Short answer
The two separate eligibility tests, and why the dates matter
The single biggest source of confusion in teacher maternity pay is that there are genuinely two different entitlements, tested at two different points in your pregnancy, with two different service requirements — and it's entirely possible to pass one and fail the other.
Occupational (Burgundy Book) maternity pay requires at least one year's continuous service as a teacher with one or more local authority, assessed at the beginning of the 11th week before your expected week of childbirth. Pass this and you get the full four/two/twelve-week enhanced structure, conditional on being available or able to return to work for at least 13 weeks afterwards.
Statutory Maternity Pay requires 26 weeks' continuous employment with your employer continuing into the "qualifying week" — gov.uk defines this as the 15th week before your expected week of childbirth — plus average weekly earnings of at least £129 (2026/27 threshold). Fail this test and you may be able to claim Maternity Allowance from the DWP instead, though that's a separate benefit this calculator doesn't model.
A four-week gap catches people out
Why the weekly rate changes so much through the 52 weeks
The structure looks arbitrary until you see how the two systems interact. Statutory Maternity Pay pays 90% of your average weekly earnings, uncapped, for its first six weeks, then switches to a flat standard rate (or 90% of earnings if that's lower) for the remaining 33 weeks. The Burgundy Book's occupational entitlement is layered on top of that — but only for some of it.
39
Weeks of a 52-week teacher maternity leave that are both paid and pensionable
Weeks 1 to 6 are essentially a wash: the Burgundy Book's full-pay and nine-tenths-pay entitlements for this period are paid by offsetting SMP against them rather than adding the two together, and SMP's uncapped 90% rate happens to land close to full pay anyway for most classroom teachers. The genuinely valuable band is weeks 7 to 18, where the Burgundy Book gives half pay without deduction for SMP — meaning the standard SMP rate sits on top of the half-pay figure rather than being absorbed by it. For most teachers that combination comes to somewhere around 70-75% of normal weekly pay, well short of the full-pay cap. From week 19 the occupational top-up ends and only the SMP standard rate continues, for the remaining 21 weeks of the paid period.
What this calculator simplifies
This tool is built to get the structure and the order of magnitude right, not to replace your school's payroll calculation to the penny. Two simplifications are worth knowing about before you rely on a figure.
- Average weekly earnings. The real calculation uses your actual pay across a specific 8-week reference period, not a flat annual-salary average — if you had a pay rise, a new TLR, or a change in hours shortly before that period, your real AWE may differ from salary ÷ 52.
- The full-pay cap in weeks 7-18. The Burgundy Book caps the combined half-pay-plus-SMP figure at your normal full pay — this calculator applies that cap, but very high earners with an unusually large TLR should double-check the exact figure with payroll.
- Maternity Allowance isn't modelled. If you don't qualify for SMP, you may be eligible for this separate DWP benefit instead — check the current rate on gov.uk rather than assuming it matches anything shown here.
- Scotland isn't covered. The SNCT runs a different maternity pay structure entirely — use our dedicated Scotland guide instead.
How pension accrual works through paid and unpaid leave
This is the part that surprises people in a good way. The Teachers' Pension Scheme Regulations 2014 use a concept called "notional pensionable earnings": where your pensionable earnings are reduced during maternity leave, your pension for that period is calculated on the pay you would have received had you not been on leave — not the reduced amount you're actually paid. So across all 39 paid weeks, you accrue exactly the same 1/57th-of-salary pension you would have built up in normal service, even in the weeks you're only receiving SMP alone.
Your contribution percentage works the same way in reverse, and in your favour: the tier is set by what you'd have earned in full, but the actual pound amount deducted comes off your real, reduced pay — so you pay noticeably less in cash while still earning the full accrual. Only the final unpaid weeks, if you take the complete 52-week entitlement, build up nothing at all; the regulations classify that final stretch as non-pensionable family leave. Our full maternity pay and pension guide has the complete worked example on a real salary, plus the rules on Keeping in Touch (KIT) days and what happens if you resign shortly after returning.
What to do next
- Check both qualifying dates against your own start date and due date — the 11-week occupational test and the 15-week SMP test are genuinely different tests.
- Ask your school's HR or payroll team to confirm your actual average weekly earnings figure, rather than relying on this calculator's simplified annual-salary estimate.
- Read the full maternity pay and pension guide for KIT days, what happens if you resign after returning, and how school closure periods interact with your leave dates.
- If you're on the SNCT in Scotland, use the dedicated Scotland maternity pay guide instead of this England & Wales tool.
Frequently asked questions
How much maternity pay do teachers actually get? +
Teachers in maintained schools in England and Wales get the Burgundy Book's occupational maternity pay on top of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), provided they meet the one-year service test: four weeks at full pay, two weeks at nine-tenths of pay, twelve weeks at half pay plus the standard SMP rate on top, then 21 more weeks of SMP alone — 39 paid weeks in total, out of a possible 52 weeks of leave. Enter your own salary in the calculator above for the real week-by-week figures.
What if I don't qualify for the Burgundy Book enhancement? +
You need at least one year's continuous service as a teacher, assessed at the 11th week before your expected week of childbirth, to get the enhanced Burgundy Book rates. If you don't meet that test but do qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (a separate, earlier test — 26 weeks' continuous employment by the 15th week before your due date), you still get 39 weeks of SMP on its own: six weeks at 90% of average earnings, then 33 weeks at the standard flat rate. Toggle the occupational eligibility switch off in the calculator above to see this scenario.
What if I don't qualify for SMP either? +
You may be able to claim Maternity Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions instead, which is a separate state benefit rather than an employer payment. This calculator doesn't model Maternity Allowance, since it's assessed and paid by the DWP rather than through your school's payroll — check gov.uk for the current Maternity Allowance rate and eligibility rules if this applies to you.
Does maternity leave affect my Teachers' Pension? +
Less than most people expect, and in a genuinely favourable way. Every week you're on paid leave — all 39 weeks, whether at the enhanced Burgundy Book rate or SMP alone — counts for pension purposes using your normal, full pensionable pay rather than the reduced amount you're actually paid, a mechanism called notional pensionable earnings. Your pension contribution is taken from your real, reduced pay, but your pension accrues as if you'd been paid in full throughout. Only the final unpaid weeks, if you take the full 52, build up nothing. See our full guide for the worked example.
Is this calculator accurate for Scotland? +
No — Scotland's maternity pay is set separately under the SNCT Handbook rather than the Burgundy Book, with its own structure and rates. See our dedicated Scotland maternity pay guide instead of this tool if you're employed under the SNCT.
What counts as my 'average weekly earnings' for this calculation? +
This calculator uses your annual salary divided by 52 as a simplified stand-in for average weekly earnings (AWE). The real statutory calculation is more specific — it's based on your actual earnings across a particular 8-week reference period ending around the qualifying week — which can differ slightly from a simple annual-salary average, especially if your pay changed recently (a pay rise, a new TLR, or a change in hours) during that reference period. Treat this tool as a close planning estimate, not the exact figure your payroll will calculate.
Can I take fewer than 52 weeks, and does that change the pay? +
Yes — you can return to work at any point after the compulsory 2-week post-birth leave, and you'll simply stop being paid (and stop paying pension contributions) from the point you return, having received whichever weeks of paid leave fell within the period you actually took. Returning before you've used your full 39 paid weeks doesn't accelerate or change the weekly rates themselves, it just means your leave — and the pay that goes with it — ends earlier.
Related guides
Teacher Maternity Pay and Pension Explained
The full Burgundy Book structure, KIT days, pension accrual and a complete worked example.
SNCT Maternity Pay (Scotland)
The separate structure that applies under the SNCT Handbook.
Shared Parental Leave for Teachers
How curtailing maternity leave to move onto SPL actually works, and the risks.
Take-Home Pay Calculator
See your normal monthly take-home pay to compare against your leave-period figures.