Maternity Allowance is a weekly payment for some women who are pregnant or have recently given birth.

Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Age rules: There are no specific age rules

Type of benefit: Non means tested

Taxable: No

Administered by: Jobcentre Plus

Maternity Allowance is money paid to some pregnant people or people who have recently given birth who do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay from their employer because::

• They have recently stopped work to have the baby, or

• They do not earn enough money.

Self-employed people may also get Maternity Allowance.

You must have been employed or self-employed for at least 26 weeks of the period which covers 66 weeks up to and including the week before your baby is due. It does not matter if these 26 weeks are split up or if they are not all for the same employer.

You must also have earned £30 a week averaged over any 13 weeks in the period which covers 66 weeks up to and including the week before your baby is due. 

You can claim at any time once you are 26 weeks pregnant.

If you do not qualify for Maternity Allowance, you might qualify for Lower Rate Maternity Allowance.

If you have no recourse to public funds, you might still get Maternity Allowance as long as you meet the eligibility criteria. The criteria depend on your recent employment and earnings history. 

Lower Rate Maternity Allowance

If you help your partner run their own business, you might be able to get a new Lower rate of Maternity Allowance.

To qualify, you must not be eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay or the higher rate of Maternity Allowance for the same pregnancy, and for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby is due, you must:

• Be married or in a civil partnership with someone who is self-employed
• Not be employed or self-employed yourself
• Take part in the business of your self-employed spouse or civil partner
• Not be paid for the work you do for the business.

Your spouse or civil partner must be registered as self-employed with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and must pay Class 2 National Insurance.

If you are applying for Maternity Allowance for helping your spouse or civil partner in their business, you only have a short period of time in which to apply. 

• If you stopped working before 11 weeks before your due date, within 14 weeks after the 11th week before your due date
• If you stopped working at or after 11 weeks before your due date, within 14 weeks after you stop work
• Otherwise, within 14 weeks after you give birth.

For further information, visit Maternity Benefits guidance on gov.uk. 

If you start work again

If you work more than 10 days during the period you are entitled to Maternity Allowance, you will lose some of your entitlement to Maternity Allowance. The Job Centre Plus will decide how much Maternity Allowance you will lose. However, this will be calculated at least for the number of days you worked more than 10 days. 

If you do any work at all while on Maternity Allowance and you get Maternity Allowance for unpaid work done for your spouse or civil partner in their self-employed business, you will lose some of your entitlement to Maternity Allowance. The Job Centre Plus will decide how much Maternity Allowance you will lose. However, this will be calculated at least for the number of days you worked. 

Make sure you report any days you work.  

Employed or have recently stopped working

Maternity Allowance is £184.03 per week or 90% of your average gross weekly earnings (before tax), whichever is the smaller amount.  

Maternity Allowance is paid for 39 weeks. If you choose to share some of your parental leave through Statutory Shared Parental Leave, your Maternity Allowance may end before 39 weeks.

Self-employed 

Maternity Allowance is between £27 to £184.03 per week if you’re self-employed.  

You will get a reduced rate if you have not paid enough national insurance contributions in the 66 weeks before your baby is due.  

To get £184.03 per week, you must: 

• be registered with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby is due; and  
• paid Class 2 National Insurance contributions for at least 13 of the 66 weeks before your baby is due.  

If you haven’t paid any Class 2 national insurance contributions or do unpaid work for your spouse’s or civil partner’s self-employment, you’ll get the lower rate of Maternity Allowance of £27 per week for 14 weeks.  

Benefit Cap

Maternity Allowance is included in the Benefit Cap which limits the total amount in some benefits that working-age people can receive. See our Benefit Cap information guide for more details.

How will I be paid Maternity Allowance?

Maternity Allowance will be paid directly into your bank or building society account or through the Payment Exception Service if you are unable to open or manage one of these or a similar account.

Maternity Allowance is usually paid every two or four weeks.

Maternity Allowance and other benefits

Maternity Allowance counts in full as income when calculating your entitlement to other means-tested benefit s but is ignored when calculating your entitlement to Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. 

Maternity Allowance is deducted in full from Universal Credit. Because Maternity Allowance is paid four-weekly but Universal Credit is calculated monthly, it can look like more Maternity Allowance is being deducted from your Universal Credit than you actually received.  

If you get Maternity Allowance and Universal Credit at the same time, and you have children who were in childcare before you started getting Maternity Allowance, you can keep getting help with childcare costs for your older children while on maternity leave.  

In England, Scotland and Wales

You can download a Maternity Allowance claim form or order a form to be posted out to you

Phone Jobcentre Plus for a claim form:

Telephone: 0800 169 0283
Textphone: 0800 169 0286

In Northern Ireland

You can download a Maternity Allowance claim form or order a form to be posted to you.

Phone Maternity Allowance Northern Ireland on 028 9082 3318 for a claim form or for more information. 

What documents will I need to claim Maternity Allowance?

You must give your national insurance number and may be asked to provide proof of identity, for example, a driving licence or birth certificate.

If you are employed, you will need to send in form SMP1 that your employer will give you. You will need to provide evidence of your wages, for example, a payslip or note from your employer.

You must also give evidence of your pregnancy. This is usually the maternity certificate from your doctor or midwife (MATB1). If you claim Maternity Allowance after your baby is born, you should provide the birth certificate.

When will my Maternity Allowance claim begin?

The earliest it can start to be paid is the 11th week before the baby is due.

If you claim late, you can get Maternity Allowance backdated for up to three months if you would have been entitled to it earlier. It does not matter why your claim is late. Request this when claiming.

Change of circumstances

You must report changes in your circumstances which might affect your entitlement to this benefit.

Shared Parental Leave and Pay

You may be able to get Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (SSPP) with your spouse, civil partner or joint adopter.

See our Shared Parental Leave and Pay guide for further details.

If you disagree with the decision made on your benefit claim you can ask for a written statement of reasons. If you still believe the decision is wrong, for example due to incorrect information being used, you can ask for it to be looked at again, and/or appeal.

The time limits are strict, you will usually be given one month to dispute a decision, so it is important to seek advice and act quickly.

Further information on Challenges and complaints