Enhanced Maternity Pay Calculator
The enhanced maternity pay calculator takes your employer's own scheme, block by block, and shows what you are paid in each of the 52weeks of maternity leave. It reads "full pay" and "half pay" the way your policy does: with Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) inside the figure, or paid on top of it.
Your pay
Gross pay averaged over the 8 weeks ending with your last normal payday on or before the Saturday of the qualifying week, the 15th week before the week your baby is due. Used for SMP.
Your scheme
Copy each block of weeks from your maternity policy, in the order it pays them. After your last block, SMP runs to week 39.
Your results
Total maternity pay
Over 52 weeks, before tax
Statutory Maternity Pay
Paid by your employer
Employer pay
More than SMP alone
Unpaid weeks
Of 52 weeks of leave
Your 52 weeks
| Weeks | Paid as | SMP | Employer pay | You receive | Band total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | 100% including SMP | £630.00 | £70.00 | £700.00about £3,033 a month | £4,200.00 |
| 7 to 26 | 100% including SMP | £194.32 | £505.68 | £700.00about £3,033 a month | £14,000.00 |
| 27 to 39 | SMP only | £194.32 | £0.00 | £194.32about £842 a month | £2,526.16 |
| 40 to 52 | Unpaid | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Total before tax | £10,192.56 | £10,533.60 | £20,726.16 | ||
Employer pay in total is £10,533.60. The part a return-to-work clause can reclaim depends on your scheme's wording.
Monthly figures are the weekly amount times 52, divided by 12. Each weekly amount is rounded to the nearest penny, so a payslip can differ by a penny or two.
That reading changes the total: at £700 a week, 26 weeks of half pay are worth £4,306.40 more with SMP on top (capped at full pay) than with SMP included. SMP uses the 2026 to 2027 rates, the same rates as the Maternity Pay Calculator, and every figure is before tax.
SMP rates checked against GOV.UK on 8 October 2026. Scheme rules are quoted from each scheme's own document, listed under Sources.
Enter your employer's scheme, block by block
Copy each block of weeks from your maternity policy into its own row, in the order your policy pays them. Four entries build the schedule:
- Enter your average weekly earnings: your gross pay averaged over the 8 weeks ending with your last normal payday on or before the Saturday of the qualifying week, the 15th week before the week your baby is due. SMP is worked out from this figure.
- Check your scheme's normal weekly pay: the "full pay" that your scheme's percentages apply to. The NHS calculates it with the SMP average weekly earnings rules, while the Burgundy Book and the Green Book use the pay due under your contract for a normal week.
- Add one row per block of weeks: the number of weeks, the percentage of normal pay, and whether that pay includes SMP or comes on top of it. The table below turns real policy wording into these settings.
- Leave out the weeks your policy pays at SMP only: the calculator pays SMP after your last block until week 39, then nothing until week 52.
| Your policy says | Enter | SMP setting |
|---|---|---|
| “full pay, offset against payments made by way of SMP” (Burgundy Book) | the full-pay weeks, 100% | Includes SMP |
| pay “reduced ... by an amount equal to the statutory maternity pay” (Police Regulations 2003, Annex L) | the full-pay weeks, 100% | Includes SMP |
| “nine-tenths of a week's pay offset against payments made by way of SMP” (Green Book) | those weeks, 90% | Includes SMP |
| “half a week's pay plus SMP”, reduced where “the combined pay and SMP ... exceeds full pay” (Green Book) | the half-pay weeks, 50% | Paid on top of SMP, cap ticked |
| “payment of SMP or MA, as appropriate” (Burgundy Book) | nothing: leave these weeks out | The calculator pays SMP to week 39 |
What the calculator counts as enhanced pay
Enhanced maternity pay is the pay your employer adds above Statutory Maternity Pay, under your contract or maternity policy. What it covers and how it sits with SMP is set out in Enhanced Maternity Pay: What It Is and How It Works with SMP.
Occupational maternity pay is the same employer-funded pay under its public-sector name, used by the NHS handbook, the Burgundy Book and the SNCT. Enter occupational blocks exactly as you would enhanced ones.
Includes SMP or paid on top: choosing the setting
Enhanced maternity pay is on top of SMP in some blocks and includes SMP in others. The policy wording tells you which: "full pay offset against SMP" includes SMP, while "half pay plus SMP" adds SMP on top. The NHS, Burgundy Book and Green Book schemes all pay their full-pay weeks with SMP included and their half-pay weeks with SMP on top, and each scheme caps the total at full pay.
Full pay including SMP
With full pay including SMP, your employer pays only the gap between SMP and your normal pay, so you receive your normal pay each week. At £700 a week (an illustrative figure):
| Weeks | SMP | Employer pays | You receive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | £630.00 | £70.00 | £700.00 |
| 7 to 26 | £194.32 | £505.68 | £700.00 |
The employer's enhancement is smallest in weeks 1 to 6, because SMP is 90% of your earnings in those weeks. A payslip shows the occupational line as full pay minus SMP for the same reason: the employer pays the top-up, and SMP fills the rest.
Half pay plus SMP, and the cap at full pay
With half pay plus SMP, your employer pays half your normal pay and SMP is added on top, up to a cap at your full payin the NHS, Burgundy Book and Green Book schemes. The cap has these effects when your scheme's normal pay equals your average weekly earnings:
- Weeks 1 to 6: half pay plus SMP at 90% always passes full pay, so a capped scheme pays exactly your full pay.
- Week 7 onwards, up to £388.64 a week: half pay plus £194.32 reaches full pay at a normal pay of £388.64 a week or less (about £20,209 a year). A capped half-pay week then pays the same as a full-pay week.
- Week 7 onwards, above £388.64 a week: the cap does not bind. At £700 a week, half pay plus SMP is £544.32, below the £700.00 cap.
Worked examples: three schemes at £700 a week
At £700 a week, the three example schemes pay £20,726.16, £17,612.56 and £14,392.56 over 52 weeks, against £10,192.56from SMP alone. £700 a week (£36,400 a year) is an illustrative figure. Each example assumes your normal pay equals your average weekly earnings and that you meet the scheme's service and return conditions.
SMP alone pays 6 weeks at £630.00 and 33 weeks at £194.32, then 13 unpaid weeks.
Example 1: 26 weeks full pay including SMP
Example 1 pays £20,726.16 over 52 weeks, of which your employer pays £10,533.60. This is the shape of the police officer scheme in England and Wales (Annex L), which the Police Maternity Pay Calculator presets, and the fire and rescue Grey Book scheme in England.
Example 1
26 weeks full pay including SMP, £700 a week
| Weeks | SMP | Employer pays | You receive | Band total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | £630.00 | £70.00 | £700.00 | £4,200.00 |
| 7 to 26 | £194.32 | £505.68 | £700.00 | £14,000.00 |
| 27 to 39 | £194.32 | £0.00 | £194.32 | £2,526.16 |
| 40 to 52 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
52-week total £20,726.16, of which your employer pays £10,533.60.
Example 2: 26 weeks half pay plus SMP, capped at full pay
Example 2 pays £17,612.56 over 52 weeks, of which your employer pays £7,420.00. This is an illustrative scheme, not a named one.
Example 2
26 weeks half pay plus SMP, capped at full pay, £700 a week
| Weeks | SMP | Employer pays | You receive | Band total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | £630.00 | £70.00 | £700.00 | £4,200.00 |
| 7 to 26 | £194.32 | £350.00 | £544.32 | £10,886.40 |
| 27 to 39 | £194.32 | £0.00 | £194.32 | £2,526.16 |
| 40 to 52 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
52-week total £17,612.56, of which your employer pays £7,420.00.
Each of weeks 7 to 26 pays SMP plus half pay: £194.32 and £350.00, so £544.32. The cap costs £1,680.00 here: without it, weeks 1 to 6 would pay £980.00 each and the total would be £19,292.56. Read as half pay including SMP, the same 26 weeks pay £13,306.16 in total, which is £4,306.40 less than example 2.
Example 3: the Green Book scheme for council staff
Example 3 pays £14,392.56 over 52 weeks, of which your employer pays £4,200.00. The Green Book covers local government staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with 1 year's continuous local government service at the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth. It pays the 12 half-pay weeks to employees who declare in writing that they intend to return. The Council Maternity Pay Calculator presets it.
Example 3
Green Book, £700 a week
| Weeks | SMP | Employer pays | You receive | Band total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | £630.00 | £0.00 | £630.00 | £3,780.00 |
| 7 to 18 | £194.32 | £350.00 | £544.32 | £6,531.84 |
| 19 to 39 | £194.32 | £0.00 | £194.32 | £4,080.72 |
| 40 to 52 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
52-week total £14,392.56, of which your employer pays £4,200.00.
At this pay the Green Book enhances weeks 7 to 18 only: the 90% block in weeks 1 to 6 adds £0.00, because SMP already pays 90% of your average weekly earnings in those weeks.
The same schemes at £300 a week
At £300 a week, the cap makes example 2 pay exactly what example 1 pays: £10,326.16. £300 a week (£15,600 a year) is an illustrative figure.
| Scheme | 52-week total | More than SMP alone |
|---|---|---|
| SMP only | £8,032.56 | £0.00 |
| Example 1: 26 weeks full pay including SMP | £10,326.16 | £2,293.60 |
| Example 2: 26 weeks half pay plus SMP, capped | £10,326.16 | £2,293.60 |
| Example 3: Green Book | £9,300.72 | £1,268.16 |
Half pay of £150.00 plus £194.32 of SMP is £344.32, more than £300.00, so the cap holds every week of example 2. Read as half pay including SMP, the same 26 weeks add £0.00, because SMP alone is more than half pay at £300 a week.
How does your scheme compare with named schemes?
Compare your scheme by its 52-week total against named schemes, because this page publishes no average: no official UK dataset of employer schemes is among its sources. All totals below use £700 a week (illustrative) and assume the scheme's conditions are met; maternity pay by employer scheme sets out each public sector scheme's weeks.
| Scheme | Who it covers | Shape | 52-week total | More than SMP alone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMP only | employees who qualify for SMP | 6 weeks at 90%, 33 weeks at £194.32 | £10,192.56 | £0.00 |
| Example policy from a Mumsnet question | one private employer | 6 weeks full pay, then 6 weeks at 75%, both including SMP | £12,596.64 | £2,404.08 |
| Green Book (Council Maternity Pay Calculator) | council staff, England, Wales and Northern Ireland | 6 weeks at 90%, 12 weeks half pay plus SMP | £14,392.56 | £4,200.00 |
| Burgundy Book (Teacher Maternity Pay Calculator) | teachers in local authority maintained schools, England and Wales | 4 weeks full pay, 2 weeks at 90%, 12 weeks half pay plus SMP | £14,672.56 | £4,480.00 |
| Agenda for Change (NHS Maternity Pay Calculator) | NHS staff in all four UK nations | 8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay plus SMP | £17,923.92 | £7,731.36 |
| 26 weeks full pay (Police Maternity Pay Calculator) | police officers and police staff (England and Wales), fire and rescue staff (England) | 26 weeks full pay including SMP | £20,726.16 | £10,533.60 |
The example policy of 6 weeks full pay then 6 weeks at 75% adds £2,404.08 to SMP at this pay. That is less than each of the four public schemes in the table adds.
Service tests and paying it back
Your scheme sets its own service test, separate from the one for SMP: 12 months in the NHS, one year under the Burgundy Book and the Green Book, and 63 weeks for police officers. The calculator assumes you meet it, so check your policy before relying on the figures.
You repay enhanced maternity pay only when your scheme has a return condition and you do not meet it, and SMP is never repayable. The rule in each scheme is set out in Do You Have to Pay Back Maternity Pay?, and the calculator shows "Employer pay after week 6" so you can read off what your clause puts at stake.
Questions about your employer's scheme
These answers use the same £700 a week illustration and the scheme documents listed under Sources.
Which employer schemes pay 26 weeks of full pay?
Police officers and police staff in England and Wales, and fire and rescue staff in England, get 26 weeks of full pay. Police officers in Scotland can choose 26 weeks of full pay, as one of three options, when their expected week of childbirth starts on or after 1 April 2026. SMP alone never pays 6 months of full pay: it pays 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks.
What does 3 months full pay mean?
It means full pay for the period your policy names, and your employer has to tell you two things: how many weeks that is, and whether SMP is inside the full pay. Enter the answer as weeks. 13 weeks of full pay including SMP, followed by SMP to week 39, comes to £14,152.32 over 52 weeks at £700 a week.
Is my employer paying less by spreading maternity pay over 12 months?
Spreading changes the size of each payment, so compare 52-week totals to see whether the amount changes. The Green Book lets the 12 half-pay weeks be paid as "the equivalent amount (i.e. 6 weeks' pay)" on another agreed pattern, and the NHS handbook allows occupational pay to be spread equally over the leave by prior agreement. Enter the standard scheme here, then check that your employer's spread plan adds up to the same total.
Do I repay the gross or the net figure?
The scheme texts quoted on this page do not saywhether a refund is gross or net, so ask your payroll team to confirm the figure in writing. The calculator's employer pay figures are gross, before tax and National Insurance.
Can I challenge my employer's maternity policy?
Whether a policy can be challenged depends on your contract, which is a legal question this calculator does not answer. Check the policy document first: the weeks, the percentages, the SMP wording and the return condition. Public-sector schemes such as the Green Book and the Burgundy Book are national agreements between employers and unions, so their terms are set nationally, not by one employer.
What happens after a 26-week enhanced scheme ends?
SMP carries on to week 39: it is paid for up to 39 weeks, about 9 months, so a 26-week employer scheme sits inside those 39 weeks. In example 1 at £700 a week, weeks 1 to 26 pay £700.00, weeks 27 to 39 pay £194.32 and weeks 40 to 52 pay nothing. Those last 13 weeks of the 52 weeks of leave stay unpaid unless your scheme pays them, and the calculator accepts blocks that run past week 39.
Sources and limits
Related calculators. Civil servants can model department schemes with the Civil Service Maternity Pay Calculator. Employers can work out what HMRC repays with the SMP Recovery Calculator. The reclaim is 92% of the SMP paid, or 109% in 2026 to 2027where the employer's Class 1 National Insurance was £45,000or less in the last complete tax year before the employee's qualifying week.
About these figures. Every figure from this calculator is an estimate before tax and National Insurance, not financial or employment advice. Maternity Allowance is not modelled. SMP needs average weekly earnings of at least £129 a week. SMP uses the 2026 to 2027 rates, which apply to SMP from 5 April 2026; the 2027 to 2028 rate has not been announced. Weekly amounts are rounded to the nearest penny, so a payslip can differ by a penny or two. How the calculator works and every rate it uses: Methodology and sources.
Sources
- HMRC, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027: £194.32 standard rate, 90% for the first 6 weeks, £129 lower earnings limit, 5 April 2026 SMP start date, 92% and 109% recovery.
- GOV.UK, Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave: employer guide: 39 paid weeks (6 plus 33).
- GOV.UK, Maternity pay and leave: leave: 52 weeks of leave.
- NJC for Local Government Services, The Green Book, Part 2 paragraph 11 (1 May 2024 edition, copy hosted by Surrey County UNISON).
- National Employers' Organisation for School Teachers, Burgundy Book, Section 5 (June 2023 edition, hosted by Oxfordshire County Council).
- NHS Employers, NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, Section 15 (version 63, published 1 October 2026).
- Home Office, Police Regulations 2003, Annex L (in force 4 January 2021).
- Police Negotiating Board for Scotland, Handbook 3.7, maternity leave and pay.
- Police Staff Council, England and Wales handbook (February 2026 update).
- NJC for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services, Circular NJC 5/24, maternity pay (3 July 2024).
- Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, SNCT Handbook Part 2 Section 7.
Checked 8 October 2026.