Statutory minimum rates
Statutory minimum rates for statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance, statutory paternity pay, shared parental pay, and statutory adoption pay, are all identical.
They are increased with effect from April each year.
For the financial year 2024/2025, the weekly payment is £184.03.
Women who are not eligible for statutory maternity pay, either because they lack the required period of service with the employer (please see Maternity Information for eligibility details) or because they are self-employed, may claim maternity allowance, a social security benefit which is payable for up to 39 weeks of maternity leave (the same payment period as for statutory maternity leave and at the same payment rate). The only difference is that the payment is claimed directly from Social Security and not paid by an employer who can then reclaim part or all the statutory payment from the government (see below).
For information purposes only, statutory sick pay is a different amount. The current statutory sick pay rate (payable following the first 3 days of illness which are unpaid and known as “waiting days”) is £116.75.
Recovery from the government of statutory payments
Employers who pay Class 1 National insurance contributions for which their total cost falls below a specified threshold for the tax year (currently £45,000) qualify for what is known as small employers’ relief. This means that they are entitled to recover 100% of their statutory payments made for maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption pay, plus an additional percentage amount of the statutory payment, which relates to National insurance contributions payable on that statutory payment. The total amount which they can recover is 103% of the payment made to the employee.
Employers who do not qualify for small employers’ relief are entitled to recover 92% of their statutory payments made.
Please see this useful link to the government website page for more information about recovery of statutory payments.
