Ben's Guide to Maternity and Paternity Leave in the UK

Ben's Guide to Maternity and Paternity Leave in the UK

Ben's complete guide to maternity leave and paternity leave in the UK.

Table of contents

Maternity Leave

What is maternity leave?

Maternity leave is a type of parental leave granted to new mothers by their employer. It is time away from work that is dedicated to taking care of a baby in the early stages of their life.

How long is maternity leave?

Mothers in the UK are legally entitled to up to 52 weeks (1 year) of maternity leave after childbirth. This is known as ‘Statutory Maternity Leave’. Maternity Leave consists of 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) followed by 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave (AML). All women are entitled to OML and AML from the first day of their employment.

Ben’s Benefits Benchmarking survey found that:

What is statutory maternity pay?

Statutory maternity pay in the UK is paid at a rate of 90% of your average weekly salary (before tax) or £151.97 per week - whichever is lower. You must earn at least £120 per week - before tax - to qualify for maternity pay.

Who pays statutory maternity pay?

Your employer pays your statutory maternity pay (SMP), and they deduct national insurance and any tax. They can claim back SMP from HMRC.

What if I don’t qualify for maternity pay?

If you’ve not been employed for 26 weeks continuously by the 15th week before childbirth, you don’t qualify for statutory maternity pay. You can, however, qualify for maternity allowance.

Maternity allowance can be claimed if you are not entitled to SMP, are self-employed, or have recently stopped working. It can be claimed for up to 39 weeks of Maternity Leave.

Paternity Leave

What is Paternity Leave?

Paternity leave is equivalent to maternity leave for new fathers. You can take time off work to spend time with your child in the early stages of their life.

How long is Paternity Leave?

In the UK, you are legally entitled to up to 2 weeks of paternity leave if you have been employed continuously for 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the child's birth.

What is statutory paternity pay?

Statutory paternity pay is similar to maternity pay, but it can only be claimed by fathers for up to 2 weeks of paternity leave.

Shared Parental Leave & Pay

New parents can choose to take leave as part of shared parental leave (SPL), where both parents can agree to take parental leave at the same time. It must be agreed by both party’s employers.

What employee benefits can employers offer to support new parents?

Many employers can make the experience of maternity and paternity leave enjoyable by offering great parental employee benefits. For example:

Flexible hours / remote working

Offering flexibility around when new parents can return to work reduces the stress of balancing work with becoming a parent. Many companies offer hybrid and remote working to accommodate personal circumstances.

Paid parental leave

Fully paid parental leave can improve the lives of new parents. This can enhance employee motivation and loyalty when statutory parental pay is capped at £151.97 per week in the UK.

Childcare support

Offering childcare support is a sign of a modern employer. Employers can support employees through benefits like childcare stipends or workplace nurseries. These are salary sacrifice benefits paid from the employee’s gross salary before tax.

How does parental leave differ across countries?

Parental leave differs across countries due to cultural differences and varying government emphasis on parental support. Some countries like Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, and Norway offer generous parental leave.

For example, Sweden's statutory parental leave is approximately 480 days (16 months) per child, encouraged to be shared between both parents with a minimum of 90 days reserved for each parent.

Parental leave checklist!

Check out our maternity/paternity leave checklist here.