UK Parental Pay
Calculator 2026/27

How parental pay works

Most statutory parental pay is paid by your employer, in the same way as your wages. Each type has its own rules, but they share one weekly rate for 2026/27: £194.32, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that is lower. To get any of the employer-paid types, your average weekly earnings must be at least £129 (the lower earnings limit).

Statutory Maternity Pay

SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks. For the first 6 weeks you get 90% of your average weekly earnings, with no cap. For the next 33 weeks you get £194.32, or 90% if that is lower. You need to have worked for your employer without a break for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the week your baby is due. Your leave can usually start 11 weeks before the week your baby is due, and SMP usually starts when your leave does. For more detail, including extra pay from your employer, use the maternity pay calculator.

Statutory Paternity Pay

SPP is £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that is lower, for up to 2 weeks. You can take the 2 weeks together or as separate one-week blocks. Paternity leave cannot start before the birth, and it must end within 52 weeks of it. You need 26 weeks with your employer by the qualifying week and must still work there up to the birth.

Statutory Adoption Pay

SAP works like SMP: 90% of your average weekly earnings for 6 weeks, then £194.32 (or 90% if lower) for 33 weeks, so up to 39 weeks in all. You need to have worked for your employer without a break for at least 26 weeks by the week you were matched with your child. For a UK adoption, leave can start up to 14 days before the child comes to live with you.

Shared Parental Pay

Parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay. Shared Parental Pay comes from the 39 weeks of maternity pay, adoption pay or Maternity Allowance that the mother or adopter does not use. A mother must take at least the 2 weeks of compulsory maternity leave after the birth (4 weeks if she works in a factory). The parent claiming ShPP needs 26 weeks with their employer and average weekly earnings of at least £129. The other parent must have worked for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before the due date and earned at least £390 in total in 13 of those weeks.

Maternity Allowance

Maternity Allowance is paid by the government, not your employer. It is for people who are employed but cannot get SMP, people who are self-employed, and some people who have recently stopped working. If you are employed, you get £194.32 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is less) for up to 39 weeks. You need to have worked for at least 26 of the 66 weeks before your baby is due, and earned at least £30 a week in at least 13 of those weeks. If you are self-employed, you get between £27 and £194.32 a week, depending on your Class 2 National Insurance. Payments can start any time from the 11th week before your baby is due.

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay

If your baby was born on or after 6 April 2025 and spends 7 or more full days in a row in neonatal care, starting within 28 days of the birth, you may get Neonatal Care Pay. You get one week for every 7 full days, up to 12 weeks, at £194.32 or 90% of your average weekly earnings if lower. It is paid on top of your other parental pay. You need 26 weeks with your employer and average weekly earnings of at least £129, and you must take the leave within 68 weeks of the birth.

A worked example

Sam earns £600 a week before tax and takes the full 39 weeks of SMP. For the first 6 weeks Sam gets 90% of £600, which is £540 a week, so £3,240. For the next 33 weeks Sam gets £194.32 a week, because that is lower than £540, so £6,412.56. Total SMP is £9,652.56 before tax.

If Sam stopped SMP after 10 weeks instead, 39 minus 10 leaves 29 weeks of Shared Parental Pay for the couple to share. If Sam's partner also earns £600 a week and takes all 29 weeks, that is 29 times £194.32, so £5,635.28.

How to work out your average weekly earnings

Your employer looks at your pay before tax over an 8-week period that ends with the qualifying week. For maternity pay, the qualifying week is the 15th week before the week your baby is due. If your pay is steady, divide your yearly salary by 52: £31,200 a year is £600 a week. Bonuses, overtime or a pay rise in those 8 weeks can change the figure, so check your payslips or ask your payroll team.

Is parental pay taxed?

Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Neonatal Care Pay are paid like wages, and tax and National Insurance are deducted. Maternity Allowance is a tax-free state benefit. Because these amounts are often lower than your normal pay, you may pay little or no tax on them. Enter your other pay for the tax year under More options to see an estimate.