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statutory maternity pay

statutory maternity pay (SMP)

A statutory benefit payable to a woman who takes maternity leave or stops working due to childbirth, provided she earns at least the lower earnings limit and has at least 26 weeks' continuous employment at the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC). SMP is payable at two rates: the "earnings-related rate" (90% of her average earnings) for the first six weeks, followed by the "prescribed rate" set by the government for the relevant tax year (or the earnings-related rate if lower). Total SMP entitlement lasts 39 weeks or, if the EWC is before 1 April 2007, 26 weeks.