What's covered in this guide?:
What is SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay)?
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is a UK statutory payment that employers must make to eligible employees who are off work to have a baby. It gives them a minimum level of income during maternity leave.
Key features of SMP
Paid by the employer through payroll
Weeks 1–6: 90% of average weekly earnings (AWE)
Weeks 7–39: £194.32 a week or 90% of AWE, whichever is lower (2026/27 rate)
Treated as earnings, so it’s subject to tax and National Insurance
SMP eligibility
Employees are eligible if they:
have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth
earn at least £129 a week on average. This is the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit for 2026/27.
give at least 28 days’ notice
📝 Note: Workforce checks the 26 weeks’ continuous employment and the £129 a week earnings automatically. It doesn’t check the 28 days’ notice, so make sure this is followed.
Set up SMP in Workforce Payroll
The Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP) leave type is created for you when Workforce Payroll is set up.
Go to Payroll > Payroll Settings > Leave Types. You’ll find it under Statutory Leave Types.
If it’s missing, click + New next to it.
If you see an error saying there was a problem creating your leave types, click Retry.
📝 Note: SMP applies to all staff once it’s created. There’s no separate step to choose who it applies to.
⚠️ Important: Don’t use a maternity leave type you created yourself. SMP is only calculated on the Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP) leave type, which has its statutory pay type set to Maternity.
How SMP Works in Workforce Payroll
Workforce handles SMP automatically by:
working out average weekly earnings from past pay, for both salaried and hourly staff
applying the correct weekly rate: 90% of AWE for weeks 1–6, then £194.32 or 90% of AWE (whichever is lower) from week 7
pro-rating payments based on the days in the leave request
Example: if an employee works 5 days a week and the leave request covers 2 of those days, they get 2/5 of the weekly SMP amount.
Holiday accrual during SMP
You can choose whether holiday leave keeps accruing while an employee is on SMP.
To turn this on:
Go to Payroll > Payroll Settings > Leave Types and open the holiday leave type.
Under Balance Configuration, choose Leave balance accrues.
Tick Accrues during statutory leave.
This setting is off by default. It isn’t available for leave types that deduct from a starting balance.
Once it’s on, approving an SMP leave request accrues holiday at its usual accrual rate, based on the approved hours on the request. The accrued hours appear in the employee’s balance as soon as the request is approved.
📝 Note: Accrues during statutory leave applies to all statutory leave types (such as SSP and SMP), not just SMP.
📝 Note: How accrual works depends on the maternity leave type you use:
Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP): holiday only accrues if Accrues during statutory leave is ticked on the holiday leave type.
A maternity leave type you created yourself: if it’s paid, holiday accrues through the normal paid leave rules. If it’s unpaid, holiday doesn’t accrue. SMP isn’t calculated on these leave types.
Create SMP Leave Requests
To ensure correct payment:
Go to Leave Requests.
Create a new leave request using the Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP) leave type.
Approve the leave request.
Go to the employee’s Timesheets.
Export the timesheet to payroll.
Once exported, SMP will automatically appear in the payroll run for the relevant weeks.
⚠️ Important: Approving the leave request on its own doesn’t add SMP to a pay run. You also need to export the timesheet.
How SMP is paid
SMP appears as a line item in the pay run.
It’s paid on the employee’s normal payday.
It’s subject to PAYE and National Insurance.
Payments stop when:
the leave period ends
39 weeks of SMP have been paid
the employee is no longer eligible, for example if they leave or start another type of statutory leave
FAQs
SMP is approved but isn’t on the payslip. Why?
SMP is approved but isn’t on the payslip. Why?
Check that:
the leave request uses the Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP) leave type
the leave request is approved, and the timesheet has been exported to the pay run
If the leave request has a Statutory pay card, check its status:
Ineligible: SMP isn’t paid. The card gives the reason, such as Not continuously employed for at least 26 weeks or Average weekly earnings are below the lower earnings limit.
Action required: something’s missing. Use the button on the card, for example Enter average weekly earnings or Set the employment start date.
Pending: eligibility hasn’t been checked yet. Click Check eligibility.
If everything looks right, contact Workforce support.
How much is SMP in 2026/27?
How much is SMP in 2026/27?
Weeks 1–6: 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings
Weeks 7–39: £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that’s lower
Why did SMP go down after 6 weeks?
Why did SMP go down after 6 weeks?
For the first 6 weeks, SMP is 90% of average weekly earnings. From week 7, it’s £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if that’s lower, so many employees get less from week 7.
Can I use my own maternity leave type?
Can I use my own maternity leave type?
You can, but SMP won’t be calculated on it. To pay SMP, use the Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP) leave type.
Does holiday keep accruing during maternity leave?
Does holiday keep accruing during maternity leave?
Only if you tick Accrues during statutory leave on the holiday leave type. See Holiday accrual during SMP above.