Pregnancy - Customer self-employed

If a customer is unable to get Statutory Maternity Pay because they are self-employed, they may qualify for Maternity Allowance.

Maternity Allowance can be paid for up to 39 weeks starting from the 11th week before the week in which their baby is due.

To get Maternity Allowance the customer must satisfy two conditions, the employment condition and the earnings condition.

To satisfy the employment condition the customer must have been employed or self-employed in at least 26 weeks in the test period. The test period is the period of 66 weeks up to and including the week before the week in which the baby is due.

To satisfy the earnings condition the customer must have earned at least £30 a week on average from all her employments. This £30 a week minimum is called the Maternity Allowance Threshold (MAT).

Extra benefit may be added to the customer's Maternity Allowance for a spouse or civil partner or someone else who looks after children or qualifying young persons for them.

To claim, a customer should complete form MA 1 which they can get from their local Social Security or Jobs & Benefits office, Maternity or Child Health Clinic.

The form should be completed and sent to Incapacity Benefits Branch not earlier than 14 weeks before the week their baby is due.

The customer has to ensure they send their maternity certificate (form MAT B1), which their doctor or midwife will give them, with their MA 1.

For full details on Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance see leaflet NIL17A, "A guide to maternity benefits".

If the customer does not qualify for either Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance they may be able to get Incapacity Benefit.

Their maternity certificate is accepted as evidence of incapacity for work for the period starting six weeks before the week their baby is due to two weeks after the actual date of birth.

If their Maternity Allowance is not allowed their right to Incapacity Benefit will be considered automatically, a separate claim is not needed, but they must claim no more than one month after their baby is born.

If the customer is already in receipt of Incapacity Benefit they should obtain form MAT B1 from their doctor or midwife and submit it to Incapacity Benefits Branch as soon as possible.

They will issue the customer with form MA 1 to claim Maternity Allowance at the appropriate time.

If Maternity Allowance is awarded this will affect any payment of Incapacity Benefit the customer receives or is paid.