The SMP1 Form: When and How Employers Issue It
An employer who decides not to pay Statutory Maternity Pay must give the employee form SMP1 within seven days of that decision, and the employee must receive it no later than 28 days after requesting maternity pay or after the birth, whichever comes first [1]. Statutory Maternity Pay itself runs at 90% of average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then drops to £194.32 a week or 90% of earnings if lower for the 2026-27 tax year [2]. The SMP1 is the document that tells an employee neither rate applies to them.
Form SMP1 matters because it is not a rejection letter. It is a formal handover that allows the employee to claim Maternity Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions instead, often without losing any money. Getting the form wrong, or issuing it late, can delay that claim and expose the employer to a dispute.
This article explains what the SMP1 form is, the situations that require an employer to issue one, the strict deadlines that apply, and what the employee does once they hold it.
Key takeaways
- The SMP1 form is issued when an employee does not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay or when SMP payments must stop early.
- The employer must give the form within seven days of the decision, and the employee must receive it within 28 days of requesting SMP or the birth.
- The form must be handed over together with the original MATB1 maternity certificate.
- The employee uses the SMP1 to claim Maternity Allowance, worth up to £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks in the 2026-27 tax year.
- Issuing the SMP1 promptly protects both parties and keeps the employee's income continuous.
What the SMP1 form is
Form SMP1 is the official HMRC document an employer completes when an employee is not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay, or when the employer cannot continue paying it [3]. It sets out, in a tick-box section, the precise reason SMP cannot be paid, so the next decision-maker can act on it without re-investigating the case [1].
The form is designed to pass an entitlement decision cleanly from the employer to the DWP. An employee who receives an SMP1 is not being denied maternity income outright. In most cases the form opens the door to Maternity Allowance, a state benefit paid to people who cannot get SMP from an employer [4]. For that reason an employer should treat the SMP1 as part of the employee's support, not as the end of a conversation. Owner-managed businesses handling this for the first time often underestimate the administrative steps, which is one reason many move statutory pay onto dedicated small business payroll software early.
When an employer must issue an SMP1
An employer issues the SMP1 whenever the qualifying conditions for SMP are not met. The eligibility tests are fixed, so the reason almost always falls into one of a small number of categories [5].
Earnings below the Lower Earnings Limit
To qualify for SMP an employee must have average weekly earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit, which is £129 a week for the 2026-27 tax year [2]. The figure is the average gross pay over the eight weeks up to and including the last payday before the end of the qualifying week, the 15th week before the week the baby is due [6]. An employee whose average falls below £129 a week does not meet the threshold, and the employer issues an SMP1 recording low earnings as the reason [1].
Insufficient continuous employment
SMP also requires at least 26 weeks of continuous employment ending with the qualifying week [5]. An employee who started too recently, or whose service was broken, will not have the continuous service the rule demands [7]. When that is the cause, the employer records short service on the SMP1 and the employee can pursue Maternity Allowance, which uses a different and broader work test [8].
Payments that must stop early
The SMP1 is not only for new claims. If SMP has started but must stop, for example because the employee is taken into legal custody, the employer completes the form to mark the date payments end [9]. The employee may then transfer to Maternity Allowance for the remaining weeks, so the form again acts as a bridge rather than a full stop [4].
The deadlines and what to include
Two deadlines govern the SMP1. The employer must issue the form within seven days of deciding that SMP is not payable, and the employee must have it within 28 days of either requesting SMP or giving birth, whichever is earlier [1]. Missing those windows can delay the Maternity Allowance claim, because the DWP needs the form to process the application [4].
The completed SMP1 must be handed to the employee together with the original MATB1 maternity certificate the employee provided, the medical evidence of pregnancy issued by a midwife or doctor from around the 20th week [11]. Returning the MATB1 matters because the DWP requires the original to assess Maternity Allowance, and the employee cannot easily obtain a duplicate. Employers running HMRC-recognised payroll software for SMEs will usually find the SMP eligibility decision flagged automatically, but the physical handover of the form and certificate remains a manual step.
What the employee does next
Once the employee holds the SMP1 and the MATB1, the route is Maternity Allowance. The benefit is worth £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower, for up to 39 weeks, the same headline rate and duration as the standard portion of SMP [10]. The employee submits the MA1 claim form to the DWP, encloses the SMP1, and should expect a decision within around 20 working days [4].
Because Maternity Allowance is paid by the state rather than the employer, an SMP1 has no recovery implication for the business. Where SMP is paid, an employer can reclaim 92% of it through the Employer Payment Summary, rising to 109% under Small Employers' Relief for businesses whose Class 1 National Insurance was £45,000 or less in the previous tax year [12]. Accountants handling maternity decisions across several employers often manage these calculations through a payroll bureau platform that applies the right recovery rate per scheme. For a fuller picture of the entitlement rules, the companion guide to maternity leave in the UK covers leave duration alongside pay, and a separate explainer answers how long maternity leave lasts in practice.
Conclusion
The SMP1 form sits at the boundary between employer-paid and state-paid maternity income. It is the mechanism that keeps an employee's money flowing when the SMP qualifying tests are not met, redirecting the claim to Maternity Allowance rather than leaving the employee with nothing. An employer who issues it accurately and on time discharges a legal duty and protects the employee in equal measure.
The discipline that the form demands, fixed deadlines, the right reason recorded, the MATB1 returned, is the same discipline that runs through every statutory payment. As maternity, paternity and neonatal care rules continue to evolve, the employers who cope best are those whose payroll systems surface entitlement decisions early enough to act within the seven-day window, rather than discovering a problem after the deadline has passed.
Frequently asked questions
What is an SMP1 form used for?
An SMP1 form is the document an employer gives an employee to explain why Statutory Maternity Pay cannot be paid, or why it has to stop. It records the specific reason and allows the employee to claim Maternity Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions instead [1]. It is not a refusal of maternity income; in most cases it routes the claim to a state benefit of a similar value [4].
How long does an employer have to issue an SMP1?
The employer must give the SMP1 within seven days of deciding that SMP is not payable, and the employee must receive it within 28 days of requesting maternity pay or the birth, whichever is earlier [1]. Issuing the form late can delay the employee's Maternity Allowance claim, so prompt action protects both sides.
Does the employee lose money if they get an SMP1 instead of SMP?
Usually not. Maternity Allowance is worth up to £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower, for up to 39 weeks in the 2026-27 tax year, which mirrors the standard rate and duration of SMP [10]. The main practical difference is that the state pays it rather than the employer, and the employee claims it directly using the SMP1 and the MA1 form [4].
What does the employer send with the SMP1 form?
The employer returns the original MATB1 maternity certificate alongside the completed SMP1 [1]. The MATB1 is the medical evidence of pregnancy issued by a midwife or doctor from around the 20th week, and the Department for Work and Pensions needs the original to assess Maternity Allowance [11].
