Maternity Allowance

What is it

How do I qualify?

To get MA you must have:

• been employed and/or self-employed for at least 26 week in the 66 weeks up to and including the week before your baby is due. This 66 week period is known as the test period. Part weeks are counted as full weeks; and

• earned on average at least £30 or more a week, in any 13 weeks in the test period.

How much will I get?

Up to a standard weekly rate, depending on your earnings.

Standard rate £108.85 or 90% of your average gross weekly earnings if this 90% rate is less than £108.85.

When does it start?

The earliest that MA can start is from the 11^th week before the week your baby is due and the latest from the day following the birth.

Unemployed

If you are unemployed at the 11^th week before the week you baby is due and you satisfy the conditions for payment, MA will start from this date.

Employed/self-employed

If you continue to work after the 11^th week before the week your baby is due, you can choose when to start getting your MA.

MA will usually start from the Sunday following the day you last worked, however there are circumstances when this will change:

• If your baby is born before the start of the 11^th week or before the date your MA is due to start, MA will start from the day following the birth of your baby.
  
• If you are off sick from work with a pregnancy related illness at the start of or in the 4 weeks before your baby is due, MA will start from the day following the first day you are off sick from work for that reason.

How is it paid?

MA can be paid either weekly or every 4 weeks into a bank account.

How do I claim?

Claim as soon as you can after you have been pregnant for 26 weeks. If you claim more than 3 months after the date your MA is due to start you will lose money.

Claim on form MA1. If you are not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay, your employer should give you form SMP1, which explains why. Please send this in with your claim form.

Contact your Jobcentre Plus office or social security office for a claim form. Find your local office on this site or look in the phone book under Benefits Agency, Jobcentre Plus office or social security office.

It is important that we can be sure of your identity when you make a claim. We may need to ask you about your background and look at any official documents you have to support the information you give. In particular you must also provide us with evidence of when your baby is due. This is normally on maternity certificate MATB1. The earliest that this certificate may be issued by your doctor or midwife is 20 weeks before the week in which your baby is due.

We will also need to see proof of your earnings or your Small Earnings Exception certificate.

If you are self-employed and paying Class 2 contributions, we will contact HM Revenue & Customs to confirm payment.

What else should I know?

National Insurance Credits are available for each week in your MA pay period

I am already getting it. What happens if:

I go into hospital or someone I claim for goes into hospital?
MA is not affected if you go into hospital.

I am part of a service family living abroad or visiting?
The rules for going abroad are the same as for anyone else going abroad. See above. But if you are entitled to MA but cannot receive payment because there is no reciprocal agreement between countries and you are married to a serviceman, you may get an ex gratia payment equivalent to the MA you would have got in the United Kingdom. You can apply through your husband's pay office.

For more details see leaflet GL26 – Service Families Abroad or contact :

Department for Work and Pensions
Overseas Incapacity Benefit,
Tyneview Park,
Whitley Road,
Benton,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE98 1BA.

I return to work for my employer before the end of my MA?
Your MA will stop

I start voluntary work?
Maternity Allowance is not usually affected by voluntary work.

I go into a residential care or nursing home?
Your Maternity Allowance will not usually be affected if you go into a residential care or nursing home. Contact your Jobcentre Plus office or social security office for advice.

I am sick at the end of my MA?
If you are on maternity leave from your employer, claim Statutory Sick Pay. Normal rules for payment will apply.

In all other cases claim Incapacity Benefit

More Information

For more information get in touch with your social security office or see leaflets:

• BC1 – Babies and Children, for basic information about SMP and other related benefits available from your local Jobcentre Plus /social security office.

Definitions

The European Economic Area (EEA) countries are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom (UK).

UK means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but not the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

Great Britain means England, Scotland and Wales.