Statutory Maternity Pay: UK Employer Guide

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid by employers for up to 39 weeks of maternity leave. The first six weeks are paid at 90% of average weekly earnings. The remaining 33 weeks are paid at the lower of 90% of average weekly earnings or the flat statutory rate — currently £194.32 per week (2026/27).

Employers recover SMP from HMRC. Small employers — those with an annual NI bill of £45,000 or less — can recover 103% of SMP paid. Larger employers recover 92%. The recovery happens by deducting it from the employer NI and PAYE payments submitted to HMRC via RTI. This means SMP is not a cost you absorb — HMRC reimburses most or all of it, but the cash flow timing means you pay out first and recover through subsequent payroll submissions.

Mellow calculates SMP automatically when you log a maternity leave start date and the employee's qualifying earnings. The payslip reflects SMP in the relevant pay periods, and the RTI submission includes the SMP recovery deduction. The employee receives a written notification of their SMP entitlement — a legal requirement — generated automatically from within Mellow.