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Petition · past parliament · Department for Work and Pensions

Treat Maternity Allowance in the same way as SMP when claiming other benefits

Closed 34 signatures

What the petition asks

Change the rules for Universal credit and other benefits claims where Maternity Allowance (MA) is considered, so that it is counted in the same way as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), meaning that receiver of either of these benefits can also receive Universal Credit support too.
At the moment if woman changes jobs and then finds out she is pregnant she will not be eligible to SMP, meaning she will have to claim MA. MA is considered as unearned income and therefore is deducted from Universal Credit claim, meaning that the receiver of MA would not receive any Universal credit for herself. This puts women who receive MA instead of SMP at a financial disadvantage of around £400 per month. This has a huge impact on quality of life, mental health and lifestyle of the family.

Timeline

23 Jul 2020 Petition opened for signatures
23 Jan 2021 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 34
Status Closed
Department Department for Work and Pensions
Opened 23 Jul 2020
Closed 23 Jan 2021

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.