FACTSHEET No. 53 Maternity, Paternity & Adoption Benefits These are benefits paid if you are pregnant, have just had a baby or are the partner of someone expecting a baby or are an adoptive parent. I. Introduction Maternity, paternity and adoption benefits are benefits paid if you are pregnant, have just had a baby or are the partner of someone expecting a baby or are an adoptive parent. 1. Maternity allowance This is payable for up to 39 weeks if you are pregnant or have just had a baby and are either self employed or have given up work or changed jobs whilst you were pregnant. You cannot get this if you are receiving maternity pay. To qualify, you must have worked (or been self-employed) for 26 weeks out of 66 weeks before the week in which your baby is due. You only need to have earned an average of £30 per week for 13 of those 66 weeks. Payment can start 11 weeks before the week in which your baby is due but can be delayed until your baby's birth if you are still in employment or self employment. Claim on form MA1 available from your local Jobcentre Plus office - or you can get a downloadable form MA1 from www.direct.gov.uk. 2. Statutory adoption pay This is leave paid by your employer for up to 39 weeks if you have a child placed with you for adoption. To qualify, you must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks leading into the week in which you are notified of being matched with a child for adoption. You must also have average earnings of at least £102 a week. To claim you must give your employer documentary evidence from the adoption agency. You must also notify your employer at least 28 days in advance of when you want payment to start. 3. Statutory maternity pay This is paid by your employer for up to 39 weeks if you are pregnant or have just had a baby and are in work. To qualify, you must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week (and still be employed that week) before the week your baby is due. You cannot get statutory maternity pay if your average earnings are below £102 a week. Payment can start 11 weeks before the week in which your baby is due but can be delayed until your baby's birth. if you are still in employment. To claim you should write to your employer at least 28 days before you plan to give up work. You will also need to send in your MAT B1 maternity certificate. 4. Statutory paternity pay This is leave paid by your employer for up to 2 weeks where your partner or your spouse has given birth or where you have adopted (or are the partner of someone who has adopted) a child. To qualify, you must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the week the baby is due and your average earnings must not be below £102 a week. If the child is yours you must remain employed until the baby is born. If the child is adopted you must remain in employment until he or she is placed with you for adoption. You must give your employer at least 28 days notice (or if it is not practical for you to do this then as soon as possible). You claim using form SC3, available from the HMRC website. If you are taking additional paternity leave to a maximum of 26 weeks you can get additional statutory paternity pay. You must not be working so that you can care for your child during your partner’s 39-week maternity or adoption pay period and your partner must have returned to work and stopped claiming any maternity or adoption pay. Additional SPP is only payable during your partner’s 39-week maternity pay or adoption pay period. II. How much are maternity, paternity and adoption benefits? The rate for all the above benefits is £128.73 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is less). However the first 6 weeks of statutory maternity pay are paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings. III. Other help You may also be able to get sure start maternity grant from the social fund. For more infomation on this see Factsheet F52 - the social fund. You can also get help under the healthy start scheme. For more infomation on this see Factsheet F15 - prescription charges/health benefits. IV. Where can I get more help and information? You can get help at a local advice centre, such as CARA or any citizen's advice bureau. You can get more information about this from our factsheet F16, Finding a local advice centre. For more information on the appeals process, our factsheets and publications, you can contact CARA on +44 (0) 844 478 0015 -Mob: +44 (0) 795 695 2645 -Fax: +44 (0) 872 115 8436 -Email: info@cara-online.org. Updated 8 April 2011 |