# Statutory Maternity Pay for a pregnant agency temp: who pays, the 26-week test and the qualifying week worked > An agency temp treated as an employee gets Statutory Maternity Pay from the agency. The qualifying week, the 26-week test and 39 weeks of pay worked. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/recruitment/statutory-maternity-pay-agency-temps-26-weeks-qualifying-week-who-pays/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Recruitment agencies, AWR, right to work and the Conduct Regulations - Published 8 October 2026 - Key fact: For a baby due in the week beginning Sunday 17 January 2027, the qualifying week is the week beginning Sunday 4 October 2026 (15 weeks earlier). A temp on £476.63 a week gets 90% (£428.97) for 6 weeks, £2,573.82, then £194.32 for 33 weeks, £6,412.56: £8,986.38 in total over 39 weeks, all of it paid by the agency through payroll. - Sources: GOV.UK, Statutory Maternity Pay: how different employment types affect what you pay (agency workers: treated as employees for PAYE and Class 1 NICs, pay SMP if qualifying conditions are met; page dated 1 September 2017); GOV.UK, Statutory Maternity Pay and Leave: employer guide, Eligibility and proof of pregnancy (26 weeks by the qualifying week, the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, MATB1 within 21 days of the start date); GOV.UK, Maternity pay and leave: Pay (up to 39 weeks, 90% for 6 weeks, then £194.32 or 90% if lower). All read 8 October 2026. A temp tells the branch she is pregnant. She has been placed with the same client for five months. The consultant's first question is whether the agency or the client pays her maternity pay. The answer comes from how she is paid, not from where she sits. ## Who pays GOV.UK's guidance on how different employment types affect Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) says you can treat agency workers as employees for PAYE tax and Class 1 National Insurance. If you deduct PAYE and Class 1 NICs from the agency worker's earnings, or would do if they were high enough, then you must pay her SMP if she satisfies the qualifying conditions. In practice that means: - A temp paid through the agency's PAYE payroll is covered by the agency's duty. The client does not pay SMP. - A temp paid by an umbrella company is paid by the umbrella as employer, so the question belongs to the umbrella's payroll. Ask who employs her before you answer. Note the date on that GOV.UK page: it was last updated on 1 September 2017. The rule is stated plainly and matches the later pages, but read the live page before you rely on it for a decision. ## The conditions GOV.UK's eligibility page lists two tests that matter most to a temp: 1. She must have been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. 2. She must earn at least a minimum weekly amount, averaged over an 8-week "relevant period". The employer guide page shows £125 a week gross, but GOV.UK's 2026 to 2027 employer rates page gives the lower earnings limit as £129 a week, so use £129 and confirm it against the GOV.UK calculator before you decide whether she is under it. She also gives you proof of pregnancy, usually the MATB1 certificate, and the employer guide says she should give it within 21 days of the SMP start date. ## The qualifying week as a date Work it back from the due date. If the baby is due in the week beginning Sunday 17 January 2027, count back 15 weeks (105 days) and you reach the week beginning Sunday 4 October 2026. That is the week to diary. For the 26-week test, she needs to have been continuously employed by the agency up to a day in that week. Counting 26 weeks back from the Sunday of the qualifying week puts the start of that run in the first week of April 2026. A temp who started with you in May 2026 would not meet the test for this due date; one who started in March 2026 would. ## Gaps between assignments This is where agency payroll goes wrong. A temp rarely works every week. The GOV.UK pages we read for this guide do not set out how a week with no work is treated for an agency temp, and the employer guide's general wording says "continuously employed". Do not assume a gap breaks continuity and do not assume it does not. Before you refuse SMP, get the position on gaps from the GOV.UK maternity calculator or HMRC's helpline and note the answer on her file. If she does not qualify, she may be able to claim Maternity Allowance instead, so tell her that and do not leave her with nothing. ## What it costs: a full-time temp worked Use the full-time temp from our guide to [Statutory Sick Pay for agency temps](https://aeolookup.com/recruitment/statutory-sick-pay-agency-temps-who-pays-when-it-ends/): £12.71 an hour for 37.5 hours, which is £476.63 a week. 1. First 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings: £476.63 × 0.9 = £428.97 a week, × 6 = £2,573.82. 2. Next 33 weeks at £194.32, because that is lower than 90% (£428.97): £194.32 × 33 = £6,412.56. 3. Total over 39 weeks: £2,573.82 + £6,412.56 = £8,986.38. GOV.UK's pay page shows £194.32 without naming the tax year on the page, so confirm it is the 2026 to 2027 rate. The figure is before any recovery of SMP from HMRC and before employer National Insurance, so the cost to the margin is the gross SMP plus any employer NI that falls due. Our [temp margin calculator](https://aeolookup.com/recruitment/temp-margin-calculator-charge-rate-employer-costs/) has room to price it. ## What the agency should do the day she tells you 1. Confirm who employs her for PAYE: the agency or an umbrella. 2. Work out the qualifying week from the due date and diary it. 3. Check her continuous service and earnings across the 8-week relevant period. 4. Ask for the MATB1 and note the date it arrives. 5. Write down the decision and the reason, whichever way it goes. 6. Tell the client the assignment is ending or being covered in line with your agreement. The [agency worker 12-week rule calculator](https://aeolookup.com/recruitment/agency-worker-12-week-rule-calculator/) shows where she stands on equal treatment, which is a separate question from maternity pay. Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) builds AI staff who join your payroll team and set out the qualifying week, the 26-week count and the pay schedule from the temp's assignment history, for a payroll manager to check before anything is communicated to the temp. This is general information for Great Britain, not legal advice. Check GOV.UK and the temp's own contract before you decide. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.