The Realities of Maternity Leave when you are Self Employed

I have been employed for over 9 years when I became pregnant.. however I had never really considered or even researched how little support I would receive during Maternity Leave from the Government.

I quickly realised just how many unknowns there were when it came to maternity leave. Unlike employed mums, we don’t have an HR department to walk us through policies or offer paid time off. It’s just us, our businesses and a thousand questions.

If you’re a self-employed or freelance mum-to-be, here are the things I wish I’d have known and planned for before navigating maternity leave on my own.

The financial support is not equal

Let’s start with the big one: money.

If you're employed, you're likely entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)—which is usually 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, followed by £184.03 per week for the next 33 weeks (according to the Gov.uk Website)

But if you're self-employed or a freelancer without any employed work, you’re only entitled to Maternity Allowance. This is a flat rate of currently £187.18 per week for 39 weeks (as of 2025). That’s it. No earnings-based calculation. No employer top-ups. Just a flat rate, regardless of how long or hard you’ve worked to build your business.

I wish I’d known just how little financial support I’d receive and started preparing earlier.

You’re penalised for working during maternity leave

Here's something that is really unfair: if you’re employed, you can do freelance work during maternity leave without it affecting your SMP.

But if you're self-employed and receiving Maternity Allowance, you’re allowed just 10 ‘Keeping in Touch’ (KIT) days. Do more than that, even just a little bit and you risk your payments being stopped or reduced.

Being self-employed is tough. We rely on ongoing relationships, flexibility, and sometimes just keeping things ticking over. But under the current system, working even one extra day outside of those 10 can put your Maternity Allowance at risk.

I wish I’d researched this earlier so I could have been making the relevant plans in my business and not risk losing vital income. I used my Mettle Business Bank Account to create savings pots to allow me to pay myself my regular income and planned in advance.

(Use my Referral Code: B69NC to earn £50 when opening a Business Account)

Passive income really is your best friend

Because your earning potential is limited during maternity leave, now is the time (if you're still pregnant or even thinking about conceiving!) to think about ways your business can run without you. One of my biggest regrets in preparing for Maternity Leave is not investing more time in creating passive income or semi-passive income.

That could be digital products, affiliate links, templates, memberships or anything that can generate income without direct client work.

Even one simple product can take the pressure off when you’re deep in the newborn fog and sleep deprivation! I can guarantee you won't be thinking straight in those first few weeks!

Boundaries and expectations matter more than ever

Maternity leave isn’t the time to try to “do it all.”

It’s the time to slow down, heal, and spend precious moments with your baby. Your business will still be there when you’re ready and time really does fly! I set firm boundaries with my clients and communicated clearly about what I could and couldn't do during my maternity leave before my Maternity Leave started and I think this really allowed me to take a step away from my business. I'd set myself a target that whilst I was on Maternity Leave I was going to do a complete rebrand and rebuild my website. In reality I didn't touch my To Do List as it wasn't at the forefront of my mind and I wanted to enjoy time with my Daughter.

Support is everything

I thought systems and tools would carry me through maternity leave and while they helped, sometimes what I really needed was a Business Village!

If you're not already surrounded by a community that gets it, please come join The Mum Biz Village this is my new free Facebook group who I am hoping will be filled with mums who are building businesses around nap times, schedules and real life.

There’s no one ‘right’ way to do this

Your maternity leave won’t look like anyone else's and that is ok.

You might need more time away from your business, or you might feel ready to ease back in sooner. Trust yourself. Let go of comparison.

Final Thoughts

Being self-employed while preparing for maternity leave is empowering but also incredibly tough. We don’t talk enough about how different the experience is for freelance parents and how much pressure we carry without the support systems employed mums often have.

I hope this blog helps you feel a little more prepared if you are a mum-to-be!

And if you’re craving a supportive space where you can talk openly about business, motherhood, and all the messy bits in between, come join us in The Mum Biz Village.