Maternity Allowance

• Employed: 26 weeks in the test period, earning £30 a week or more in at least 13 of them. The weeks do not have to be together, and jobs can be mixed.
• Self-employed: registered with HMRC for at least 26 weeks of the test period.
• Unpaid work for a partner: 26 weeks of it, no job of your own, and your spouse or civil partner registered self-employed and paying Class 2 in the same weeks.

Maternity Allowance when you cannot get SMP

You cannot get Maternity Allowance if your employer pays you SMP, so it is the payment for people SMP leaves out. SMP needs 26 weeks with one employer into your qualifying week and average weekly earnings of at least £129. Maternity Allowance needs £30 a week in any 13 weeks, so many people who earn too little for SMP, or changed jobs, still qualify. The Maternity Pay Qualifying Week Calculator checks the SMP tests; if you pass, use the Maternity Pay Calculator instead.

You may also be able to claim a Sure Start Maternity Grant.

The maximum needs 26 weeks registered with HMRC and Class 2 for at least 13 of the 66 weeks. With no Class 2 you are treated as earning £30 a week and get £27, which is 90% of that. Voluntary Class 2 costs £3.65 a week, and after you apply you can be asked to pay more to reach the maximum, with your payments increased and backdated.

HMRC treats Class 2 as paid if your profits are £7,105or more a year, so you do not have to pay it. GOV.UK's Maternity Allowance guide still words the maximum as Class 2 paid for 13 weeks. DWP decides how your weeks count.

1. 1

   Wait until you can claim

   Wait until you have been pregnant for 26 weeks.
2. 2

   Fill in form MA1

   Fill in form MA1 with your work in the 66 weeks before your baby is due.
3. 3

   Send your evidence

   Send your MATB1 certificate, payslips for the 13 weeks you chose, and your SMP1 form if your employer refused you SMP.
4. 4

   Wait for the decision

   Expect a decision in about 20 working days. DWP, not your employer, pays every 2 or 4 weeks.

Payments can start any time from the 11th week before the week your baby is due to the day after the birth. For a due date of Thu, 1 April 2027, the earliest start is Sun, 10 January 2027, and starting then means claiming by Sat, 10 April 2027. Maternity leave itself runs 52 weeks, so if you take it all, the weeks after week 39 are unpaid.

At £150 a week the two are the same, because 90% is below £194.32 in every week. At £100 SMP is not payable, because it is below the £129 lower earnings limit, but Maternity Allowance is.

The rules for SMP are in Statutory Maternity Pay: How Much You Get and for How Long, and the qualifying week in The Maternity Pay Qualifying Week and SMP Entitlement.