What will maternity leave pay you?
Enter your pay and service, choose maternity or adoption, and see the Grey Book 26 weeks of full pay, the statutory weeks, the unpaid weeks and how much you would earn against normal pay, with a leave timeline and keeping in touch days.
Your leave
Pay by week
Maternity · dashed line is normal payGrey Book: with a year's service and intention to return, 26 weeks at full pay (SMP counts towards it, it is not added on top), then 13 weeks of SMP, then unpaid to the end of the year's leave. SMP and SAP are 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then the lower of £194.32 and 90%.
Leave timeline
from 11 Jan 2027| Milestone | Date | Week |
|---|---|---|
| Leave starts | 11 Jan 2027 | 0 |
| Full pay ends (week 26) | 12 Jul 2027 | 26 |
| Statutory pay ends (week 39) | 11 Oct 2027 | 39 |
| Leave ends (week 52) | 10 Jan 2028 | 52 |
Notify your employer at least 21 days before absence begins (or as soon as reasonably practicable), giving the expected week of childbirth and your intended start date. Your service must reply within 28 days. Attend an occupational health check before returning to operational duty.
Take-home
Estimate for the 52 weeks as a whole using 2026/27 tax, National Insurance and your pension rate; pension contributions continue on the pay you actually receive.
If you do not go back
Full-pay weeks come with an understanding that you return for at least three months (the service can vary this for good cause). If you do not, it may ask for all or part of them back. SMP already paid is not refundable. In this scenario the employer-funded part of the full-pay weeks is about £12,058.
If you are the partner
Maternity support (paternity) leave| Period | Pay a week | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity support leave, week 1 (full pay) | £773.99 | £773.99 |
| Week 2 at Statutory Paternity Pay | £194.32 | £194.32 |
The Grey Book's paid maternity support leave is a week of seven days free from duty; the second week follows immediately and is paid in line with Statutory Paternity Pay (£194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower) if you qualify. Shared Parental Leave is a separate statutory route; the premium planner models it.
Sources
- NJC Scheme of Conditions of Service (Grey Book, 7th edition, April 2025), Sections 3 and 4: via the LGA
- FBU: NJC Grey Book maternity provision (3 July 2024)
- GOV.UK: Maternity pay and leave
- GOV.UK: Paternity pay and leave
- GOV.UK: Adoption pay and leave
- GOV.UK: Shared Parental Leave and Pay
Grey Book maternity, adoption and maternity support provisions as summarised in our maternity and paternity leave guide. Services may pay more than the national minimum, so ask HR for a written pay illustration. Not modelled: local enhancements, Maternity Allowance, employer discretion, and any Grey Book enhancement of shared parental pay.
Illustrative planning estimate based on published rules, not financial, legal, pension or tax advice. Your payroll record, contract and scheme administrator control your actual position.
What the Grey Book guarantees
Family leave for firefighters is set in Section 3, Part D of the NJC Scheme of Conditions of Service (the Grey Book), which covers maternity, childcare and dependency. The wording says the provisions are minima that may be enhanced locally and must not be construed as less favourable than statutory rights. The Grey Book applies its maternity provisions to everyone who is due to give birth or has given birth, including trans and non-binary people. The pay terms were improved nationally in 2024: an FBU circular dated 3 July 2024 records that the provision was extended to 26 weeks at full pay followed by SMP for 13 weeks, for employees with at least one year's continuous service who intend to return to work, and that services may need to review local practices. Because of that flexibility some services pay more than the national minimum, so always check your local policy.
Maternity pay: how the 26 + 13 weeks work
The Grey Book gives everyone 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks of additional maternity leave, a right to one year in total. Maternity leave can start no earlier than eleven weeks before the expected week of childbirth and, if it has not started by the birth, it starts the day after. Pay depends on service. Someone with less than a year's continuous local government service at the start of the eleventh week before the expected week receives Statutory Maternity Pay only. With at least a year's service the pay is full pay, offset against SMP (or Maternity Allowance if not eligible for SMP), for the first six weeks; then, where you have declared an intention to return to work, a further twenty weeks at full pay offset against SMP or MA, then SMP if eligible for a further thirteen weeks. If you do not intend to return, the entitlement after the first six weeks is SMP only, for the next 33 weeks.
| Period | Pay | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 6 | Full pay, offset against SMP or Maternity Allowance | 6 |
| Weeks 7 to 26 | Full pay, offset against SMP or Maternity Allowance | 20 |
| Weeks 27 to 39 | Statutory Maternity Pay (if eligible) | 13 |
| Weeks 40 to 52 | Unpaid (leave continues) | 13 |
The full-pay weeks come with a condition. Payments under the intention-to-return option are on the understanding that you return for at least three months, which the service can vary for good cause. If you do not return, the service may require you to refund all or part of the payments, but payments made as SMP are not refundable. Pay for these purposes is the amount payable for working your normal hours in a week.
Statutory Maternity Pay rates
GOV.UK gives SMP as 90% of your average weekly earnings before tax for the first six weeks, then £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the following 33 weeks. Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Shared Parental Pay use the same £194.32 flat rate or 90% of earnings if lower, and these are the figures the calculator uses for 2026/27. The government has been reforming statutory family leave, and the flat rates are uprated each April, so check GOV.UK for the current rules and any change after April 2026 before you rely on any figure here.
Worked example: what the Grey Book scheme is worth
Compare the national terms with the statutory minimum for a competent firefighter on the July 2026 rate of £40,358 a year, about £774 a week. On statutory pay alone, six weeks at 90% of £774 (about £697 a week) is about £4,180 and 33 weeks at £194.32 is about £6,413, so roughly £10,590 across 39 weeks. On the Grey Book scheme with a year's service and intention to return, 26 weeks at full pay is about £20,120 (SMP counts towards this rather than being added on top), and the following 13 weeks at £194.32 add about £2,526, so about £22,650 across 39 weeks. The difference, about £12,060, is what the Grey Book adds, and it is also the employer-funded part of the full-pay weeks that could be recovered if you do not return for three months.
| Route | Weeks 1 to 26 | Weeks 27 to 39 | Total, 39 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory minimum only | 6 weeks at about £697, then 20 at £194.32 | 13 weeks at £194.32 | About £10,590 |
| Grey Book, a year's service, returning | Full pay, about £774 a week | 13 weeks SMP at £194.32 | About £22,650 |
| Grey Book, under a year's service | SMP at 90%, then £194.32 | SMP at £194.32 | About £10,590 |
These figures are before tax, National Insurance and pension contributions, and use one week's pay as the base. If your service pays 52 weeks of full pay locally the numbers will be higher. Use the calculator for your own pay and ask HR for a written illustration.
Keeping in touch days
Up to ten keeping in touch days are available during maternity leave by agreement. They are voluntary, and you are paid normal hourly pay for the hours worked in addition to SMP for that week. The calculator lets you choose how many days, how many hours each and which week, and adds the pay to that week of the chart, using weekly pay divided by 42 for the hourly rate. If the week is already on full pay it shows no extra amount, because that week is already at your normal pay.
Notice, risk assessment and returning to duty
The Grey Book asks you to tell your employer about the pregnancy as soon as possible so a risk assessment can be done, and in any event at least 21 days before your absence begins (or as soon as reasonably practicable), giving the expected week of childbirth and the date your absence will start. Your service must reply within 28 days with your leave end and return-to-work dates. If medical advice is that you can no longer perform your current duties or work your current pattern, you continue to receive your normal pay while changes are made, and the same applies on return. Before returning to operational firefighting you should attend a health check with occupational health. Read more in our maternity and paternity leave guide.
Adoption, maternity support leave and shared parental leave
Adoption leave follows the same shape as maternity leave: up to 26 weeks ordinary and 26 weeks additional leave for an employee with at least 26 weeks' continuous local government service ending with the week they are notified of the match. The first week is full pay offset by Statutory Adoption Pay, and Statutory Adoption Pay follows if eligible. The Grey Book calls paternity leave maternity support leave: a week's paid leave (seven consecutive days free from duty) for the father, the mother's spouse or partner, or her nominated carer, and a second week, taken immediately after the first, paid in line with Statutory Paternity Pay for those with 26 weeks' service at the fourteenth week before the expected week. Shared Parental Leave and Pay is a separate statutory route: eligible parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay, but it needs notice to both employers and the birth parent to reduce their leave and pay. The premium pack models it at the statutory rate.
How family leave interacts with annual leave, sickness and pension
Maternity leave counts as service for annual leave and is not treated as sick leave, so it does not eat into sick pay. If you are on maternity leave on a public holiday you are granted a day in lieu. Contractual benefits such as a mobile phone with permitted personal use and car allowances continue. Pension is a separate question that depends on scheme rules: contributions are calculated on the pay you actually receive and the effect on benefits is set by the scheme regulations, so ask your administrator. See the annual leave calculator and sick pay calculator, and the part-time pay guide if you plan to return on reduced hours.
What this calculator does not cover
- Local enhancements above the national minimum. Ask HR for your service's policy and a pay illustration.
- Maternity Allowance for those not eligible for SMP.
- Your exact average weekly earnings, which drive the 90% figures; the tool uses your normal weekly pay.
- Rule changes after April 2026. Statutory rates and eligibility can change, so check GOV.UK.
- Your real tax code and other deductions; the take-home is a 2026/27 estimate.
Frequently asked questions
How much maternity pay do firefighters get?
Under the Grey Book, with at least a year's continuous local government service and an intention to return, you get 26 weeks on full pay (offset against Statutory Maternity Pay), then 13 weeks of SMP, within a right to one year of leave. With less than a year's service you receive SMP only. Many services offer more than the national minimum, so check your local policy.
What is Statutory Maternity Pay in 2026/27?
GOV.UK gives SMP as 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks, so up to 39 weeks in total. Statutory family-leave rules are being reformed and rates change each April, so check GOV.UK for any change after April 2026.
Do I have to pay back maternity pay if I do not return?
The Grey Book says the full-pay weeks are on the understanding that you return for at least three months, which the service can vary for good cause. If you do not, the service may require you to refund all or part of the payments, but payments made as SMP are not refundable. The calculator shows the employer-funded part of your full-pay weeks as the amount at stake.
What if I do not intend to return to work?
With a year's service, the Grey Book pays full pay for the first six weeks, then SMP only for the next 33 weeks. The calculator models this when you turn off the intention-to-return switch.
Can I take keeping in touch days?
Yes, by agreement you can work up to ten voluntary keeping in touch days. You receive normal hourly pay for hours worked in addition to SMP for that week. The calculator adds that pay to the week you choose when it falls in a statutory-pay or unpaid week.
How much paternity leave do firefighters get?
The Grey Book calls it maternity support leave. The child's father, the expectant mother's spouse or partner, or her nominated carer gets a week of paid leave, plus a second week paid in line with Statutory Paternity Pay if they have at least 26 weeks' continuous local government service at the fourteenth week before the expected week of childbirth. GOV.UK gives Statutory Paternity Pay as £194.32 or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
How does adoption leave pay work?
An employee newly matched with a child, with at least 26 weeks' continuous local government service, can take up to 26 weeks' ordinary and 26 weeks' additional adoption leave. The first week is full pay offset by Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay follows if eligible, for up to 39 weeks in total at 90% of earnings for six weeks then the lower of £194.32 and 90%.
Does the calculator cover Shared Parental Leave?
The free calculator covers the Grey Book maternity and adoption leave and the partner's paternity weeks. Shared Parental Leave and Pay is a separate statutory route letting eligible parents share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay; the premium pack models it at the statutory rate only, because the site has not verified any Grey Book enhancement of shared parental pay.
Will maternity leave affect my annual leave, sick pay and pension?
Maternity leave counts as service for annual leave and is not treated as sick leave, so it does not use up your sick pay. Pension contributions are taken on the pay you actually receive, and the effect on your pension of a period of maternity or reduced pay is set by the scheme regulations, so ask your pension administrator for the exact position.
Sources and assumptions
- LGA: NJC Grey Book (7th edition, April 2025), Section 3 Part D, and FBU circular on the Grey Book maternity provision (3 July 2024).
- GOV.UK: Maternity pay and leave; Paternity pay and leave; Adoption pay and leave; Shared Parental Leave and Pay (rates checked for 2026/27).
- Assumptions: normal weekly pay = basic ÷ 52.143 unless overwritten; statutory pay uses your normal pay as average weekly earnings; a year's service and eligibility are your inputs; take-home uses 2026/27 tax, NI and your pension rate. Statutory rules may change after April 2026. Illustrative, not advice.