Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance — which one do I claim?

Which payment do I ask for first — SMP or Maternity Allowance?

They are not two flavours of the same form. Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid by your employer through payroll. Maternity Allowance (MA) is a Jobcentre Plus payment. GOV.UK’s Maternity Allowance overview lists people who may qualify for MA: employed but cannot get SMP; self-employed; recently stopped working; or unpaid work for a spouse or civil partner’s business.

If you are an employee who might meet the SMP tests, GOV.UK’s how-to-claim page is: tell the employer you want to stop work to have a baby and the day you want SMP to start. Only if they decide you are not eligible do you move to MA — and they must hand you form SMP1. The MA1 notes say you cannot get Maternity Allowance for the same pregnancy if a current or former employer is paying (or going to pay) SMP; if none of your employers will pay SMP, you send an SMP1 from each of them.

Statutory Maternity Leave is a separate employee right. GOV.UK says leave does not depend on how long you have been with the employer, how many hours you work or how much you are paid. You can have leave without SMP. SMP has its own earnings and service tests.

What are the official tests and weekly rates?

Read the live GOV.UK pages for the figure that applies on your claim date. The table below uses the 2026-27 statutory weekly rate already published for SMP, and the Maternity Allowance figures on GOV.UK when checked on 10 September 2026.

How do I claim Statutory Maternity Pay from my employer?

1. 1
   Give leave notice by 15 weeks before the due date GOV.UK: at least 15 weeks before your due date, tell your employer when the baby is due and when you want maternity leave to start. They can ask for this in writing. They must write back within 28 days confirming start and end dates.
2. 2
   Give at least 28 days’ notice for SMP Tell your employer you want to stop work to have a baby and the day you want SMP to start. GOV.UK requires at least 28 days’ notice (in writing if they ask) plus proof you are pregnant. You can change the date if you give 28 days’ notice of the new date (maternity-benefits technical guidance).
3. 3
   Hand over pregnancy proof for SMP Proof is required for SMP, not for maternity leave. Within 21 days of your SMP start date (or as soon as possible if the baby is born early) give a letter from your doctor or midwife, or your MAT B1. Doctors and midwives issue the MAT B1 no more than 20 weeks before the due date. GOV.UK says SMP is not paid if you do not give proof that the baby is due.
4. 4
   Wait for the employer’s 28-day confirmation — or an SMP1 The employer must confirm within 28 days how much SMP they will pay and when it will start and stop. If they decide you are not eligible, they must give you form SMP1 within 7 days of making that decision and explain why.

SMP is paid the same way as wages. Tax and National Insurance are deducted. GOV.UK says SMP usually starts when you take maternity leave, and starts automatically if you are off work for a pregnancy-related illness in the 4 weeks before the week (Sunday to Saturday) the baby is due.

What do I do with form SMP1 if SMP is refused?

SMP1 is the hand-off, not a dead end. GOV.UK’s eligibility page: the employer must give you form SMP1 explaining why you cannot get SMP within 7 days of their decision. You may then be eligible for Maternity Allowance instead. The maternity-benefits technical guidance adds that the employer must return any maternity certificate you have given them.

GOV.UK’s MA how-to-claim page: you may need to provide your SMP1 if you were refused SMP. The MA1 notes say that if you had more than one employer during the 15th week before the baby is due, you must send an SMP1 from each employer. Send MA1 to the address on the form with the original MAT B1 (not a photocopy, on that page’s due-date list) and original payslips as proof of income.

If an employer later decides to pay SMP after you have claimed Maternity Allowance, the MA1 notes say you must tell Jobcentre Plus straight away. You cannot be paid both for the same pregnancy.

How do I claim Maternity Allowance if I am self-employed?

Self-employed people do not claim SMP. GOV.UK: you can apply for Maternity Allowance once you have been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start any time between the 11th week before the baby is due and the day after the baby is born. To get the full amount the page says you are entitled to, claim within 3 months of your Maternity Allowance start date.

Fill in form MA1 (print, or fill in online and print, or order a form). You need employment or self-employment facts for the 66-week Test Period before the baby is due — GOV.UK has a Test Period calculator. Decision: GOV.UK says you should get a decision within 20 working days.

On the rate: GOV.UK’s “what you’ll get” page sets a self-employed band of £27 to £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks, depending on Class 2 National Insurance in the Test Period. To reach the maximum on that page you must have been registered with HMRC for at least 26 weeks in the Test Period and paid Class 2 for at least 13 of those 66 weeks. If you have paid fewer than 13 weeks, HMRC may contact you after you apply about topping up contributions. Class 2 is stated as £3.65 per week on that page (checked 10 September 2026).

What is the MAT B1, and when is it issued?

The GOV.UK MAT B1 guidance (updated 11 April 2025) says the Maternity Certificate lets a pregnant woman claim SMP from her employer, Maternity Allowance from Jobcentre Plus, and Sure Start Maternity Grant from Jobcentre Plus. It verifies the pregnancy, the expected week of confinement, and the actual date of birth when completed after confinement.

Doctors or registered midwives must issue form MAT B1 free of charge. It must not be issued more than 20 weeks before the expected week of confinement. After birth, Part B records the baby’s date of birth and the expected date. Qualifying conditions and payment periods for both SMP and MA are based on the expected week, even if you apply after the birth.

In shortEmployees ask the employer for SMP (28 days’ notice, MAT B1, 26-week and £129 tests). A refusal is an SMP1 within 7 days, then MA1. Self-employed people go straight to Maternity Allowance and the 66-week Test Period. Read the live GOV.UK rate pages; this page does not decide an award.