Can you get maternity pay if you're self-employed?

Statutory Maternity Pay comes from an employer, so you claim Maternity Allowance from the government instead. For self-employed women it pays between £27 and £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks in 2026/27.

The amount depends on your Class 2 National Insurance in the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due. For the full amount, GOV.UK says you need to have been registered as self-employed with HMRC for at least 26 of those weeks and have Class 2 contributions for at least 13 of them. With none, you get £27 a week.

The 90% of average weekly earnings rule applies to employed women claiming Maternity Allowance. It is not how the self-employed amount is worked out.

Since April 2024 no one has to pay Class 2. If your profits are £7,105 or more in 2026/27, it is treated as paid. If your profits are below that, you can pay voluntary Class 2 at £3.65 a week.

This matters most in a new business or a low-profit year, which is often when a first pregnancy falls. A few weeks of voluntary Class 2 can be the difference between £27 and £194.32 a week. GOV.UK's eligibility page links to the maternity entitlement calculator, and it is worth running it early in your pregnancy while there is still time to act. The Maternity Allowance calculator on this site gives a quick estimate.

You can apply once you have been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start any time from the 11th week before your baby is due up to the day after the birth.

Choosing a start date is a balance. Starting later lets you keep working closer to the birth, while starting earlier gives you more paid weeks before the baby arrives. Either way the allowance lasts up to 39 weeks, so the start date also decides when it ends.

GOV.UK says you can do up to 10 keeping in touch days without it affecting your Maternity Allowance, and you must report any days you work. The page describes these as days worked for an employer. If you want to keep a business ticking over, call the Maternity Allowance helpline on 0800 169 0283 before you start, so you know how your work will be counted.

Maternity Allowance at most is about £7,580 over 39 weeks, which is well below most people's earnings. A few things help:

• Build a bigger buffer in the months before, enough to cover the gap between the allowance and your usual costs.
• Look at your tax dates. A 31 January or 31 July payment may fall during your leave. If your profits will drop, you can ask HMRC to reduce your payments on account.
• Tell regular clients early and decide who covers urgent work, whether that is a subcontractor or an agreed pause.
• Check any income protection policy. A normal pregnancy is not usually treated as an illness, and some insurers exclude complications.

Plan your return too. A gradual restart is easier on cash flow if your buffer is there to cover it.

Your pension and State Pension record are worth a look before you stop. Maternity Allowance does not come with pension contributions, so payments into a personal pension usually pause unless you keep them going yourself. If your profits for the year fall below £7,105, Class 2 will not be treated as paid, and paying it voluntarily at £3.65 a week protects that year on your National Insurance record. Our page on the State Pension for the self-employed explains how to check for gaps.

Tax-Free Childcare adds £2 for every £8 you pay into a childcare account, up to £500 every 3 months per child (£2,000 a year). For a disabled child the limit is £1,000 every 3 months. It covers children aged 11 or younger, or 16 or younger if disabled.

In England, working parents can get 30 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks a year, for children aged 9 months to 4 years. Each parent must expect to earn at least £2,643.68 over the next 3 months if aged 21 or over, and neither can expect adjusted net income over £100,000. Self-employed parents can use average expected earnings over the tax year, and if your business started less than 12 months ago you can earn less and still qualify. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own schemes.