Money Tips For Maternity Leave

Maternity leave is an exciting time, but it can also be financially challenging. I head on maternity leave early June (although finish work slightly earlier), and planning ahead for this time can make all the difference.

If you’re preparing for your first baby and have no idea of your options, here’s some info I’ve found out to boost your income. As I’ve not yet been on maternity leave there may be somethings missing from this list. Please leave a comment if there’s any I’ve forgotten.

Understanding your pay entitlements for maternity leave

If you’re employed and meet eligibility criteria you may be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). This is paid for up to 39 weeks (about 9 months). To quality you must have been employed continuously for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before your due date, and earn at least £123 per week (before tax).

It’s broken down to:

• The first six weeks you’ll get 90% of your average weekly earnings (before tax).
• Then for the next 33 weeks you get £184.03 per week (or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower).

A lot of employers will offer enhanced maternity pay (often far more than SMP) so check out the policies at your work. If you’re not sure speak to your HR department. They should be able to give you a rough estimate of how much you’ll get each month.

If you don’t qualify for SMP as you’ve not been in your job long enough etc you can look into Maternity Allowance below.

If you’re self-employed

You won’t qualify for SMP if you’re self-employed, but you may be eligible for Maternity Allowance (MA). This gives you £184.08 per week for the whole 39 weeks, depending on your National Insurance contributions.

Claim child benefits when your baby is born

Once your baby is born, you can apply for child benefit, which helps with the cost of raising a child.

How much can you get?

• £25.60 per week for your first child.
• £16.95 per week for each additional child (there’s no limit for how many you can claim for!)

Either you or your partner can put in the claim, but one of you must earn less than £50,000 per year to receive the full amount. If you earn over £50,000 you may need to pay back soon or all of it through the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC).

Even if you earn over £60,000 (where the charge cancels out the benefit), it’s still worth applying as it protects your national insurance record for your state pension.

Save on childcare with various schemes

Even though our baby isn’t even here yet we’re already looking into nurseries as spaces can be tight. If you’re returning to work after maternity leave then you can take advantage of childcare support schemes.

15-30 hours of free childcare

From September 2025 all children aged over 9 months may be entitled to up to 30 hours of free childcare if you’re returning to work. For us this is going to be a game changer as prices would rack up so quickly if we only got the current entitlement of 15 hours.

Tax-free childcare

You can purchase childcare vouchers and for every £8 you pay into your childcare account, the government adds £2. This is up to £2,000 per year per child, or £4,000 per year for disabled children.

You can then pay your childcare provider directly from your account.

Universal credit childcare

If you’re on Universal Credit then you can claim up to 85% of childcare costs back.

Ways to boost your income on maternity leave

Going from a full time wage to SMP (or nothing if you take off 52 weeks leave), can be tough, so here are some ways to make a little extra money.

• Sell unwanted items- this is great for items your baby may have already outgrown. You can sell items on Vinted, eBay or Facebook Marketplace. And if you’re selling for less than you paid you don’t need to worry about anything on your taxes.
• Freelance work- if (like me) you currently work full time but are also self-employed you can continue to work freelance during your time off without it affecting your maternity pay from your employer. While I’m not planning on working loads, it’s nice to know that I can continue to earn a little extra.
• Online surveys- you can use sites like Prolific to earn some extra pennies during the day (or night).

Check your maternity pay terms as some employers or benefit schemes limit additional earnings. So confirm what’s allowed before you start any extra work.

Plan your maternity leave finances

Make sure you’re prepared and know what you’re going to be getting throughout your leave. This way you can plan and make a maternity budget.

If you’re employed look into whether they offer keep-in-touch (KIT) days. These are days you can work during maternity leave which are paid and can give your income a little boost.

Maternity leave is precious so understanding your options ahead of time will make it easier to focus on what’s important.

Have you got any money tips for maternity leave that I’ve forgotten?