Maternity benefits: detailed guide
Find out about the 2 maternity benefits available under the social security scheme: Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance.
Documents
Details
A guide to the 2 maternity benefits available to women under the social security scheme:
- Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
- Maternity Allowance (MA)
This includes how the maternity benefits are worked out, the eligibility rules and when these benefits may be paid.
Last updated 17 August 2023 + show all updates
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Updated Maternity Allowance 'If you are going abroad or have been abroad', contact information. New address and phone numbers.
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Updated contact details for the Statutory Payment Dispute Team have been added.
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Updated guide to explain you'll need to apply for a Pregnancy and Baby Payment if you live in Scotland. You can no longer apply for a Sure Start Maternity Grant.
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Added information about the Pregnancy and Baby Payment replacing Sure Start Maternity Grant from 10 December 2018 if you live in Scotland.
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N17A updated to reflect National Insurance contribution changes (NICs) for the self-employed.
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Updated to take account of the new Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme.
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Revisions have been published to the Maternity benefits technical guidance to include the introduction on 1 April 2014 of Maternity Allowance for women who are not employed or self-employed, their baby is due on or after 27 July 2014, and they take part in the business of their self-employed spouse or civil partner.
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First published.