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In principle, maternity benefit is the amount that women receive when they are on leave after giving birth.

Conservative Party leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch sparked a backlash last weekend after claiming that Britain’s statutory maternity benefit was ‘excessive’. Basically… function.

The shadow Housing Secretary later backtracked, saying her comments had been “misrepresented” and telling Sky News she believed the maternity benefit was “a good thing”.

What is the statutory maternity benefit and how much are employees entitled to?

What you need to know

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) was first introduced in Britain in 1987.

Someone who is legally classified as an employee (we explain what this means in this explanation of employment rights) can receive SMP if:

• They have worked continuously for the same employer for 26 weeks before their ‘qualifying week’ (the 15th week before giving birth);
• They earn an average of at least £123 per week for eight weeks before their qualifying week.

SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks of the 52 weeks of leave offered to eligible employees.

However, some employers may offer ‘enhanced’ maternity benefit packages to staff who have been with them for a certain period of time, such as 26 weeks of basic pay, followed by 13 weeks of statutory pay.

Importantly, eligible women are still entitled to maternity leave and/or pay if their baby is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, or is born alive at any time but does not survive.

What’s it worth?

For the first six weeks, SMP is paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings.

After this, you will be paid, whichever is lower:

• £184.03 per week
• 90% of your average weekly earnings

The maternity allowance is the same regardless of the number of children you have (for example twins or triplets).

If you receive the full 52 weeks maternity pay, the last 13 weeks will be unpaid unless your employer offers you a comprehensive package.

Who pays for it?

The employer initially pays SMP to its employee, but can claim back most, or possibly all, of the amount from HM Revenue and Customs, depending on the size of the business.

If a business is smaller and paid less than £45,000 in class 1 national insurance contributions in the last tax year, it can claim back the full SMP amount from the government, plus 3% on top to provide relief to small employers.

Larger employers can usually reclaim 92% of the SMP.

How does the UK maternity benefit compare to other countries?

Britain is ranked very differently on two different measures of maternity benefits in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) – a 38-member group that focuses on economic and social policy.

When it comes to total pay, Britain is at the bottom of the pack, but it is near the top when measured by the length of paid time women are legally entitled to leave, according to 2023 OECD study.

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