Eligibility Requirements You Must Meet
To qualify for Maternity Allowance as a self-employed person, you need to meet specific criteria. You must have been self-employed for at least 26 weeks during your ‘test period’ the 66 weeks before your baby’s due date. You may be employed or self employed during the test period to meet the eligibility requirements.
You may still be eligible if you have recently stopped working or had different jobs, including work for the same employer, during the test period. It does not matter why you left your job or jobs when determining eligibility. Eligibility also applies if you have helped your spouse or civil partner with their self employed work, even if it was unpaid work, as long as your spouse or civil partner is registered as self employed and meets the National Insurance requirements.
You must also have paid Class 2 National Insurance contributions for at least 13 of those weeks. If you haven’t, don’t worry you can make voluntary contributions to qualify.
Your expected earnings must average at least £30 per week during your test period. HMRC will look at your Self Assessment tax returns to verify this.
If you’ve recently become self employed and haven’t yet completed a tax return, you’ll need to provide other evidence. This might include invoices or client contracts showing your work and earnings.
Universal Credit and support allowance may interact with your Maternity Allowance payments, so check how these benefits affect each other. Claiming Maternity Allowance does not affect your entitlement to parental leave, shared parental leave, or paternity leave, but you should check the dates and rules for each benefit. You must report any work you do during your maternity period, as exceeding the allowed amount could cause you to lose some or all of your benefit. For further information, consult the official GOV.UK guidance.
