What NHS maternity pay adds up to
| Weeks | What you're paid |
|---|---|
| 1 to 8 | Full pay (Statutory Maternity Pay is paid as part of it) |
| 9 to 26 | Half pay plus SMP, as long as the total isn't more than full pay |
| 27 to 39 | SMP only |
| 40 to 52 | Unpaid |
For a full-time Band 5 starting in England (£32,073, about £616.79 a week), that's roughly £16,509 over the year before tax, against about £9,743 on Statutory Maternity Pay alone. The NHS scheme is worth having: it's why the 12-month qualifying rule matters.
Who qualifies for NHS maternity pay
You need 12 months' continuous service with one or more NHS employers at the start of the 11th week before your expected week of childbirth, and you need to tell your employer in writing, by the end of the 15th week before, that you're taking maternity leave, when you want it to start, and that you intend to return to work with the same or another NHS employer for at least three months afterwards. Service with more than one NHS employer counts towards the 12 months.
If you don't qualify for the NHS scheme, you can still get Statutory Maternity Pay if you've worked for your employer for 26 weeks into the 15th week before your due week and earn at least £129 a week on average. SMP is 90% of your average weekly earnings for 6 weeks, then £194.32 a week (or 90% if that's lower) for the remaining 33.
Unsocial hours count
Unlike sick pay in England, maternity pay includes your regular unsocial hours: the handbook says unsocial hours payments count for contractual maternity, adoption and shared parental pay. Full pay is worked out on the same average weekly earnings rules used for SMP. If a pay award or a move to a higher pay point happens before your paid leave starts, your maternity pay is worked out as if it had applied for the whole calculation period, so you don't lose out on this year's rise.
If you don't go back
The NHS scheme is paid on the understanding that you'll return. If you've said you'll go back and don't return to NHS work within 15 months of the start of your maternity leave, you can be asked to refund the whole of your NHS maternity pay, less the SMP part. It's worth knowing before you plan the dates.
Leave, holidays and keeping in touch
The full leave is 52 weeks: 39 paid and 13 unpaid. You keep building up annual leave and public holidays throughout, paid and unpaid, and it's often easiest to take what you've built up before or after your maternity leave. You can also work up to ten keeping-in-touch days without ending your leave.