What is Maternity Leave Under UK Law?

The right to maternity leave is established under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 (MPLR 1999). All pregnant employees - regardless of their length of service, hours worked, or type of contract - are entitled to up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave. This universal entitlement (no qualifying period) distinguishes maternity leave from some other employment rights and reflects its status as a fundamental protection against pregnancy and maternity discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

Maternity leave must be triggered by the employee's notification to her employer. The employee must notify the employer that she is pregnant, provide the expected week of childbirth (typically evidenced by a MATB1 form from her midwife or GP), and notify her intended start date for maternity leave - all by the end of the 15th week before her expected week of childbirth. The employer must respond within 28 days, confirming the expected return date. Maternity leave can begin as early as 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, or earlier if the employee is absent from work for a pregnancy-related reason in the last four weeks before the expected week of childbirth, in which case maternity leave begins automatically.

The first two weeks after the baby is born constitute compulsory maternity leave - the employer cannot ask the employee to return to work during this period regardless of her wishes. For factory workers, the compulsory period is four weeks. This minimum is separate from the employee's choice about how long to take - it simply prevents her from being pressured to return before this minimum has elapsed.

Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) vs Additional Maternity Leave (AML)

The 52 weeks of statutory maternity leave are divided into two consecutive periods with different rights upon return.

Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) covers the first 26 weeks of maternity leave and is available to every qualifying employee regardless of how long they have worked for the employer - there is no length-of-service requirement for OML. During OML, the employee retains all her contractual terms and conditions except normal remuneration (pay is replaced by SMP or contractual maternity pay). Her accrued annual leave continues to accrue during OML. Her right to return at the end of OML is to exactly the same job, on the same terms and conditions, as if she had not been absent. The employer cannot alter her job, terms, or responsibilities because of her absence on OML - any change requires the employee's consent and would otherwise constitute a breach of contract or unlawful detriment.

Additional Maternity Leave (AML) covers weeks 27 to 52 of maternity leave and runs continuously after OML without any break. The employee's contractual protections during AML are the same as during OML - she retains all terms and conditions, annual leave accrues, and she cannot be treated less favourably because of her leave. However, the right to return after AML is slightly modified: the employee has the right to return to the same job or, if that is not reasonably practicable, to a suitable alternative role on terms and conditions that are no less favourable. This exception is narrowly construed by Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal - it cannot be used to move a returning employee to a different department, a lower level of seniority, or a role with reduced responsibilities unless there is a genuine, demonstrable reason that her original role no longer exists and the alternative offered is genuinely equivalent in seniority, responsibility, and remuneration.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP): Rates, Duration, and Eligibility

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is the statutory minimum payment during maternity leave for employees who meet the qualifying conditions. SMP is funded by the employer (who reclaims it from HMRC - small employers can reclaim 103% to compensate for administration costs; larger employers reclaim 92%).

Qualifying conditions: The employee must have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the end of the qualifying week (the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth). The employee must also have average weekly earnings of at least the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance contributions (£123 per week from April 2025). If the employee does not meet the qualifying conditions for SMP, she may be entitled to Maternity Allowance (MA), a benefit paid directly by HMRC at a similar rate to the SMP flat rate.

SMP rates and duration: SMP is payable for up to 39 weeks. For the first six weeks, SMP is paid at 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings - with no upper cap, so higher earners receive a proportionately higher payment for this period. For the remaining up to 33 weeks, SMP is paid at the statutory flat rate (£184.03 per week from April 2025) or 90% of average weekly earnings if that is lower. SMP is subject to income tax and National Insurance contributions. Weeks 40–52 of maternity leave are unpaid (SMP is exhausted), though the employee retains all other contractual benefits unless the contract specifies otherwise.

Enhanced maternity pay: Many employers offer enhanced maternity pay above the statutory minimum - for example, full pay for the first 13 weeks or 90% pay for the first 26 weeks. Enhanced maternity pay is a contractual benefit, not a statutory right, and its terms (including any "claw-back" provisions requiring enhanced pay to be repaid if the employee does not return for a specified period after leave) must be clearly documented in the employee's contract or a separate maternity policy.

Employer Obligations During Maternity Leave

Employers have several obligations during an employee's maternity leave that extend beyond simply paying SMP and keeping the role available. Keeping the employee informed: employers must keep employees on maternity leave informed of significant developments that would affect their employment - including redundancy situations, restructuring, job changes, and new opportunities - in the same way they would be informed if they were at work. An employee on maternity leave who is not told about a promotion vacancy until after the decision is made may have a claim for maternity discrimination. Pension contributions: during any period for which the employee receives SMP or contractual maternity pay, pension contributions must continue to be calculated on the basis of the employee's normal (pre-leave) pay, not on the reduced SMP amount - the employee's contributions are based on actual pay received, but the employer's contributions are calculated on normal pay. During unpaid maternity leave (weeks 40–52), pension contributions obligations depend on the scheme rules. Annual leave: annual leave accrues throughout the full 52 weeks of maternity leave, including any unpaid period. Leave accrued during maternity leave that cannot reasonably be taken before the leave begins can be carried forward to the next leave year - the employee cannot be required to take her annual leave entitlement as part of her maternity leave. Performance reviews: if the employer conducts pay reviews or performance assessments during the employee's maternity leave, the employee must be included in any pay awards - she cannot be excluded from an across-the-board pay increase simply because she is on maternity leave.

The Major Ways Maternity Leave and Shared Parental Leave Differ

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) was introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014 and came into effect for children born or adopted on or after 5 April 2015. It allows parents to share the maternity leave and pay entitlement between them - but it is significantly more complex than maternity leave and differs from it in six important dimensions.

1. Entitlement and eligibility. Maternity leave is available to all pregnant employees from day one - universal, no qualifying conditions beyond employment status. SPL requires both parents to independently meet eligibility criteria: the mother must qualify for maternity leave or adoption leave, and both parents must meet a minimum earnings threshold (average weekly earnings of at least the Lower Earnings Limit - £123 per week - in at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the expected week of childbirth). A partner who is self-employed, below the earnings threshold, or with insufficient work history cannot access SPL - and their ineligibility prevents the couple from using SPL even if the mother fully qualifies.

2. Activation. Maternity leave is automatic - it begins when the employee notifies her employer of her intended leave date. SPL does not exist unless the mother actively curtails (ends early) her maternity leave by giving an irrevocable notice of curtailment. The remaining leave and pay are then converted into an SPL pot that both parents can draw from. Both parents must give their employer at least eight weeks' written notice of each block of SPL - this advance notice requirement applies to every separate block, not just the first one.

3. Pay structure. Statutory Maternity Pay pays 90% of average weekly earnings for the first six weeks - creating an enhanced early-period payment that has no equivalent in SPL. Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) pays only the flat rate throughout (£184.03 per week from April 2025) - there is no enhanced first-period payment regardless of when during the pregnancy or post-birth the partner takes leave. This structural difference has a significant financial consequence: a mother who curtails her maternity leave at week two or three to create the maximum SPL pot for her partner loses the remaining three or four weeks of enhanced 90% pay she would have received had she remained on maternity leave - and neither parent can recover this through ShPP.

4. Flexibility. Maternity leave is taken as a single continuous block - once started, it runs without interruption until the employee returns to work or her leave period ends. SPL can be taken in multiple, non-consecutive blocks by agreement with the employer - for example, six weeks, then a return to work for four weeks, then another six weeks. Both parents can also take SPL simultaneously - creating a period where both are on leave at the same time and the child has both parents at home, which is not possible under maternity leave. This flexibility is the primary practical advantage of SPL over maternity leave and the main policy rationale for its introduction.

5. Enhanced pay obligations. Employers are not automatically required to offer enhanced SPL pay equivalent to their enhanced maternity pay - the statutory floor for each is the flat rate after the first six weeks of maternity leave. However, where an employer does offer enhanced SPL pay, it must be provided on equal terms to male and female parents - paying enhanced SPL to women taking it but not to men (or vice versa) constitutes sex discrimination following the Employment Appeal Tribunal's judgment in Capita Hartshead Ltd v Ali [2019].

6. Priority in redundancy. An employee on maternity leave has a specific statutory priority right (under Regulation 10 of the MPLR 1999) to be offered any suitable alternative vacancy that exists in the organisation ahead of all other at-risk employees in a redundancy situation - without competing in a selection pool. This priority right does not apply to employees on SPL in the same automatic way, and the protections for SPL in redundancy situations are less clear-cut than the maternity leave priority.

Keeping in Touch Days and Return to Work Planning

KIT days (Keeping in Touch days) allow the employee on maternity leave to do up to 10 days' work without losing SMP. SPLIT days (Shared Parental Leave in Touch days) allow employees on SPL to do up to 20 days' work without losing ShPP - 20 days each, so both parents on concurrent SPL could use up to 40 SPLIT days between them. KIT and SPLIT days are voluntary for both parties - neither employer nor employee can require or demand them. Pay for KIT/SPLIT days is agreed between the parties, subject to a minimum equivalent to the SMP/ShPP rate. KIT days are most commonly used for team meetings, training events, or handover work, and are particularly valuable for maintaining professional connection with the team and easing the psychological transition back to work after a significant period of leave.