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Built on LMP 2 Aug 2026 → EDD Sun 9 May 2027. Greg (TWP Agency, sole director) & Hannah (Herman Miller, fixed term to 28 May 2027). Revise after the dating scan if the EDD moves.
| Date | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug 2026 | Latest possible start of the 26 weeks' continuous employment needed for SMP and SPP. Settled: Hannah qualifies. Greg does not — he left his previous employer, and TWP pays him in dividends, which are not earnings. | Both |
| by 11 Oct 2026 | Booking appointment (10 weeks). Self-refer now if not done. | Hannah |
| 20 Dec 2026 | 20 weeks — MATB1 certificate available from the midwife. Employer needs it to pay SMP. | Hannah |
| 24–30 Jan 2027 | QUALIFYING WEEK. The 15th week before the birth. Everything is tested against it. | Both |
| by 30 Jan 2027 | Notify Herman Miller in writing: pregnant, due date, intended maternity leave start. Starts redundancy protection and claims SMP. | Hannah |
| by 30 Jan 2027 | Record paternity leave notice (due date + intended dates) in TWP company records. Leave only — there is no SPP to claim. | Greg |
| 21 Feb 2027 | Earliest date maternity leave can start (11 weeks before EWC). | Hannah |
| 11 Apr 2027 | 36 weeks. Bag packed, car seat fitted, route known. | Both |
| 18 Apr 2027 | 37 weeks — term begins. Birth from here is normal. | — |
| 9 May 2027 | Due date. | — |
| 28 May 2027 | Hannah's contract ends. Maternity leave ends; SMP continues. | Hannah |
| within 42 days of birth | Register the birth, then claim Child Benefit. | Both |
| ~23 Jan 2028 | 39 weeks of SMP exhausted (if leave starts 25 Apr 2027). Household statutory income ends here — this is the real cliff edge. | — |
| Item | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory Maternity Pay | 6 wks @ 90% of average weekly earnings, then 33 wks @ £194.32 | 39 weeks total. Flat portion ≈ £6,412. Continues after the contract ends. |
| Statutory Paternity Pay | £0 for Greg (rate is 2 wks @ £194.32) | Tested on average weekly earnings in the 8 weeks ending with the qualifying week (to 30 Jan 2027), from an employer he is still with. Previous employer: left. TWP: dividends only, which carry no NI and are not earnings. Even if TWP ran a payroll for it, net gain ≈ £80. Closed. |
| Dividend tax | 10.75% basic · 35.75% higher · 39.35% additional. Allowance £500 | Cliff at £50,270 total income. With ~£10,000 salary already drawn in 2026/27, headroom is ≈£40,000 of dividends before 5 Apr 2027 at the lower rate. |
| Corporation tax | 19% on profits to £50,000 | Profit left in TWP is taxed once at 19% and not again until drawn. The cheapest place to park the buffer while the basic-rate band refills. |
| Paternity leave | 2 weeks | Day-one right since 6 Apr 2026. No service test. Take within 52 weeks of birth, as one block or two single weeks. |
| Child Benefit | £27.05/wk first child (~£1,407/yr) | Claim even if clawed back — it protects NI credits toward the state pension. |
| High Income Child Benefit Charge | Bites above £60,000 individual income | Assessed on the higher individual, not household. Relevant to dividend planning. |
| Small Employers' Relief | Reclaim 109% of statutory parental payments | Moot — TWP has no statutory payments to make. |
| Lower Earnings Limit | £129/wk gross (£6,708/yr) | Floor for statutory pay and for a state pension qualifying year. Greg's 2026/27 year is already secured by the ~£10,000 from his previous employer. The decision returns 6 Apr 2027 — a dividends-only year costs him the qualifying year. |
| Free NHS prescriptions & dental | Pregnancy + 12 months after | Needs FW8 maternity exemption certificate — midwife signs it at booking. |
Redundancy protection — priority for suitable alternative vacancies, to 18 months after birth — starts only when Hannah tells Herman Miller in writing. Email, keep a copy.
Statutory pay survives the contract end; any company top-up does not. Check MillerKnoll's scheme and whether it carries a return-to-work repayment clause — she structurally cannot return, so a clause could turn a top-up into a debt.
Starting work for a new employer during the 39-week pay period can end the remaining SMP. Do the arithmetic before she accepts anything before ~Jan 2028.
SPL requires Hannah to stay with the same employer until at least the week before the leave starts.* Her contract ends 28 May 2027, 19 days after the due date, so there is no meaningful window to take it in — and curtailing SMP to do so would pay the same rate for fewer weeks. Greg's earnings test doesn't matter because the leave itself doesn't work here. Ordinary maternity leave + SMP is the plan; SPL is off the table.
Statutory parental pay is earnings-based and Greg has no earnings, so it gives him nothing. Means-tested support works the opposite way: it responds to low household income, which is exactly what 2027 looks like. Different door, and the one worth knocking on.
| What | Worth | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Credit | Varies — assessed monthly on household income | Hannah's SMP counts as income; savings above £6,000 taper and above £16,000 disqualify. Company directors are treated as self-employed, and the minimum income floor may be applied after a start-up period — i.e. UC can assume Greg earns more than TWP actually pays him. Needs checking properly, not guessing. |
| Sure Start Maternity Grant | £500, one-off, never repaid | First child only — that's them. Only payable if one of them is on a qualifying benefit (UC being the realistic one). Claim window: from 11 weeks before the due date (≈21 Feb 2027) to 6 months after the birth (≈9 Nov 2027). Form SF100. |
| Healthy Start | Prepaid card for milk, fruit, veg, vitamins | Also gated behind UC with low earnings. Free vitamins for her and the baby. |
| Child Benefit | £27.05/wk (~£1,407/yr) | Not means-tested. Claim regardless — see above. Hannah should be the claimant while she's not working: it carries the NI credit toward her state pension. |
£12,570 is the personal allowance — the amount you can earn before income tax. It is not an income HMRC assumes you have, and it is not minimum wage. If TWP runs no payroll, Greg's earnings on record are £0: no statutory pay, and no qualifying year toward the state pension. Running a real PAYE salary of ~£12,570 (~£242/wk, above the £129 Lower Earnings Limit) would fix the pension year and make him eligible for statutory pay in any future pregnancy — but it has to be actual RTI payroll submissions, not a salary posted at year-end against the director's loan account. Accountant question, worth asking this month.
Statutory income for the household in 2027 is roughly £6,400 flat-rate SMP + six weeks at 90% of Hannah's salary + £1,400 Child Benefit. No SPP — every day Greg takes off is unpaid and, worse, is a day TWP bills nothing. The buffer is his paternity pay, and it has to be saved before May 2027.