Statutory Maternity & Sick Pay calculator

For Maternity Pay, it's your average gross pay over the 8 weeks (roughly 2 months) ending with the 'qualifying week' — 15 weeks before your due date. For Sick Pay, it's typically averaged over the 8 weeks before the sickness started. Use your payslips from that period, not your current single week's pay if it's varied recently.

These are called 'waiting days' — a fixed part of how SSP works, not something your employer can choose to skip. If you've had a previous period of sickness that ended within the last 8 weeks, the days may 'link' together and you might not have to serve waiting days again — not modelled in this simple calculator.

The first 6 weeks pay a genuine, uncapped 90% of your earnings. From week 7, the rate becomes whichever is lower — the flat rate or your 90% figure — so once your 90% exceeds the flat rate (which happens for most earners above roughly £216/week), you're capped at the flat rate rather than continuing at 90%.

You won't qualify for the statutory scheme through your employer. For Maternity Pay, you may still be able to claim Maternity Allowance directly from the government instead — a separate benefit with its own rules. For Sick Pay, there's no direct statutory equivalent, though your employer might still offer contractual sick pay.

No — these are legal minimums. Many employers offer more generous contractual maternity or sick pay schemes (sometimes full pay for a period) on top of, or instead of, the statutory figures. Check your contract or staff handbook for what actually applies to you.

Yes — both are treated as normal earnings, subject to Income Tax and National Insurance in the usual way, paid through your employer's payroll alongside any other pay.