Maternity leave

How much maternity leave can I take?

This statutory maternity leave (SML) is made up of 26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave followed immediately by 26 weeks’ additional maternity leave.

Statutory maternity leave is only available for employees. However agency workers may qualify for compulsory maternity leave. Compulsory maternity leave requires eligible individuals to take a minimum of two weeks leave, which starts directly at the birth of the child. If you work in a factory this leave increases to four weeks. 

During statutory maternity leave, you may be entitled to statutory maternity pay (SMP) for up to 39 weeks of your maternity leave. Apart from wages, you keep your normal employment rights and benefits throughout all of your statutory maternity leave. This also means you continue to accrue annual leave whilst you are on maternity leave. 

For the first six weeks, SMP is paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings (the amount before tax and national insurance deductions).

And for the following 33 weeks, it is paid at £194.32 per week (up from £187.18 before 6 April 2026) or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). Please go to the Gov.uk website to view the current SMP rates.   

Time off for antenatal appointments 

Before you go on maternity leave, if you are an employee, you are entitled to reasonable paid time off during working hours to attend antenatal appointments, such as medical appointments, parenting classes, pregnancy related health fitness or relaxation classes and sessions for your mental health, (including travelling to and from the appointments), if advised by a registered medical practitioner, registered midwife or registered nurse.

A partner (the baby’s father or the mother’s spouse, civil partner or partner in an enduring relationship, or the parents of a child in a qualifying surrogacy arrangement) is entitled to time off work to attend two antenatal appointments – the time off is for a maximum of 6.5 hours for each appointment. The basic entitlement is to unpaid leave but your employer may well allow paid leave for these appointments.

Employees should notify their employer of the appointment and may need to provide proof of the appointment, such as an appointment card.

If you are an agency worker, you are also entitled to paid time off for antenatal appointments, provided that you have worked in the same role with the same hirer for 12 continuous calendar weeks, during one or more assignments. 

Keeping in touch days

Keeping in touch days (KiT days) let you work or attend training for up to 10 days during your statutory maternity leave, without losing maternity pay or maternity allowance or ending your leave.

You are entitled to pay for any KiT days but the amount will need to be agreed with your employer. If you work a day whilst on statutory maternity pay (SMP) you should be paid your SMP plus the agreed payment for work done. Your employer must not pay less than the national minimum wage. 

Paternity leave

A spouse, civil partner or partner, or the father of the child, if not the same, can take up to two weeks of paternity leave to support a partner on maternity leave if they are classed as an employee. This leave must be taken within 52 weeks of the birth and can either be taken in a two-week block or two one-week blocks.

Paternity leave became a day-one right from 6 April 2026 thanks to the Employment Rights Act 2025. Previously, employees had to have at least 26 weeks of continuous service to benefit. (See our Paternity leave and Paternity pay pages for more details.) 

Shared parental leave

Instead of taking the full 52 weeks of maternity or adoption leave, the mother or the ‘primary’ adopter can choose to share 50 weeks of their leave and up to 37 weeks of pay with their partner through shared parental leave. 

Notice periods 

You must tell your employer (not necessarily in writing, unless requested by the employer) that you are pregnant at least 15 weeks before the week in which your baby is due. You must also provide:

• the due date;
• evidence of the due date if requested by the employer;
• the date you want to start maternity leave.

If asked, you may need to provide proof of pregnancy (such as the MAT B1 form).

Once you have submitted your notice to your employer they must write to you within 28 days confirming your start and end dates for maternity leave. 

You can only take maternity leave from 11 weeks before the expected week of childbirth unless the baby is born early.  

Maternity leave and legal protection

It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee because:

• they are pregnant;
• they have a pregnancy-related illness;
• they exercise or seek to exercise the right to ordinary or additional maternity leave.

The protected period starts when you become pregnant and lasts for 18 months following the birth or adoption. If you do not receive pay and benefits due to you because of your pregnancy, you may be able to claim discrimination.

It is automatically unfair to dismiss an employee or subject them to a detriment such as withholding a promotion or pay rise, for a reason connected with pregnancy, giving birth or taking maternity leave.

An employee who is pregnant, on maternity leave or has returned to work but has given birth within the last 18 months is provided with further protection against redundancy. If you fall into one of these categories and you are at risk of redundancy your employer is required to prioritise finding a suitable alternative role for you. Failure to do so can result in automatic unfair dismissal. 

Legal disclaimer 

The information contained within this article is not a complete or final statement of the law and is based on the laws of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

While UNISON has sought to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date, it is not responsible and will not be held liable for any inaccuracies and their consequences, including any loss arising from relying on this information. If you are a UNISON member with a legal problem, please contact your branch or region as soon as possible for advice, or for non-employment matters call UNISONdirect.