Maternity pay rates change every April, so if you planned around last year's figures, some of your numbers are now out of date. This guide rounds up exactly what changed for the 2026/27 tax year, what it means for your pay, and what stayed the same — so you can recalculate with confidence.
To see your own updated figures, use the NHS Maternity Pay Calculator, which already reflects every 2026/27 change below.
The Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) flat rate rose to £194.32 per week from 6 April 2026, up from £187.18 the year before. This is the rate that applies from week 7 of SMP onward (the first 6 weeks remain 90% of your average weekly earnings), and it feeds directly into the SMP-only phase of NHS maternity pay and the half-pay-plus-SMP phase.
In practice, anyone whose leave runs across the April changeover, or who started planning before it, should make sure they're working from £194.32, not the older £187.18, particularly for the later phases of leave where the flat rate does most of the work.
The Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) — the minimum average weekly earnings you need to qualify for SMP — rose to £129 per week for 2026/27, up from £125.
For most full-time and many part-time NHS staff, this threshold isn't a concern, but it matters in two situations: if you work very reduced hours or if you're in a salary sacrifice scheme that lowers the earnings your SMP is assessed on. A higher threshold means a slightly larger margin to stay above. If salary sacrifice could pull you near it, our Salary Sacrifice and NHS Maternity Pay guide explains how that interacts and how to protect your eligibility.
This is the change most likely to catch Scottish staff out. From 1 April 2026, the Agenda for Change full-time working week in Scotland dropped from 37 to 36 hours, with no reduction in annual salary.
Why it matters for maternity pay: part-time pay is worked out as a proportion of full-time hours (your whole-time equivalent). With full-time hours now 36 rather than 37, the same contracted hours represent a slightly higher proportion of a full week, which changes the pro-rata calculation behind your pay figures. If you're a part-time Scottish worker, make sure any calculation, including older saved estimates, uses 36 as the full-time week, not 37.
NHS pension works on different employer contribution rates across the UK nations. For 2026/27, the employer contribution is 23.7% in England and Wales, 22.5% in Scotland, and 23.2% in Northern Ireland (confirmed by NHS Employers and the NHSBSA).
Bear in mind the employer contribution isn't deducted from you — it's what your Trust pays in on top. Your own contribution, and how it steps down across the phases of maternity leave, is covered in detail in our NHS Maternity Pay and Your Pension guide.
If an Agenda for Change pay award takes effect during the period used to calculate your maternity pay, or during your paid leave, your employer must recalculate your average weekly earnings so your maternity pay reflects the higher rate. This is a long-standing rule rather than something new for 2026/27, but it's worth knowing about in any year a pay award lands near your leave.
The 2026/27 Agenda for Change pay award is 3.3% (confirmed by NHS Employers). If it falls within your maternity pay calculation window, ask your payroll team to confirm whether your average weekly earnings, and therefore your maternity pay, have been recalculated to reflect it.
Plenty hasn't changed, and it's worth being clear about that too:
So if you understood how NHS maternity pay worked last year, the framework is identical — it's mainly the rates and Scotland's hours that have moved.
The SMP flat rate is £194.32 per week from 6 April 2026, up from £187.18. It applies from week 7 of SMP onward; the first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings.
The Lower Earnings Limit rose to £129 per week for 2026/27, up from £125. Your average weekly earnings must be at least this to qualify for SMP.
Yes. From 1 April 2026, Scotland's full-time week moved from 37 to 36 hours with no salary reduction, which changes the pro-rata calculation for part-time Scottish staff. The pay structure itself is unchanged.
No. The four-phase structure, eligibility tests, key dates, and spread payment options are all unchanged. The main 2026/27 changes are the higher SMP rate, the higher earnings threshold, and Scotland's shorter full-time week.
You need one that uses the current 2026/27 rates — £194.32 SMP and the £129 threshold — rather than last year's figures. An out-of-date calculator will understate your SMP and may misjudge eligibility.