NHS maternity pay calculator

Enter your salary to see what NHS maternity pay gives you for each part of your leave, and in total over 52 weeks. It uses the Agenda for Change rules and the 2026/27 rate of Statutory Maternity Pay.

Maternity pay over 52 weeks

£15,831.56

Before tax. Full pay for 8 weeks, then half pay plus SMP for 18 weeks.

Your details

Salary before tax £

12 months' NHS service by the 11th week before the due date

Earnings high enough for SMP

Maternity pay over 52 weeks
Weeks	Weekly total	Weekly SMP	Weekly NHS pay	Phase total
Weeks 1 to 6	£576.92	£519.23	£57.69	£3,461.52
Weeks 7 to 8	£576.92	£194.32	£382.60	£1,153.84
Weeks 9 to 26	£482.78	£194.32	£288.46	£8,690.04
Weeks 27 to 39	£194.32	£194.32	£0	£2,526.16
Weeks 40 to 52	£0	£0	£0	£0

Compared with 52 weeks of normal pay: 52.8%.

How this was worked out

Average weekly earnings = salary ÷ 52 = £576.92
Weekly full pay = salary ÷ 52 = £576.92
Half pay = weekly full pay ÷ 2 = £288.46
Weeks 1 to 6: £3,461.52 total, including £3,115.38 SMP and £346.14 NHS pay
Weeks 7 to 8: £1,153.84 total, including £388.64 SMP and £765.20 NHS pay
Weeks 9 to 26: £8,690.04 total, including £3,497.76 SMP and £5,192.28 NHS pay
Weeks 27 to 39: £2,526.16 total, including £2,526.16 SMP and £0 NHS pay
Weeks 40 to 52: £0 total, including £0 SMP and £0 NHS pay
Total for 52 weeks = £15,831.56

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What the calculator assumes

Your weekly pay is your yearly salary divided by 52. Payroll uses your actual earnings in the weeks before your leave, so if your pay changed recently the figure can be different.
You take the full 52 weeks of maternity leave, starting at the beginning of a week.
Every figure is before tax, National Insurance and pension. Maternity pay is taxed like normal pay.
The NHS terms for England, from section 15 of the Agenda for Change handbook. NHS Scotland publishes its own maternity leave calculator.

How NHS maternity pay works

There are two kinds of pay, and most NHS staff get both. Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is the legal minimum that every employer pays. NHS occupational maternity pay is extra pay from your employer, set out in the NHS terms and conditions. The NHS pay tops up SMP, so the two are counted together and you never get both in full.

The leave splits into four parts:

Weeks 1 to 8: full pay. Your employer takes your SMP off your full pay and pays the rest, so the total is the same as your normal pay.
Weeks 9 to 26: half pay plus SMP, as long as the two together are not more than your full pay.
Weeks 27 to 39: SMP only.
Weeks 40 to 52: no pay. You are still on maternity leave, but it is unpaid.

SMP itself is 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks. For the next 33 weeks it is £194.32 a week, or 90% of your earnings if that is lower. This is why the calculator splits weeks 1 to 8 into two rows: the SMP part drops after week 6, and the NHS part rises to cover it.

To get the NHS pay you need 12 months' continuous service with one or more NHS employers by the start of the 11th week before the week your baby is due. SMP has its own test: you must earn at least £129 a week on average and have worked for your employer for long enough. Our Statutory Maternity Pay calculator covers SMP on its own.

If you get NHS maternity pay you agree to go back to work afterwards. If you do not go back, you may have to pay back the NHS part (not the SMP). Employers can waive this in cases of hardship. Check the handbook and talk to your employer before you decide.

What it leaves out

Tax, National Insurance, pension and student loan. To see what a salary leaves you each month, use the take-home pay calculator.
Maternity Allowance. If you do not qualify for SMP you may get Maternity Allowance from Jobcentre Plus instead. The NHS pay tops it up in the same way.
Pay rises during your leave, and any change to your hours before it starts.
Annual leave. You keep building up annual leave while you are on maternity leave.
Shared parental leave, adoption pay and the NHS Scotland scheme.

For the pay points in each band, see NHS pay by band. For the pension you build while you work, see the NHS pension calculator.

Official guidance

Maternity leave and pay (section 15) on NHS Employers
Maternity pay and leave on GOV.UK
Maternity Allowance on GOV.UK

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