weeks. Statutory Maternity Pay, if you qualify, lasts up to 39 weeks. Your employer’s enhanced policy can change the cashflow dramatically.
The leave entitlement and the pay entitlement run on different timelines.
Statutory Maternity Leave can last for up to 52 weeks. Statutory Maternity Pay, if you qualify, can last for up to 39 weeks.
That distinction is the starting point for any realistic plan. Taking a full year of maternity leave does not mean receiving statutory maternity pay for a full year, and an employer’s enhanced maternity package can alter the shape of the first few months without changing the underlying statutory leave entitlement.
It is also possible to qualify for maternity leave without qualifying for Statutory Maternity Pay. Leave is available to qualifying employees regardless of length of service, while SMP has separate employment and earnings tests. Someone who does not qualify for SMP may instead qualify for Maternity Allowance.
For 2026/27, the standard statutory rate is £194.32 a week.
SMP is paid through payroll and is subject to tax and National Insurance in the same way as normal earnings. The first six weeks are calculated differently from the remaining 33 weeks, so the income change is usually substantial even before the statutory payments stop altogether.
| Period | SMP in 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| First 6 weeks | 90% of average weekly earnings before tax, with no statutory upper limit. |
| Next 33 weeks | £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. |
| Final 13 weeks of a full year | No Statutory Maternity Pay. |
To qualify for SMP, you generally need to have been continuously employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks into the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. For 2026/27, average weekly earnings must generally be at least £129.
Average weekly earnings are calculated over a specific reference period, so overtime, bonuses or periods of reduced earnings can affect the figure. If the amount matters materially to your plan, use the GOV.UK maternity-pay calculator or ask payroll to confirm the calculation rather than estimating from annual salary alone.
Your employer’s policy can matter more to the first-year budget than the statutory rate.
Many employers offer maternity pay above the statutory minimum. The structure varies widely: full pay for a period, followed by half pay, a top-up to SMP, or a fixed enhanced period before the statutory-only rate applies.
Read the policy in full rather than relying on a summary from colleagues. Some enhanced schemes have service requirements, different definitions of pensionable pay, conditions around returning to work, or repayment clauses if you leave shortly after returning. Those details can affect both the length of leave you can comfortably take and the timing of any later job move.
If your employer has a benefits portal, payroll guide or family-leave policy, save a copy before leave begins. Policies can change, and it is easier to plan when you have the version that applied to your leave and a written breakdown of how pay will be processed.
Most of the administration can be planned from the expected week of childbirth.
For statutory maternity leave, you normally need to tell your employer when the baby is due and when you want maternity leave to start at least 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. Your employer can ask for the notice in writing.
For SMP, your employer may ask for proof of pregnancy, normally the MATB1 certificate, and at least 28 days’ notice of the date you want SMP to start where that is reasonably practicable. The MATB1 is normally available from the doctor or midwife from 20 weeks before the due date.
| Point in the timeline | What to check |
|---|---|
| Around 20 weeks before due date | MATB1 can normally be issued from this point. |
| At least 15 weeks before expected week of childbirth | Tell your employer the due date and intended maternity-leave start date. |
| Earliest normal leave start | Usually 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. |
| Pregnancy-related sickness in final 4 weeks | Maternity leave and SMP can start automatically under the statutory rules. |
| Changing return date | Give at least 8 weeks’ notice if you want to return earlier or later than the date your employer expects. |
If the baby is born before maternity leave has started, leave begins automatically the day after the birth. The timing can therefore change even where the planned start date has been agreed well in advance.
Build the budget month by month, using the actual pay stages.
A maternity-leave budget based on one average monthly number can hide where the pressure really falls. The first six weeks of SMP, any enhanced employer pay, the statutory-rate period and the unpaid period can produce very different monthly take-home figures.
Start with the employer’s written pay schedule, then map each stage into calendar months. SMP is taxable, and monthly payroll dates do not line up neatly with maternity weeks, so use payroll estimates where possible rather than simply multiplying £194.32 by four.
Then add household income, fixed costs and any planned changes in spending. Some costs fall during leave; others rise. Childcare may begin before the return to work because of settling-in sessions, while commuting costs may not return until later. The budget should reflect when those changes occur.
Holiday continues to accrue during maternity leave.
Statutory holiday entitlement continues to build while you are on maternity leave. Contractual holiday above the statutory minimum can also continue, depending on the employment terms. Because maternity leave and annual leave cannot be taken at the same time, the accrued holiday normally needs to be used before or after maternity leave or carried forward where the statutory rules require it.
This can materially change the return plan. Someone taking 12 months of maternity leave may have a significant block of holiday available afterwards. Taking some of that leave immediately after maternity leave can postpone the physical return to work while putting the employee back onto normal holiday pay.
Agree the approach with your employer before the end of maternity leave, particularly if the holiday year will turn over while you are away. The answer can affect childcare start dates, handover planning and the date on which normal salary resumes.
Maternity leave does not suspend the employment relationship.
Employees remain employed during maternity leave. Employment rights such as holiday accrual and protection from pregnancy and maternity discrimination continue, while contractual benefits other than normal remuneration are generally protected under the statutory framework.
Redundancy is possible during maternity leave where there is a genuine redundancy situation, but the reason cannot be the pregnancy or maternity leave itself. Enhanced redundancy protection applies where a suitable alternative vacancy is available. For pregnancies notified on or after 6 April 2024, that protected period can extend from pregnancy through to 18 months after the birth.
Your employer should also keep you appropriately informed about significant workplace matters while you are away, such as reorganisations, redundancies or opportunities that would have been relevant had you been at work. It is worth agreeing a sensible level of contact before leave begins rather than assuming either complete silence or regular work communication.
KIT days are optional and should be agreed in advance.
You can work up to 10 Keeping in Touch days during maternity leave without bringing statutory maternity leave to an end. The employer does not have to offer KIT days and the employee does not have to accept them.
A KIT day can be useful for a training day, planning meeting, important team event or a gradual reconnection before returning. A partial day still normally counts as one of the 10 KIT days, so it is worth deciding whether the activity justifies using a day from the allowance.
Payment should be agreed with the employer. The statutory rules do not create a universal additional KIT-day rate, and the interaction with SMP or enhanced maternity pay can depend on the employer’s arrangement. Confirm the payment before agreeing the work.
Parents may now have an additional leave entitlement where a baby needs neonatal care.
For babies born on or after 6 April 2025, eligible employees in England, Scotland and Wales can receive up to 12 weeks of Neonatal Care Leave if the baby spends at least seven consecutive days in neonatal care. The leave is a day-one employment right; eligibility for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay has separate service and earnings conditions.
The entitlement is based on one week of leave for each seven full and continuous days of neonatal care, up to the 12-week maximum. If the mother is already on maternity leave, Neonatal Care Leave is taken after maternity leave finishes rather than replacing part of it.
For 2026/27, Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower for eligible employees. Because the timing and notice rules depend on whether the baby is still receiving neonatal care, use the dedicated GOV.UK guidance if this becomes relevant rather than trying to fit it into the ordinary maternity-leave timeline.
The right to return depends partly on how much maternity leave has been taken.
After 26 weeks or less of maternity leave, the normal position is a right to return to the same job. After more than 26 weeks, there is still normally a right to return to the same job, but if that is genuinely not reasonably practicable the employer can offer a suitable alternative role on terms that are not less favourable.
If you want to change the return date your employer is expecting, at least eight weeks’ notice is required. That applies both to returning earlier and to extending maternity leave within the statutory maximum.
A request to work differently after maternity leave is separate from maternity leave itself. Employees have a statutory right to request flexible working from day one of employment. A request can cover reduced days, different start and finish times, compressed hours, home working or another permanent change to the working pattern. The employer must deal with the request reasonably under the statutory process, but the request is not automatically guaranteed.
Childcare often needs to be arranged before the final return date is settled.
Nursery and childminder places can be booked many months ahead, particularly for popular start dates. That means the childcare decision may need to be made while maternity leave, annual leave and flexible-working plans are still provisional.
Allow for settling-in sessions and for the possibility that government childcare support does not begin on the same date as your return to work. In England, funded working-parent hours follow age and term-based start dates. Tax-Free Childcare has its own eligibility rules. The first one or two months of childcare can therefore cost more than the later steady-state amount.
Annual leave can sometimes bridge part of that transition. For example, maternity leave may end, annual leave may then be taken on normal holiday pay, and the physical return to work may happen after childcare has started. The feasibility depends on the employer’s leave policy and the amount of holiday accrued.
The information worth having in one place before leave starts.
A maternity-leave plan does not need to predict the year perfectly. It should record the dates, pay stages and decisions that would otherwise have to be reconstructed later from emails, payroll figures and policy documents.
Frequently asked questions
No. Statutory Maternity Leave is available to qualifying employees regardless of length of service. The 26-week service condition is part of the Statutory Maternity Pay eligibility test.
The first six weeks are paid at 90% of average weekly earnings. The following 33 weeks are £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
Yes. Statutory Maternity Leave can last up to 52 weeks. SMP lasts for up to 39 weeks, so the final 13 weeks are normally unpaid unless another arrangement provides income.
No. You can return earlier, subject to the notice rules. You must take at least two weeks after the birth, or four weeks if you work in a factory.
Holiday continues to accrue. Because maternity leave and annual leave cannot be taken at the same time, accrued leave is normally taken before or after maternity leave or carried forward where the rules require it.
You can agree up to 10 Keeping in Touch days with your employer without ending maternity leave. Neither side can insist on KIT days and the work and pay should be agreed in advance.
Yes. Give your employer at least eight weeks’ notice if you want to return earlier or later than the date they are expecting.
After 26 weeks or less of maternity leave, the normal right is to return to the same job. After more than 26 weeks, the same-job right still normally applies, but a suitable alternative role may be offered if returning to the same job is genuinely not reasonably practicable.
You can make a statutory flexible-working request from day one of employment. The employer must consider it reasonably under the statutory process, but it does not automatically have to agree to the requested pattern.
For babies born on or after 6 April 2025, eligible employees in England, Scotland and Wales may receive up to 12 additional weeks of Neonatal Care Leave where the baby spends at least seven consecutive days in neonatal care. Separate rules determine eligibility for statutory pay.
The guide uses Great Britain employment-law sources for the detailed rules. Northern Ireland has separate employment-law guidance and processes, so use nidirect for the applicable maternity-leave and pay information.
Related Modern Parenting guides
Statutory maternity figures and Great Britain employment guidance checked 18 August 2026. This is general planning information, not legal or financial advice. Employer-enhanced schemes and Northern Ireland rules can differ; check your own policy and the applicable official guidance.