Zero Hours Contract Maternity Pay
Yes, you can get Statutory Maternity Pay on a zero hours contract. You need PAYE and Class 1 National Insurance on your pay, 26 weeks with the same employer into the qualifying week, and average weekly earnings of at least £129.
A zero hours contract does not stop you getting SMP. What decides it is your National Insurance status, how long you have worked for the employer and what you were paid in the 8 weeks that set your average. If you qualify, SMP is paid for 39 weeks at the same rates as anyone else. The general rules are in Statutory Maternity Pay: How Much You Get and for How Long.
Do you get maternity pay on a zero hours contract?
You do if you meet the same four conditions as any other employee. None of them depends on having guaranteed hours.
| Condition | On a zero hours contract |
|---|---|
| PAYE and Class 1 National Insurance | Your employer deducts PAYE tax and Class 1 National Insurance from your pay, or would if you earned enough. HMRC says casual employees on PAYE get SMP if they meet the other conditions. |
| 26 weeks with the same employer | Continuous employment for at least 26 weeks into the qualifying week, the 15th week before the week your baby is due. Weeks with no shifts can still count. |
| Average weekly earnings of at least £129 | Worked out from what you were actually paid in the 8-week relevant period, so quiet weeks pull the average down. |
| Notice and proof of pregnancy | At least 28 days' notice of the date you want SMP to start, and a MATB1 or a letter from your doctor or midwife. |
The limit is £129 a week for 2026 to 2027. Some guides still show the old figure: GOV.UK's own employer guide said £125 when it was checked on 8 October 2026.
Worker or employee: SMP and leave follow different rules
SMP follows your National Insurance status. The law treats you as an employee for SMP if you count as an employed earner for National Insurance, which Class 1 contributions on your pay show (regulation 17). GOV.UK says workers may be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay. A contract that uses terms like “zero hours” or “as required” is one of the signs of worker status it lists.
Statutory Maternity Leave is different: you need to be an employee, not a worker. So a zero hours worker can qualify for SMP without having the statutory right to maternity leave. GOV.UK's employment status guide lists the signs of each.
Weeks with no shifts and the 26-week rule
A week with no work does not automatically break your continuous employment.
- For this test a week runs Sunday to Saturday, and a part week counts as a full week.
- Weeks you did not work still count if you were on paid leave or your employer had no work to offer you.
- If you were offered work and turned it down, your employer has to check the reason before deciding.
- In law, a week of “temporary cessation of work” counts towards continuous employment as long as you go back to work for that employer, even if no contract existed that week (regulation 11). HMRC applies this to short-term contract and agency workers.
The 26 weeks must run into the qualifying week. The Maternity Pay Qualifying Week Calculator finds that week from your due date.
How average weekly earnings are worked out from variable pay
Your average comes from the gross pay you were actually paid in the relevant period, not from your hours or your contract.
The relevant period ends on your last normal payday on or before the Saturday of the qualifying week. It starts the day after the last payday that falls at least 8 weeks earlier. Every payment in that window that Class 1 National Insurance is due on counts, or would be due on if it were high enough. HMRC says not to round the result.
| How you are paid | How the average is worked out |
|---|---|
| Paid weekly | Add up the pay in the relevant period and divide by 8. |
| Paid fortnightly or every 4 weeks | Divide by the number of whole weeks in the relevant period. |
| Paid monthly | Divide by the number of months in the period, multiply by 12, then divide by 52. |
| No regular pay pattern | Divide by the number of days in the relevant period and multiply by 7. |
| No set payday at all | The period runs between the days you were actually paid instead of your normal paydays. |
The divisor is the length of the period, not the number of weeks you worked. A week with no pay inside the period still counts, so it lowers your average.
Worked example: SMP from zero hours pay
Both examples use illustrative pay, not real payslips.
| Week of the relevant period | Gross pay |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | £210.00 |
| Week 2 | £0.00 |
| Week 3 | £180.00 |
| Week 4 | £320.00 |
| Week 5 | £150.00 |
| Week 6 | £0.00 |
| Week 7 | £260.00 |
| Week 8 | £240.00 |
| Total, divided by 8 | £1,360.00 ÷ 8 = £170.00 |
Two weeks with no shifts still count in the 8, so the average is £170.00 a week. That is above £129, so SMP is payable. 90% of £170.00 is £153.00, which is below the £194.32 standard rate, so every paid week pays 90%.
Average weekly earnings of £170.00
Weekly paid zero hours worker, illustrative
| Weeks | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| First 6 weeks | 90% of £170.00 = £153.00 | £918.00 |
| Next 33 weeks | 90% is lower than £194.32: £153.00 | £5,049.00 |
| SMP before tax | £5,967.00 | |
Weekly amounts are rounded to the nearest penny, so a payslip can differ by a penny or two.
To run your own figure, enter your average in the Maternity Pay Calculator.
Irregular paydays: the day method
Now suppose you have no regular payday and were paid £1,050.00 across a relevant period of 59 days. Your average is £1,050.00 ÷ 59 × 7 = £124.58 a week. That is below £129, so SMP is not payable and Maternity Allowance is the route to check.
If your average is below £129: Maternity Allowance
If you do not qualify for SMP, your employer must give you form SMP1 explaining why within 7 days of deciding. You can then claim Maternity Allowance from the government instead.
On the employed route you must have worked for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due, and earned at least £30 a week in any 13 of them. The weeks do not have to be in a row and you can count different jobs, which suits zero hours work. It pays £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is less, for up to 39 weeks. The Maternity Allowance Test Period Calculator works out your 66-week window.
If your contract ends or you work elsewhere
Leaving the job does not take away SMP you qualify for. It does not matter why you left or whether you are going back, and your employer cannot ask you to repay it. You do lose the right to maternity leave with that employer.
- Started with another employer before the end of the qualifying week: your SMP carries on for the whole pay period, even if you keep working there after the birth.
- Started with another employer after the qualifying week but before the birth: no SMP for the weeks you work for them after the baby is born. It restarts if that job ends during the pay period.
- Started with another employer after the birth: no SMP for the weeks you work for them, and if that job ends your SMP does not restart.
Questions about maternity pay on zero hours
Do zero hours workers get maternity leave?
Only if they are employees. Statutory Maternity Leave needs employee status, while SMP only needs PAYE and Class 1 National Insurance plus the other conditions. A zero hours worker can be paid SMP without the statutory right to leave.
Does a week with no shifts break my continuous employment?
Not if your employer had no work for you or you were on paid leave. A week counts if you worked any part of it. If you turned work down, your employer checks why.
I have two zero hours jobs. Can I get SMP from both?
Each employer checks the conditions against its own job: 26 weeks with that employer and an average of at least £129 from that pay. Two jobs with the same employer are combined if the employer adds your earnings together for National Insurance, and then you get one amount of SMP. Only one MATB1 is issued, so agree with one employer what it will accept instead: a copy the other employer has checked against the original, or a signed letter from your doctor or midwife.
Is SMP on a zero hours contract taxed?
Yes. SMP is taxable and National Insurance is payable on it, the same as wages. The Maternity Pay After Tax Calculator shows what you take home.
How do I claim SMP on a zero hours contract?
The same way as anyone else. Give your employer at least 28 days' notice of the date you want SMP to start, and within 21 days of that date give them your MATB1 or a letter from your doctor or midwife. The steps are in How to Apply for Statutory Maternity Pay.
Sources and checks
- Maternity pay and leave: eligibility (GOV.UK), current page.
- Maternity pay and leave: how to claim (GOV.UK), current page.
- Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave: employer guide, eligibility (GOV.UK), current page, still showing the 2025 to 2026 limit of £125.
- Statutory Maternity Pay: how different employment types affect what you pay (HMRC), last updated 1 September 2017.
- Statutory Maternity Pay: employee circumstances that affect payment (HMRC), last updated 18 December 2023.
- Work out your employee's payments for Statutory Maternity Pay (HMRC), last updated 6 April 2025.
- Employment status: worker (GOV.UK), current page.
- Contract types: zero-hours contracts (GOV.UK), current page.
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, section 164, revised version.
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, section 171, revised version.
- Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986, regulation 11, revised version.
- Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986, regulation 17, revised version.
- Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986, regulation 21, revised version.
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (HMRC), 2026 to 2027 rates.
- Maternity Allowance: eligibility and what you'll get (GOV.UK), updated 7 October 2026.
- EIM76360: statutory maternity pay summary (HMRC manual), last updated 3 March 2022.
Checked 8 October 2026. All figures are before tax and use the 2026 to 2027 rates. The examples use illustrative pay.