Maternity leave and pay if you have more than one employer

This is one of the most common questions that Working Families receives on its helpline.

Pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave. If you are an employee in two (or more) jobs you will be entitled to maternity leave for each job.

You will need to notify each of your employers of your intention to take maternity leave and when you want to be paid SMP. We have more information on timing and requirements for notifying your employer for SMP and maternity leave.

If you are not an employee (but are a worker in one or more jobs) you will not be entitled to maternity leave as a worker, but still may be eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay. You may be an employee in one job and a worker in another. Please look at our page on employment status for more information and take advice if you are not sure about your employment status, particularly if you believe you are an employee but are being told you are a worker.

If you have more than one job, your maternity leave and Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) are calculated separately for each one. You do not have to take maternity leave and SMP at the same time for each employer, you can start and end each maternity leave at different times for each job, although the earliest you can start leave is 11 weeks before your Expected Week of Childbirth.

You may be eligible for SMP from one or more of your employers. If you are eligible for SMP from more than one employer, then you can claim it from each employer. As part of the notification requirements for SMP, you may need to give your MAT B1 to more than one employer. You can ask each employer to take a copy so that you can show the original MAT B1 to the other employer. For more on SMP eligibility, see our article on Maternity pay and benefits.

If you are not eligible for SMP from either of your employers, then you may be eligible for Maternity Allowance (MA). The DWP will consider your earnings from all your employment and self-employment during the 66 weeks before your due date.

MA can only be paid for a week in which you do not work (except for Keeping In Touch Days), so you would not be able to claim MA until you have started maternity leave for each of your jobs.

If you are entitled to SMP from one employer, but not from another then you cannot claim MA in respect of the other job. This is because you are not allowed to claim both SMP and MA at the same time.

You might find it useful to look at our article on working during maternity leave to see how working for one employer will affect pay from others.

This advice applies in England, Wales and Scotland. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. Please call our helpline for more details. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.

If you have further questions and would like to contact our advice team please use our advice contact form below or call us.

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