Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance rates will increase in 2025, in line with the Government's announcement on benefits in the autumn budget. 

This will be mirrored for Statutory Paternity Pay, Shared Parental and Adoption Pay standard rates.

New figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will see payments rising by 1.7 per cent, with automatic increase in payments from April, but maternity campaigners have described the rates as an 'abomination', which is placing families in severe hardship.

Statutory Maternity Pay pays 90% of average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks, and from April next year will increase from £184.03 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks.

It paid for up to 39 weeks, in the same way as wages - for example monthly or weekly - with tax and National Insurance deducted.

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Joeli Brearley, CEO and Founder of Pregnant Then Screwed has been pushing for fairer rates for families.

She says: “Maternity pay is an abomination. How is anyone meant to survive on £184 a week, which is less than half the minimum wage - the lowest amount someone can live on.

"The perinatal period is critically important to the health and well-being of a mother and her child, and I think we should all be deeply concerned that due to severe hardship, we are now seeing a degeneration and a degradation of this vital period.

"Ultimately, It is a false economy to not pay parental leave at a rate on which families can survive and thrive - merely adhering to an inflation increase isn't really scratching the surface.”