PlainMaternity

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UK Maternity Pay Editorial Process

our editorial process specialising in UK statutory parental pay and family-benefits reference content

Background

PlainMaternity is the team responsible for compiling 2026-27 HMRC and GOV.UK statutory parental-pay rules, Statutory Maternity Pay rates, Shared Parental Leave mechanics, Maternity Allowance eligibility, and Tax-Free Childcare scheme rules into plain-English calculators, decision aids, and reference pages. Every rate and rule is independently verified against the published HMRC rate-and-allowance publication, GOV.UK guidance, ACAS practical-application notes, or the relevant primary UK legislation (Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992; Children and Families Act 2014; Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024) before publication.

This profile identifies the publisher responsible for every published extract, including tables above 1,000 rows when the corpus is that large. See the source rules in our methodology; this is a named publisher, not a synthetic collective.

How to use this site

PlainMaternity publishes reference material, data-driven pages, and explanatory tools. Use the source information, assumptions, limitations, and methodology shown on the individual page to decide whether it fits your situation.

Published information can summarize source data or provide an estimate; it is not professional financial, medical, legal, or engineering advice. For an important decision, compare the relevant page with a primary source or a qualified professional.

How information is presented

Pages that present data or estimates identify the available source, method, and material limitations. Results can differ from real-world outcomes because inputs, rules, rates, rounding, data coverage, and individual circumstances vary.

The methodology page explains the site-level approach and limitations. Check the source information on the page you are using rather than treating site-wide wording as a substitute for the current source.

Feedback

If you find an error, stale figure, or missing context on any page we publish, please use the contact page or write to hello@plainmaternity.co.uk with the URL and the issue.

Areas of focus

  • UK Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
  • Statutory Paternity Pay and 2024 splitting rules
  • Shared Parental Leave and Pay (SPL / ShPP)
  • Maternity Allowance for the self-employed
  • Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare combinations

Contact and identity