Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay (SMP/SPP)

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)

Qualifying conditions

To qualify for SMP, an employee must:

• Have 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC).
• Earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit (£123/week) averaged over the 8 weeks before the 15th week before EWC.
• Give you 28 days’ notice of their start date and a medical certificate (MATB1 form).

SMP rates

SMP is paid for up to 39 weeks:

• First 6 weeks: 90% of average weekly earnings (AWE).
• Remaining 33 weeks: £184.03 per week (2026/27) or 90% of AWE if lower.

Recording maternity leave in AccBooks

1. Go to Payroll → Employees → [employee] → Absence → Record absence.
2. Select Maternity leave.
3. Enter the Maternity Leave Start Date and the Expected Week of Childbirth (from the MATB1 form).
4. AccBooks calculates the AWE, SMP entitlement per week and total SMP for the 39-week period.
5. AccBooks includes SMP in each payroll run automatically for the duration of the leave.

Employer recovery

You can recover 92% of SMP from HMRC (103% if you qualify as a Small Employer with NI bills under £45,000/year). AccBooks calculates the recoverable amount and includes it in the EPS (Employer Payment Summary) submitted to HMRC monthly.

The recovery amount is offset against your monthly PAYE/NI payment to HMRC — AccBooks shows the net amount payable.

Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)

Qualifying conditions

To qualify for SPP:

• The employee must be the child’s biological father, or the mother’s partner.
• 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the 15th week before EWC.
• Earn at least the LEL.
• Give 28 days’ notice.

SPP rates

SPP is paid for 1 or 2 weeks (employee’s choice):

• £184.03 per week (2026/27) or 90% of AWE if lower.

Recording paternity leave

1. Go to Payroll → Employees → [employee] → Absence → Record absence.
2. Select Paternity leave.
3. Enter the start date and whether the employee is taking 1 or 2 weeks.
4. AccBooks includes SPP in the next payroll run.

SPP recovery is the same as SMP: 92% (or 103% for small employers).

Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)

If parents choose to share maternity leave, ShPP can replace the remaining SMP entitlement. Recording ShPP in AccBooks follows the same steps as SMP — select Shared Parental Leave as the absence type and enter the agreed split between parents.

Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)

SAP mirrors SMP in qualifying conditions, rate structure and employer recovery. Select Adoption leave when recording the absence.

Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay

For the tragic case of a child dying under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks, employees are entitled to 2 weeks’ Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP) at £184.03/week. Record it under Absence → Bereavement leave.

Impact on pension contributions

Auto-enrolment pension contributions during statutory pay periods are calculated on actual pay (the SMP/SPP amount), not the employee’s normal salary. AccBooks applies this automatically. The employer must continue making contributions at the normal percentage of actual pay throughout the leave.