Self-employed maternity pay: what you need to know

What is maternity pay?

There are different types of maternity leave pay available depending on your employment status:

• statutory maternity pay is the legal minimum for an employer to pay (as long as you’ve worked there for a certain amount of time and earn at least £123 a week on average)
• enhanced maternity pay is offered by some companies as a benefit to get more than statutory maternity pay (it’s also known as ‘contractual’ maternity pay)
• maternity allowance is paid by the government if you’re self-employed and can’t claim statutory maternity pay

Our guide takes you through the main maternity pay types currently available in the UK, and tells you how self-employed mums and mums-to-be can claim them.

Maternity allowance

This benefit is provided by the government, and is designed for those who don’t qualify for statutory maternity pay. This makes it a key maternity benefit for self-employed mothers.

You can claim maternity allowance as soon as you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can begin 11 weeks before your baby’s due at the earliest, and the day after your baby’s born at the latest.

Whether you can get it and how much you can get will depend on a few eligibility factors.

Am I eligible for maternity allowance?

Your maternity allowance eligibility will depend on the work you’ve done in the period that’s 66 weeks before your baby is due. This is known as your ‘test period.’

To qualify for maternity allowance, you’ll need to have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks of your test period.

If you’ve done any paid work during a week in these 66 weeks, that counts as one full week, even if you’ve only worked for one day that week. Also bear in mind that these weeks don’t need to be consecutive. So you could have worked a Monday and Tuesday of one week, and then a Thursday two weeks later, and this would count as two weeks.

At least 13 of these ‘weekly’ earnings need to be £30 or over for you to be eligible.

You can check if you’re eligible using the government’s maternity pay calculator.

How much maternity allowance will I get?

The amount of maternity allowance you get will depend on your Class 2 National Insurance (NI) contributions. Depending on your earnings, these are made automatically when you submit your Self Assessment tax return.

If you pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions through your Self Assessment tax return (and you’ve done so for at least 13 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby’s due), you’ll get between £27 and £184.03 a week for up to 39 weeks.

If you’re employed or have recently stopped working, you’ll get 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings or £184.03 a week (whichever is less). To calculate the average, your total gross earnings for the 13 eligible weeks of your test period will be added up and divided by 13.

If you haven’t paid enough Class 2 National Insurance contributions to get the full amount, you may be able to get a reduced amount of £27 a week, as long as you meet the other criteria.

You may still be able to qualify for the full rate by making early National Insurance contributions. If this is relevant to you, HMRC can help you do it.

If your spouse or civil partner is self-employed and you do unpaid work for their business you may be able to get maternity allowance for 14 weeks. You need to have been doing work for the business for at least 26 weeks of the 66 weeks before your baby’s due for this to apply, and your partner needs to be making Class 2 National Insurance contributions.

Is maternity pay taxable?

You don’t have to pay tax on maternity allowance.

If you’re newly self-employed, read more about filing your tax return and the Self Assessment process.

How do I apply for maternity allowance?

To apply for Maternity Allowance, you need to complete the maternity allowance claim form, and send it to the address given on the form.

If you have any issues downloading and printing the form, you can ask JobCentre Plus to post you one instead.

Statutory maternity pay

Statutory maternity pay is the paid maternity leave available to employed people who’ve had a baby. If you’re self-employed, you won’t be eligible for statutory maternity pay unless you’re also employed by someone else. Talk to your employer to find out about your access to statutory maternity pay.

If you receive statutory maternity pay, you won’t qualify for maternity allowance, even if you’re also working for yourself at the same time, or helping out a self-employed spouse or civil partner.

Maternity leave for self-employed women

Being self-employed means you don’t get the benefit of maternity leave and other paid holidays (unless you also work for an employer too).

In the UK, pregnant employees are entitled to:

• 26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave
• 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave

Working while on maternity allowance – rules and regulations

If you do any work (either employed or as a self-employed person) during your Maternity Allowance Period then you must tell Jobcentre Plus.

You’re allowed to work a maximum of 10 days during the period you’re receiving maternity allowance. If you work any more than this then you’ll lose your maternity allowance, at least for the number of days worked over 10.

What about self-employed dads and partners?

Currently, dads and partners aren’t able to get self-employed paternity pay and paternity leave in the UK. This is only an option for employees with an employment contract.

You might be able to get shared parental leave if your partner is employed and entitled to maternity leave.

Employment and support allowance

If you’re not eligible for maternity allowance, you may be able to get employment and support allowance (ESA) instead. If you claim maternity allowance and don’t qualify, you’ll automatically be considered for employment and support allowance as an alternative.

The minimum amount of employment and support allowance is £90.50 a week. ESA can be paid for six weeks before your due date and for two weeks after the baby is born.

Your MAT B1 form – the maternity certificate that your midwife gives you after your 20 week scan – is enough to prove that you’re unable to work. You won’t need to undergo a work capability assessment.

Other benefits for pregnant women and parents

If this is your first child and you or your partner is receiving a benefit like Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance, you may be able to get the Sure Start Maternity Grant. This is a one-off payment of £500 to help towards the costs of having a baby.

If you live in Scotland, you’ll need to apply for the Pregnancy and Baby Payment instead. This is currently £754.65 for your first child.

Once your baby is born, you may be entitled to tax-free childcare or Child Benefit.

If you have any lingering questions about maternity pay for self-employed women, ask away in the comments below.

Small business guides and resources

• Cost of living support and resources
• Small business grants for women
• Empowering Women in Business initiative
• What type of business insurance do I need?