How much maternity pay you get can make a big difference to your lifestyle while you’re on leave. It's also important to understand how maternity pay is calculated so you can keep track of how much you can get.
Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist at Royal London, points out that maternity pay policies vary widely between employers – just because someone in your antenatal class is looking forward to six months on full pay, it doesn’t mean you can too. “The minimum that employers have to pay is not generous after the first six weeks," she told us. "But some organisations will pay far more for the first six months or, in some cases, longer. Whether your employer has a generous maternity or parental pay policy, or only pays the minimum, could make a huge difference to your household finances.”
