Rates set by The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026 (SI 2026/201). Effective 6 April 2026.Reviewed 23 June 2026

Sources and citations

Edited by Oliver Wakefield-Smith, Founder of Digital Signet. Last reviewed 23 June 2026.

Every numeric claim on this site links back to one of the primary sources below. Each entry shows the publisher, the URL, the date we last verified the content, and the specific anchors we rely on. We re-verify after every Up-rating Order and after any HMRC Employer Bulletin that affects SMP, SAP, SPP, ShPP or MA.

Primary sources, all live links

Department for Business and Trade / HMRC

GOV.UK: Maternity pay and leave - Pay

https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/pay

Last verified: 2026-06-23

  • 39 weeks of SMP
  • 90% of AWE for weeks 1-6
  • lower of 90% AWE or 194.32 for weeks 7-39

UK Legislation

The Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3312)

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/3312

Last verified: 2026-06-23

  • Notice rules
  • KIT days regulation 12A
  • OML/AML return rights regulation 18
  • Pregnancy related illness regulation 22