Teacher Maternity Pay Calculator
This teacher maternity pay calculator shows your pay week by week under the Burgundy Book (England and Wales), the SNCT scheme (Scotland) and the Northern Ireland scheme. It shows how Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is offset, the 13 unpaid weeks at the end, and the half-pay sum your employer can reclaim if you do not return for 13 weeks.
Figures use the 2026 to 2027 SMP rate of £194.32 a week, are before tax, and follow the same SMP rules as the Maternity Pay Calculator. It is a free maternity pay calculator for teachers in all four UK nations, with no sign-up.
Your teaching job
Your actual salary under your current contract. Part-time teachers enter their actual salary, not the full-time equivalent. A week's pay is this divided by 52.
One year's continuous service as a teacher with one or more local authorities at the beginning of the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth.
England and Wales (Burgundy Book)
- Service test
- One year's continuous service as a teacher with one or more local authorities at the beginning of the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth.
- If you do not go back
- You return to teaching for at least 13 weeks, including any school closure periods. If you do not, your employer may ask you to repay the occupational pay for the weeks after week 6. SMP is never repayable.
- Source
- Conditions of Service for School Teachers in England and Wales (Burgundy Book), Section 5 (Revised edition, June 2023)
Your results
Total maternity pay
Over 52 weeks, before tax
Statutory Maternity Pay
Paid by your employer
Occupational pay
More than SMP alone
Unpaid weeks
Of 52 weeks of leave
Under England and Wales (Burgundy Book) you receive £14,581.76 before tax over the 52 weeks of leave, £4,430.72 more than SMP alone. Pay stops after week 39, so the last 13 weeks are unpaid.
Your 52 weeks
| Weeks | Paid as | SMP | Occupational pay | You receive | Band total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Full pay, SMP included | £623.08 | £69.23 | £692.31about £3,000 a month | £2,769.24 |
| 5 to 6 | 9/10ths of a week's pay, SMP included | £623.08 | £0.00 | £623.08about £2,700 a month | £1,246.16 |
| 7 to 18 | Half pay plus SMP, capped at full pay | £194.32 | £346.15 | £540.47about £2,342 a month | £6,485.64 |
| 19 to 39 | SMP only | £194.32 | £0.00 | £194.32about £842 a month | £4,080.72 |
| 40 to 52 | Unpaid | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Total before tax | £10,151.04 | £4,430.72 | £14,581.76 | ||
The most your employer can ask for: the occupational pay after week 6. It decides how much, at its discretion. SMP is never repayable.
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.
The three teachers' schemes in the calculator
The calculator loads one of three schemes from the nation you choose. For who qualifies, academies, supply teachers and the return rule, see Teachers' Maternity Pay: The Burgundy Book, SNCT and NI Schemes.
| Scheme | Where | Service you need | Occupational pay | SMP only | Unpaid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burgundy Book | England and Wales | 1 year with one or more local authorities, at the start of the 11th week before your due week | Weeks 1 to 4 full pay; weeks 5 and 6 at 90%; weeks 7 to 18 half pay plus SMP | Weeks 19 to 39 | Weeks 40 to 52 |
| SNCT | Scotland | 26 weeks' continuous service at the start of the 15th week before your due week | Weeks 1 to 13 at normal salary | Weeks 14 to 39 | Weeks 40 to 52 |
| TNC 2021/1 | Northern Ireland | 52 weeks with one or more employing authorities, at the start of the 11th week before your due week | Weeks 1 to 4 full pay; weeks 5 and 6 at 90%; weeks 7 to 18 half pay plus SMP | Weeks 19 to 39 | Weeks 40 to 52 |
SMP is the statutory floor inside every scheme: 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then £194.32a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks. Offsetting means your school tops SMP up to the scheme's rate; in weeks 7 to 18 of the Burgundy Book and Northern Ireland schemes it pays half pay on top of SMP instead, so you never receive both in full. The calculator's nation selector loads the matching scheme: the Burgundy Book for a teacher in Leeds or Cardiff, the SNCT for Glasgow, and the Northern Ireland scheme (TNC 2021/1) for Belfast.
How the Burgundy Book pays teachers in England and Wales
The Burgundy Book pays full pay for weeks 1 to 4, 9/10ths of a week's pay for weeks 5 and 6, and half pay plus SMP for weeks 7 to 18. SMP alone covers weeks 19 to 39, and weeks 40 to 52 are unpaid.
| Weeks | What you get | How SMP fits | On £36,000 a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Full pay | Offset: your school tops SMP up to full pay | £692.31 a week |
| 5 and 6 | 9/10ths of a week's pay | Offset: your school tops SMP up to 90% | £623.08 a week |
| 7 to 18 | Half pay plus SMP | Added on top, with the total capped at full pay | £540.47 a week |
| 19 to 39 | SMP only | £194.32, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower | £194.32 a week |
| 40 to 52 | Nothing | Unpaid leave | £0.00 |
A week's pay is the amount payable under your current contract. A salary that varies significantly is averaged over the 12 weeks before your absence (Burgundy Book, definition 10.1).
The unpaid tail.Your leave runs 52 weeks, but pay stops after week 39 in every teachers' scheme. Weeks 40 to 52 pay £0.00.
Service, academies and supply teachers
Burgundy Book pay needs one year's continuous local authority service at the start of the 11th week before your due week; with less, the calculator gives SMP only. Supply teachers paid by the day or hour also get SMP only. If your academy or independent school has its own scheme, enter its weeks in the Enhanced Maternity Pay Calculator.
If you do not return for 13 weeks
The calculator shows the occupational pay after week 6 that your employer can ask you to repay if you do not return for 13 weeks: £4,153.80 for a teacher on £36,000. SMP is never refundable.
Worked examples for England and Wales
A full-time teacher on £36,000 in England or Wales receives £14,581.76 before tax over 39 weeks, £4,430.72 more than SMP alone. The salaries below are round illustrative figures, not pay scale points. Each calculation rounds weekly amounts to the nearest penny, so a payslip can differ by a penny or two.
Full-time teacher on £36,000
A full-time teacher on £36,000 gets £692.31 a week for weeks 1 to 4, £623.08 for weeks 5 and 6, £540.47 for weeks 7 to 18 and £194.32 for weeks 19 to 39.
£36,000 a year, Burgundy Book
Week's pay: £36,000 ÷ 52 = £692.31. SMP for weeks 1 to 6 is 90% of that, £623.08.
| Weeks | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | SMP £623.08 plus £69.23 = £692.31 a week | £2,769.24 |
| 5 and 6 | SMP £623.08, already the scheme rate | £1,246.16 |
| 7 to 18 | SMP £194.32 plus £346.15 = £540.47 a week | £6,485.64 |
| 19 to 39 | SMP £194.32 a week | £4,080.72 |
| 40 to 52 | Unpaid | £0.00 |
| Total before tax, weeks 1 to 39 | £14,581.76 | |
In weeks 5 and 6, SMP already equals 90% of a week's pay, so there is no top-up.
Part-time teacher on £18,000: the full-pay cap
Weeks 7 to 18 pay your normal £346.15 a week on £18,000, because half pay plus SMP comes to more than full pay and the Burgundy Book caps it. The scheme applies whatever hours you work each week.
£18,000 a year, Burgundy Book
Week's pay: £18,000 ÷ 52 = £346.15. SMP for weeks 1 to 6 is £311.54.
| Weeks | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | SMP £311.54 plus £34.61 = £346.15 a week | £1,384.60 |
| 5 and 6 | SMP £311.54, already the scheme rate | £623.08 |
| 7 to 18 | Half pay £173.08 plus SMP £194.32 = £367.40, capped at £346.15 | £4,153.80 |
| 19 to 39 | SMP £194.32 a week | £4,080.72 |
| 40 to 52 | Unpaid | £0.00 |
| Total before tax, weeks 1 to 39 | £10,242.20 | |
In weeks 7 to 18, half pay £173.08 plus SMP £194.32 would be £367.40, so your school pays £151.83 on top of SMP.
Total: £10,242.20 before tax. The most repayable under the 13-week rule is £1,821.96. The cap applies to any salary below £20,209.28 a year, where half pay plus £194.32exceeds a full week's pay.
Teacher with under a year's service: SMP only
A teacher on £36,000 with less than a year's local authority service gets SMP only: £623.08 a week for 6 weeks, then £194.32 for 33 weeks, £10,151.04 before tax.
Scotland (SNCT): 13 weeks at normal salary
Teachers in Scotland get 13 weeks at their normal salary, made up of occupational maternity pay (OMP) plus SMP, then SMP alone for 26 weeks.
| Weeks | What you get | On £36,000 a year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 13 | Normal salary (OMP plus SMP) | £692.31 a week |
| 14 to 39 | SMP only | £194.32 a week |
| 40 to 52 | Nothing | £0.00 |
The scheme, agreed by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), needs 26 weeks' continuous service at the start of the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth (SNCT Handbook, Part 2, Section 7). The 26 SMP weeks need average weekly earnings of at least the £129 lower earnings limit. Your employer keeps paying full pension contributions during paid maternity leave.
Worked example: £36,000 in Scotland
A teacher in Scotland on £36,000 gets £692.31 a week for 13 weeks and £194.32 a week for the next 26.
£36,000 a year, SNCT
OMP tops SMP up to normal salary for weeks 1 to 13.
| Weeks | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | SMP £623.08 plus £69.23 = £692.31 a week | £4,153.86 |
| 7 to 13 | SMP £194.32 plus £497.99 = £692.31 a week | £4,846.17 |
| 14 to 39 | SMP £194.32 a week | £5,052.32 |
| 40 to 52 | Unpaid | £0.00 |
| Total before tax, weeks 1 to 39 | £14,052.35 | |
That is £529.41less than the Burgundy Book pays on the same salary, because England and Wales keep paying half pay plus SMP until week 18, five weeks after Scotland's full pay ends. Scotland's scheme pays more only on salaries of £58,944a year or above, where its extra full-pay weeks outweigh the Burgundy Book's half pay.
Northern Ireland: the same weeks as England and Wales
Teachers in Northern Ireland get 4 weeks of full pay, 2 weeks at 90% and 12 weeks of half pay plus SMP, then SMP alone to week 39. The rules come from the Teachers' Maternity Leave Scheme (TNC 2021/1).
| Weeks | What you get | How SMP fits | On £36,000 a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Full pay | Offset: SMP counts inside it | £692.31 a week |
| 5 and 6 | 9/10ths of a week's pay | Offset: SMP counts inside it | £623.08 a week |
| 7 to 18 | Half pay plus SMP | Added on top, with the total capped at full salary | £540.47 a week |
| 19 to 39 | SMP only | £194.32, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower | £194.32 a week |
| 40 to 52 | Nothing | Unpaid leave | £0.00 |
The scheme needs 52 weeks' continuous service with one or more employing authorities at the start of the 11th week before your due week; with less, the calculator gives SMP only.
A teacher on £36,000 in Northern Ireland receives £14,581.76 before tax over 39 weeks, the same as in England and Wales, because the bands, the offset and the cap match. The averaging rule differs: where salary varies significantly, Northern Ireland averages the 52 weeks before your absence, while the Burgundy Book averages 12. For a teacher paid by the 1/195 daily method, the scheme uses the salary of a comparable teacher paid all year round.
Teacher maternity pay questions
Most questions about maternity pay for teachers come back to three figures: 4 weeks of full pay under the Burgundy Book, 13 weeks in Scotland, and SMP of £194.32 a week once occupational pay ends.
How much maternity pay will I get as a teacher?
A teacher on £36,000 gets £14,581.76 before tax over 39 weeks in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, and £14,052.35 in Scotland.
| Salary (illustrative) | England and Wales (Burgundy Book) | Scotland (SNCT) | SMP only | Repayable in England and Wales without a 13-week return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £18,000 | £10,242.20 | £9,552.27 | £8,281.80 | £1,821.96 |
| £27,000 | £12,539.54 | £11,802.31 | £9,216.42 | £3,115.44 |
| £36,000 | £14,581.76 | £14,052.35 | £10,151.04 | £4,153.80 |
| £45,000 | £16,624.06 | £16,302.26 | £11,085.66 | £5,192.28 |
Northern Ireland totals equal the England and Wales column at every salary shown, because the two schemes share bands, offset and cap. Totals cover weeks 1 to 39 before tax, assume the scheme's service test is met, and use annual salary ÷ 52 as a week's pay. Enter your own salary in the calculator for your weekly schedule.
Do teachers get full pay on maternity leave?
Teachers get full pay for the first 4 weeks in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and for 13 weeks in Scotland. Full pay includes your SMP: the school tops SMP up to your normal pay rather than paying both. Pay then falls in steps to SMP alone, which runs to week 39. Teachers in England and Wales with less than a year's local authority service get no full-pay weeks, only SMP.
Why is maternity pay so low for teachers?
Maternity pay for teachers is low because the Burgundy Book pays full pay for only 4 weeks, and from week 19 a teacher receives SMP alone. For a teacher on £36,000, SMP's £194.32 a week is about 28%of a normal week's pay of £692.31. NHS staff with a year's NHS service get 8 weeks of full pay, as the NHS Maternity Pay Calculator shows.
Do teachers get 6 months' full pay on maternity leave?
No UK teachers' scheme pays 6 months of full pay: England and Wales pay 4 weeks, Scotland 13 weeks and Northern Ireland 4 weeks. Week 26 falls in the SMP-only band in all three schemes, so a teacher on £36,000 receives £194.32 that week, not £692.31. The 2027/28 pledge would take England to 8 weeks, still short of 6 months.
How long do you have to work as a teacher to get maternity pay?
Burgundy Book pay needs one year's continuous local authority service at the start of the 11th week before your due week. SNCT pay in Scotland needs 26 weeks at the start of the 15th week. Northern Ireland's scheme needs 52 weeks with one or more employing authorities at the start of the 11th week. Teachers who miss the scheme test get SMP only, which has its own employment test.
What happens to my Teachers' Pension during maternity leave?
Teachers' Pension contributions continue during maternity leave, taken from the pay you actually receive. Your contribution rate stays at the tier for your normal salary while you receive statutory pay or at least half your normal salary, and the employer's 28.68% applies to your actual earnings (Teachers' Pensions). In Scotland, the SNCT says your employer continues full pension contributions during paid maternity leave.
How do the weekly figures turn into monthly pay?
A weekly figure times 52, divided by 12, gives its monthly equivalent: SMP of £194.32 a week is about £842.05 a month. A month that spans two bands mixes both rates, and the calculator does not calculate dates.
What the calculator does not cover
This teaching maternity pay calculator covers gross scheme pay only. It leaves out five things:
- Tax, National Insurance and pension deductions: every figure is before tax. The Maternity Pay After Tax Calculator works out take-home pay.
- Dates: the Maternity Pay Qualifying Week Calculator works out the qualifying week and the 11th week before your due week.
- Maternity Allowance: teachers without SMP get Burgundy Book pay offset against it, which is not modelled.
- The 2027/28 pledge to raise full pay in England from 4 to 8 weeks: it is not in force, so the calculator uses 4 weeks.
- Keeping in touch days: you can work up to 10 without losing SMP. See Keeping in Touch Days Pay.
Scheme rules were checked on 8 October 2026 against the Burgundy Book (June 2023 edition), the SNCT Handbook, the Department of Education (Northern Ireland) and the Schools White Paper. Every SMP rate is listed with its source on the Methodology and sources page. This is an estimate, not financial or employment advice.
Work out your teacher maternity pay week by weekSources
Checked 8 October 2026.
- Conditions of Service for School Teachers in England and Wales (Burgundy Book), Section 5 (Revised edition, June 2023): the England and Wales (Burgundy Book) weeks, service test and return rule.
- SNCT Handbook, Part 2, Section 7 (Family Leave) (Section published 22 May 2026): the Scotland (SNCT) weeks, service test and return rule.
- TNC 2021/1 Teachers' Maternity Leave Scheme (TNC 2021/1, page updated 1 July 2021): the Northern Ireland (TNC 2021/1) weeks, service test and return rule.
- Every Child Achieving and Thriving (Department for Education, February 2026): the 2027/28 pledge.
- Family leave, employer toolkit (Teachers' Pensions, updated 12 February 2026): contributions during leave.
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (HMRC): the £194.32 SMP rate and the £129 lower earnings limit.