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Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP) in Payroll

This guide explains how Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP) works in the UK and how it's managed in Workforce Payroll.

Updated over 2 weeks ago

What's covered in this guide?:

What is SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay)?

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is a UK government-mandated payment that employers must provide to eligible employees who are off work due to pregnancy and childbirth. It ensures a minimum level of income during maternity leave.

Key Features of SMP:

  • Paid by employers (not the government)

  • Weeks 1–6: 90% of average weekly earnings (AWE)

  • Weeks 7–39: 90% of AWE or £184.03/week, whichever is lower

  • Treated as regular earnings – subject to tax and National Insurance

SMP Eligibility Criteria

Employees are eligible if they:

  • Have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the expected due date

  • Earn at least £123 per week (on average)

  • Provide at least 28 days' notice

Enable SMP in Workforce Payroll

The Statutory Maternity Pay leave type is included by default.

To activate it:

  1. Go to Payroll > Payroll Settings > Leave Types

  2. Click Statutory Maternity Leave (SMP)

  3. In Step 5, choose who this leave applies to (e.g. All staff)

  4. In Step 6, set the Statutory Leave Type to Maternity

  5. Save the leave type

Important: Do not use a manually created maternity leave type. The statutory logic only works if the Statutory Leave Type is set to "Maternity".

How SMP Works in Workforce Payroll

Workforce automatically handles SMP by:

  • Calculating average weekly earnings based on historical pay (for both salary and hourly staff)

  • Applying correct weekly rates (90% AWE or £184.03, whichever is lower)

  • Pro-rating payments based on the number of days in the leave request

Example: If an employee works 5 days a week and only takes leave on 2 days, they’ll receive 2/5ths of the weekly SMP amount.

Create SMP Leave Requests

To ensure correct payment:

  1. Go to Leave Requests

  2. Create a new leave request using the Statutory Maternity leave type

  3. Approve the leave

  4. Navigate to the employee’s Timesheets

  5. Export the timesheet to Payroll

Once exported, SMP will automatically appear in the payroll run for the relevant weeks.

How SMP Is Paid in Workforce Payroll

  • SMP appears as a line item in payroll

  • Paid on the employee’s regular payday

  • Subject to PAYE and NIC

  • Payment stops when:

    • The leave period ends

    • 39 weeks of SMP has been paid

    • The employee becomes ineligible (e.g. resigns or takes another type of statutory leave)

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

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