Maternity and Paternity Leave in the UK: The Complete Employer's Guide

Getting maternity and paternity leave right is one of the most important obligations any UK employer faces. The rules are detailed, the timelines are strict, and the consequences of getting things wrong range from employment tribunal claims to reputational damage that makes it harder to attract talent.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know as a UK employer in 2026 — from Statutory Maternity Leave and Pay through to paternity entitlements, Shared Parental Leave, keeping-in-touch days, and the special protections that apply when redundancy situations arise during maternity leave.

Statutory Maternity Leave: The 52-Week Framework

All pregnant employees in the UK are entitled to up to 52 weeks of Statutory Maternity Leave (SML), regardless of how long they have worked for you. This is a day-one right — there is no qualifying period for the leave itself (though there is for pay, as we will cover below).

The 52 weeks are divided into two halves:

• Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML): The first 26 weeks
• Additional Maternity Leave (AML): The second 26 weeks

Employees do not need to take the full 52 weeks, but they must take a minimum of two weeks off after the birth (four weeks if they work in a factory). This is known as Compulsory Maternity Leave and exists to protect the health and safety of the mother.

When Maternity Leave Can Start

Maternity leave can begin at any point from 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth (EWC). The employee chooses the start date, subject to their notification obligations (covered below). However, maternity leave is automatically triggered if:

• The baby is born before the chosen start date — leave starts the day after the birth
• The employee is off work with a pregnancy-related illness in the four weeks before the EWC — leave starts the day after the first day of absence

Notification Requirements

The employee must notify you of their pregnancy and intended start date by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth — that is, roughly the 25th week of pregnancy. They must provide:

1. Confirmation that they are pregnant
2. The expected week of childbirth (supported by a MATB1 certificate from their midwife or GP)
3. The date they want maternity leave to start

You must respond in writing within 28 days, confirming the date their maternity leave will end. If you fail to do this, you lose the right to insist on proper notice if they want to return early.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP): Rates and Eligibility

While all employees can take maternity leave, Statutory Maternity Pay has specific eligibility criteria. To qualify for SMP, the employee must:

• Have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the EWC (known as the “qualifying week”)
• Have average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) — currently £123 per week for 2025/26 (check the HMRC update for the 2026/27 figure, typically announced in the Autumn Statement)

SMP Payment Structure

SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks and follows a two-tier structure:

Period	Rate
First 6 weeks	90% of average weekly earnings (no cap)
Remaining 33 weeks	£184.03 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower

The remaining 13 weeks of the 52-week leave entitlement are unpaid under the statutory scheme.

Key Points for Employers on SMP

• You pay SMP through your normal payroll — it is subject to tax and National Insurance in the usual way
• You can recover most or all of the cost — small employers (those who paid £45,000 or less in Class 1 NICs in the qualifying tax year) can reclaim 103% of SMP paid (100% plus 3% compensation). Larger employers can reclaim 92%
• If an employee does not qualify for SMP, you must issue an SMP1 form within seven days of making that decision, so they can claim Maternity Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions instead

Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay

Partners of the mother (or the adopter’s partner) are entitled to Statutory Paternity Leave (SPL) of either one week or two consecutive weeks. Since April 2024, this entitlement became more flexible — partners can now take their leave in two separate one-week blocks rather than one continuous period, and the window for taking it was extended to 52 weeks after the birth or adoption (up from the previous 56-day window).

Eligibility for Paternity Leave

To qualify, the employee must:

• Have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the EWC
• Be the biological father, the mother’s spouse or partner, or the intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement
• Have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing

Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)

SPP is paid at the flat rate of £184.03 per week (or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower) for the duration of paternity leave taken. The same LEL threshold and recovery rules apply as for SMP.

Notification

Employees must give you notice of their intention to take paternity leave by the 15th week before the EWC. They must confirm the expected week of childbirth, whether they wish to take one or two weeks, and when they want the leave to start.

Shared Parental Leave (ShPL): The Flexible Option

Shared Parental Leave was introduced in 2015 to give parents more flexibility in how they divide leave between them. In theory, it allows the mother to curtail her maternity leave early and share the remaining weeks with her partner.

How It Works

The total pot available is whatever remains of the mother’s 52-week maternity leave entitlement after she curtails it. The mother must take at least two weeks of maternity leave (four in a factory), so the maximum that can be shared is 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay.

Both parents can take ShPL at the same time, in alternating blocks, or one after the other. Leave can be taken in blocks of at least one week, with up to three separate notifications of leave (though employers can agree to more).

Eligibility

Both parents must meet specific criteria:

The mother must:

• Be entitled to maternity leave or Statutory Maternity Pay/Maternity Allowance
• Have given notice to curtail her maternity leave or pay

The partner must:

• Have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the EWC
• Have earned at least £30 per week in at least 13 of the 66 weeks before the EWC
• Be sharing responsibility for the child

Take-Up Rates: The Elephant in the Room

Despite the government’s intentions, take-up of Shared Parental Leave remains remarkably low — estimated at just 2–5% of eligible parents. The reasons are well documented:

• Financial pressure — many families cannot afford for both parents to be on statutory pay rates simultaneously
• Complexity — the notification and eligibility requirements are significantly more burdensome than standard maternity or paternity leave
• Cultural factors — deeply ingrained expectations about who takes parental leave persist in many workplaces
• Employer attitudes — some organisations (sometimes unconsciously) discourage fathers and partners from taking extended leave

Progressive employers are addressing this by offering enhanced Shared Parental Leave pay that matches their enhanced maternity pay, removing the financial disincentive. This is increasingly seen as a marker of a genuinely inclusive workplace.

Keeping-in-Touch (KIT) Days

Employees on maternity leave can work up to 10 Keeping-in-Touch (KIT) days during their leave without bringing it to an end. Similarly, employees on Shared Parental Leave can work up to 20 Shared Parental Leave in Touch (SPLIT) days.

Key Rules for KIT Days

• KIT days are entirely voluntary — neither the employer nor the employee can insist on them
• They can be used for training, team meetings, conferences, or any other work activity
• Any work done on a KIT day counts as a full day (even if the employee only works an hour)
• Payment for KIT days is a matter for agreement between employer and employee, but SMP must still be paid for those weeks. Many employers pay the employee their normal daily rate, with SMP offset against it
• KIT days do not extend the maternity leave period

KIT days are a valuable tool for keeping employees connected and easing the transition back to work. However, be careful not to put pressure on employees to use them — doing so could amount to unlawful treatment.

Annual Leave Accrual During Maternity Leave

This is an area that catches many employers off guard. Annual leave continues to accrue throughout the entire 52 weeks of maternity leave, including the unpaid period. This can result in a significant bank of untaken holiday.

Managing the Annual Leave Build-Up

You have several options:

1. Allow the employee to take accrued annual leave before maternity leave starts — this is common and can give the employee extra paid time off
2. Allow them to take it at the end of maternity leave — effectively extending their absence but on annual leave pay (which may be higher than SMP)
3. Allow carry-over into the next leave year — following the established case law principle that workers who cannot take annual leave due to maternity leave must be allowed to carry it over
4. Agree a combination — for example, some leave taken before maternity leave starts and the remainder carried over

What you cannot do is force the employee to take annual leave during maternity leave or refuse to allow carry-over of leave that could not be taken due to maternity.

Employer Obligations During Pregnancy

Your responsibilities begin from the moment an employee informs you she is pregnant — even informally and even before she has submitted the formal maternity leave notification.

Risk Assessments

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, you must carry out a specific risk assessment for pregnant employees and new mothers. This covers:

• Physical hazards (heavy lifting, standing for long periods, exposure to harmful substances)
• Working conditions (temperature, access to rest facilities, bathroom breaks)
• Working hours (night work — pregnant employees have the right to be offered daytime work if a medical practitioner certifies that night work could affect their health)

If the risk assessment identifies a hazard that cannot be removed, you must:

1. Adjust working conditions or hours to remove the risk
2. If that is not possible, offer suitable alternative work on terms no less favourable
3. If that is not possible, suspend the employee on full pay

Reasonable Adjustments

Beyond formal risk assessments, you should make reasonable adjustments as the pregnancy progresses. This might include more frequent breaks, a change of workstation, reduced travel requirements, or flexible working arrangements.

Protection Against Unfair Treatment

It is automatically unfair to dismiss an employee, or subject her to any detriment, for a reason connected to her pregnancy or maternity leave. This protection applies from day one of employment — there is no qualifying period. Pregnancy and maternity discrimination is also unlawful under the Equality Act 2010.

Redundancy During Maternity Leave: Special Protections

Since April 2024, enhanced redundancy protections apply to pregnant employees and those on maternity leave. Under the Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024:

• The protected period now starts when the employee notifies the employer of their pregnancy (not just when maternity leave begins)
• It extends until 18 months after the expected week of childbirth
• During this period, if the employee’s role is made redundant, they have a preferential right to be offered any suitable alternative vacancy — this is not merely a right to be considered, but a right to be offered the role ahead of other employees

Failing to offer a suitable alternative vacancy to a protected employee when one exists will make the dismissal automatically unfair. This is one of the most litigated areas of maternity-related employment law, so take particular care.

Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Policies

While the statutory minimum is the legal floor, many UK employers offer enhanced packages. According to recent survey data:

• Around 50% of UK employers offer some form of enhanced maternity pay beyond SMP
• Common enhancements include full pay for the first 12–26 weeks, followed by SMP
• Enhanced paternity pay is growing but remains less common — typically 1–2 weeks at full pay
• The most generous employers in competitive sectors (tech, finance, professional services) offer 26 weeks at full pay for all parents regardless of gender

Offering enhanced maternity and paternity pay is increasingly important for talent attraction and retention. It also sends a clear signal about your organisation’s values and commitment to equality.

Practical Timeline for Employers

Here is a step-by-step timeline of what to do and when:

Before Pregnancy Notification

• Ensure your maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave policies are up to date and clearly communicated
• Train line managers on their obligations and how to respond appropriately when an employee announces a pregnancy

At Notification (By 15th Week Before EWC)

• Acknowledge the notification and request the MATB1 certificate
• Conduct a pregnancy-specific risk assessment
• Respond in writing within 28 days confirming the maternity leave end date
• Begin planning for cover arrangements

During Maternity Leave

• Continue to pay SMP through payroll for 39 weeks
• Keep the employee informed of relevant workplace developments (vacancies, restructures, social events)
• Offer KIT days where appropriate (but do not pressure)
• Track annual leave accrual
• If a redundancy situation arises, ensure the employee is offered any suitable alternative vacancy first

Before Return to Work

• Confirm the expected return date
• If the employee wishes to return early, they must give at least 8 weeks’ notice
• If they wish to return to flexible or part-time working, consider any flexible working request seriously (they have the statutory right to request it)
• Plan a proper reintegration — catch-up meetings, updates on changes, refresher training if needed

On Return

• The employee has the right to return to the same job if returning during or at the end of OML (first 26 weeks)
• If returning after AML (the additional 26 weeks), they have the right to return to the same job, or if that is not reasonably practicable, a suitable and appropriate alternative on terms no less favourable

How Leave Balance Helps You Manage Maternity and Paternity Leave

Managing maternity and paternity leave involves tracking multiple overlapping timelines — notification dates, SMP payment periods, KIT days used, annual leave accrual, and expected return dates. Doing this on spreadsheets or paper files is a recipe for missed deadlines and compliance errors.

Leave Balance simplifies the entire process. You can configure custom leave types for maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave with their specific rules and durations. The system automatically tracks leave accrual during maternity absence, logs KIT and SPLIT days, and provides a clear timeline view so you always know where each employee is in their leave journey.

With multi-country support, you can manage parental leave for teams across the UK and Europe — each with their own statutory rules — from a single dashboard. Slack and Teams integration means managers and HR teams get timely notifications about upcoming return dates and action items.

At $10 per month (or $100 per year) for unlimited employees and policies, Leave Balance gives you enterprise-grade parental leave management without the enterprise price tag. Start your 14-day free trial — no credit card required — and see how much easier maternity and paternity leave administration can be.