If your employee is expecting a baby, she may be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). This replaces her normal earnings to help her take time off around the time of the birth. She also has a statutory right to a minimum amount of maternity leave.

Whether you have to pay SMP to an expectant employee depends on how long they have worked for you and how much they earn. They will have to provide you with evidence of when the baby's due and give you notice of when they want you to start paying their SMP.

Payments of SMP count as earnings. You must deduct tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from them in the usual way.

You will normally be able to recover some or all of the SMP you pay.

Entitlements

An employee who is expecting a baby has the right to 26 weeks of 'Ordinary Maternity Leave' and 26 weeks 'Additional Maternity Leave' - making one year in total. 

But you only have to pay them SMP if they meet certain conditions. They must have:
 

• worked for you continuously - full or part-time - for at least 26 weeks up to and into the 15th week (known as the Qualifying Week) before the week the baby's due
   
• average earnings at least equal to the lower earnings limit for NICs, £129.00 a week for 2026/27, in the relevant period up to the Qualifying Week
   
• given you the right paperwork confirming the pregnancy and sufficient notice of when they would like the SMP payments to start
   

SMP will be paid for 39 weeks.

Average Weekly Earnings

The calculation of the average weekly earnings is very important because it not only determines if the woman qualifies for SMP but also how much she qualifies for. To qualify for SMP an employee must have average weekly earnings of at least the NIC LEL amount, £129.00, at the end of the Qualifying Week.

How Much Do You Need To Pay

SMP is paid as follows:

First 6 weeks - 90% of average weekly earnings with no upper limit.

Remaining 33 weeks - The lower of either the standard rate (currently £194.32) or 90% of average weekly earnings (whichever is lower)

Recovery of SMP

All employers are entitled to recover 92% of SMP they pay, however if the employer qualifies for Small Employers Relief, where the total NIC in the qualifying tax year was under £45,000, they can recover 100% of SMP paid plus an additional 9% in compensation for the employer’s share of NIC due on these payments.

Should you qualify for Small Employer's Relief, ensure the box is ticked within Employer > Edit Employer Details > PAYE Registration:



 

Calculating SMP in BrightPay

To access this utility, simply click 'Payroll' and select the employee’s name on the left:
 

1.  Under Statutory Pay, click Calendar
    
2.  On the Calendar, click on the date that the baby is due
    
3. Select Maternity Leave from the Parenting Leave section at the top right of the screen
   
    

Leave Dates

1.  Enter all relevant dates and select the employee's Length of Leave from the drop down menu
    
2. In the event the employee has a Pregnancy Related Illness, enter the Illness Start Date
    

Average Weekly Earnings

Within the Average Weekly Earnings section, BrightPay will now offer you three ways of establishing the employee’s average weekly earnings for the purpose of calculating SMP due.
 

• I want BrightPay to calculate the average weekly earnings (AWE) - with this option, BrightPay will attempt to automatically calculate the employee's AWE. Where a calculation is possible, full details of the calculation will be displayed. Where the software detects any potential issues with the calculation (e.g. no payment history, more/fewer earnings than expected, unsupported pay schedule) a warning will be given to the user:
  
  
  
   
• I want to calculate the average weekly earnings by entering payments history manually - where BrightPay is unable to calculate the employee's AWE automatically (e.g. where a different software was used previously and historical pay data is not available to BrightPay), this option allows users to enter the dates and amounts of the employee's earnings history manually, which BrightPay will then use to calculate the employee's AWE. 
  
  
  
   
   
• I want to manually enter the average weekly earnings amount - the user can at their discretion use this option instead to enter the employee’s average weekly earnings figure, where this is known.
  
  
  
   

Notes

Use the Notes section to enter any relevant notes relating to the employee's parenting leave.

Click 'Save' when the parenting leave details are completed. The program will automatically update the calendar accordingly and apply the SMP due

Editing the Length of Maternity Leave
 
Should an employee wish to extend or reduce the length of their maternity leave, the length of leave already entered for the employee can be edited as follows:
 

1. In Payroll, select the employee’s name on the left
    
2. Under Statutory Pay, click on Calendar
    
3. On the Calendar, select any date in advance of the current payroll date and which is currently marked as Maternity Leave
    
4. Within the Maternity Leave section that will appear to the right of the calendar, click on it to be able to edit.
    
5. Amend the employee’s Length of Leave by selecting the number of weeks now applicable from the drop down menu
    
6. Click Save
    
7. Close the Calendar to return to the main Payroll screen

Keeping in Touch Days (KIT)

During the maternity period, an employee can work 10 days without losing any SMP. These KIT days can be taken separately, consecutively or in a block. The employee may be paid for KIT days. If the employee exceeds 10 KIT days, this will result in the loss of SMP for the week in which the work is done. 

To record Keeping In Touch Days in BrightPay:

 

1. Under Employees, select the employee from the listing and click their Calendar tab.

2. On the Calendar, select the date of the Keeping In Touch day  and click 'Keep In Touch Day' on the right hand side

3. Repeat if further Keeping In Touch Days are taken

As soon as the number of Keeping In Touch Days recorded in the employee's calendar exceeds 10 days, BrightPay will notify you in the relevant pay period that the employee is not entitled to any SMP due to having taken their 11th (or higher) Keep in Touch day

How BrightPay calculates SMP

BrightPay uses the full statutory week method when calculating & applying SMP.


 

Maternity Leave Support 

Employers need to ensure that they follow correct procedures in relation to maternity. Being listed as a protected characteristic, incorrect management of pregnancy and maternity leave could leave employers open to discrimination claims. 

Bright Contracts has developed a detailed Maternity Leave Checklist to assist employers.

A template letter from an employer to an employee confirming her maternity is also available here. 

FAQs

Q. My employee received a pay rise during her maternity leave. How do I process this and give the employee the extra money due?

A. If an employee receives a pay rise between the start of their 8-week Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) calculation period and the end of their maternity leave, their SMP must be recalculated to include the raise, potentially resulting in a backdated 'Alabaster payment'.

Scenario 1 – Employee is still on maternity leave

• Recalculate the average weekly earnings (AWE) to include the pay rise, even if the raise does not apply to the original calculation period.
• If the recalculated SMP is higher than the original amount, the employee is entitled to the difference (the Alabaster payment).
• This adjustment usually affects the first 6 weeks of SMP, which are earnings-related. If the employee's new AWE is below HMRC’s flat-rate, you may also need to recalculate the 90% of AWE for the flat-rate weeks.

How to process in BrightPay:

• On the relevant payslip, click the spanner icon on the SMP line.
• Select "Override amount" and add the extra SMP due to the amount BrightPay has calculated for this period.
• The total will automatically be included in your EPS submission for statutory payment recovery.

Scenario 2 – Employee is no longer on maternity leave

• Recalculate the average weekly earnings (AWE) to include the pay rise.
• If the recalculated SMP is higher than the original, the employee is owed the difference (the Alabaster payment).
• As above, this typically affects the first 6 weeks, but recalculate for flat-rate weeks if AWE is lower than HMRC's basic rate.

How to process in BrightPay:

• Add an "addition" payment type to the next payslip for the employee (subject to PAYE and NIC).
• To ensure this additional SMP payment is included in your next EPS, go to the relevant tax month in the HMRC tab > Additional Amounts field > enter the extra SMP payment and any NIC compensation, if applicable.
• This ensures the extra amount is reclaimed via EPS on your next submission.

Note:
In both scenarios, the extra SMP payment is subject to PAYE and NIC as usual.

Q. I have an employee about to go on Maternity leave but the company wants to pay Enhanced maternity leave so she receives her full salary for the first 12 weeks - how do I enter this on BrightPay?

A. If an employer operates an Enhanced maternity scheme, you can adjust the periodic pay to reflect this.
To pay an employee Enhanced Maternity Leave (ie full salary for the first 12 weeks) in BrightPay:

1. Record Maternity Leave:
   Go to the employee’s calendar and enter the maternity leave dates. This ensures Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is calculated and appears on the payslip.
2. Adjust Pay for Enhanced Maternity:
   For each pay period where the employee should receive full salary (e.g., first 12 weeks):
   • In the Payroll tab, edit the employee’s payslip.
   • Under "Pay and Benefits," adjust the regular salary by manually entering the full gross salary minus the SMP amount (ie [usual gross salary] – [SMP]).
   • This way, the total paid equals usual salary, but only the SMP portion is processed as recoverable statutory pay.
3. EPS Submission:
   Only the statutory SMP amount will be recoverable and reported on the Employer Payment Summary (EPS) to HMRC. Enhanced (extra/top-up) payments are not recoverable.