Police pregnancy timeline planner
Enter your due date and see every date that matters: when to tell your force, when leave can start, which payslips set your SMP, risk assessment reviews, your pay phases, KIT days and your return. Built for police officers and police staff in England and Wales.
- Free, nothing stored
- Officers and police staff
- Rules checked 14 October 2026
Officers and staff have different leave rules, so pick the right one. For duties, uniform and your rights at work, read pregnant police officer: rights, duties and uniform.
My pregnancy and maternity dates
From policepay.co.uk/tools/police-pregnancy-timeline-planner/ . Planning dates, not legal advice: confirm with your force policy and HR.
Your details
From your dating scan or MATB1. We work out your expected week of childbirth (the Sunday to Saturday week it falls in).
Officers can start any day from six months before the due date up to the due date. Blank shows an example from the Sunday your expected week begins.
Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
Your timeline
Your timeline will appear here
Enter your due date. You will see the date to tell your force by, the earliest your leave can start, the SMP earnings window, risk assessment review points, your pay phases, KIT days and your return date, ready to add to your calendar.
This is an estimate, not advice. It cannot know your force’s week start day, payroll dates or local scheme, so confirm every date with HR, payroll or your Federation or UNISON representative.
How the planner works
The rules behind each date, where officers and staff differ, and what the planner cannot know.
How the dates are counted
Almost every date is counted back from your expected week of childbirth: the Sunday to Saturday week your due date falls in. The 15th week before it is the SMP qualifying week. The 11th week before is the earliest SMP can start. The 4th week before is when a pregnancy-related absence starts SMP automatically.
The SMP earnings window (the relevant period) runs between paydays. It ends with your last normal payday on or before the Saturday of the qualifying week and goes back to, but not including, the last payday at least 8 weeks before that. For someone paid monthly that is usually two payslips. Add your payday under “More detail” to see them.
Leave and pay periods are counted in whole weeks from the day your leave starts: 26 weeks is 182 days, 39 weeks is 273 days.
Why officers and staff get different dates
Police officers are office holders, not employees. The statutory maternity leave rules in the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 cover employees, and section 200 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 disapplies the maternity leave part of that Act for police service. Officers’ leave comes from regulation 33 of the Police Regulations 2003 and the Home Office determination in Annex R; their pay from Annex L.
- Notice: officers as soon as reasonably practicable; staff by the end of the 15th week before.
- Earliest start: officers six months before the due date; staff the 11th week before (some force schemes allow earlier).
- Latest start: officers the due date; staff have no fixed latest date, but leave starts the day after the birth.
- Length: officers up to 15 months, ending no later than 12 months after the due date; staff 52 weeks.
- Returning early: officers 21 days’ notice; staff 8 weeks.
- Sickness or early birth: for staff, both start leave automatically. For officers, they start SMP but police maternity leave and pay still start on the date chosen.
Both groups get SMP, because the SMP rules count anyone in an office with earnings as an employee.
Worked example
An officer due on Wednesday 14 April 2027, starting leave on Sunday 11 April:
- Expected week of childbirth: 11 April 2027 to 17 April 2027.
- SMP qualifying week: 27 December 2026 to 2 January 2027.
- Leave could start any day from 14 October 2026 to 14 April 2027; SMP from 24 January 2027 at the earliest.
- SMP notice by 14 March 2027 (28 days).
- Full pay 11 April 2027 to 9 October 2027; SMP only to 8 January 2028; then unpaid.
- Latest last day of leave: 13 April 2028 (12 months after the due date comes before 15 months from the start).
A member of police staff with the same due date would have to give notice by 2 January 2027, could start statutory leave from 24 January 2027, and would reach the end of 52 weeks on 8 April 2028.
Assumptions and limits
- Weeks start on Sunday. Annex L lets a chief officer fix a different start day for the 63-week test, so that test can differ by a few days in your force.
- Paydays are taken as the same day each month. If payroll moves a payday for a weekend or bank holiday, the SMP window can move.
- Where your leave starts before the 11th week, the planner starts SMP at the 11th week. You may be able to time it differently: ask payroll.
- Risk assessment review points are suggestions based on national police guidance (at least every two months), not legal deadlines.
- The planner does not cover adoption, surrogacy, multiple births, stillbirth or neonatal care. See the family leave guides for those.
- Staff occupational maternity pay is set by each force’s scheme, so the planner shows SMP only for staff.
Frequently asked questions
When do I have to tell my force I am pregnant?
Police officers must give notice of the pregnancy, the expected date of birth and the date they want maternity leave to start as soon as reasonably practicable after they know the due date (Police Regulations 2003, Annex R paragraph 5). There is no fixed week. Police staff, as employees, must tell their employer by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999, regulation 4). For both, the risk assessment duty only starts once you tell your force in writing.
What is the expected week of childbirth?
The week, Sunday to Saturday, in which your due date falls. Most maternity dates are counted back from the Sunday that starts it. For example, a due date of Wednesday 14 April 2027 gives an expected week of 11 to 17 April 2027.
What is the earliest I can start maternity leave as a police officer?
Six months before your expected date of birth, and no later than the due date itself (Annex R). Police maternity pay starts with your leave, but Statutory Maternity Pay cannot start before the 11th week before your expected week of childbirth. Police staff on the statutory scheme can start from the 11th week before, though some force schemes allow earlier.
How much notice do I need to give to change my dates or come back early?
Officers: not less than 21 days' notice to change dates or to return before the end of the maternity period (Annex R paragraphs 6 and 8). Staff: 28 days to change a start date and 8 weeks to return early (regulations 4 and 11 of the 1999 Regulations). SMP needs 28 days' notice of its start for both.
What is the SMP qualifying week and why does it matter?
The 15th week before your expected week of childbirth. To get SMP you need 26 weeks' continuous employment ending with that week and average weekly earnings of at least £129 (2026/27) in the 8-week relevant period that ends with your last payday on or before its Saturday. Those payslips set your first six weeks of SMP at 90%, so overtime paid then counts.
How long is police maternity leave?
Up to 15 months, inside a window from six months before to 12 months after the expected date of birth. It ends 15 months after it started or 12 months after the due date, whichever is sooner. The first 52 weeks count as service for annual leave. Staff on the statutory scheme get 52 weeks: 26 weeks ordinary and 26 weeks additional leave.
How long do police officers get full maternity pay?
26 weeks of full pay, if you have 63 weeks' continuous police service at the start of your expected week of childbirth and are still pregnant (or have had a live premature birth) 15 weeks before your due date. SMP is paid inside it, not on top. You can instead take full pay to week 21 and half pay plus half SMP for weeks 22 to 31 (Annex L, in force since 4 January 2021). SMP then continues to week 39 at £194.32 a week or 90% of your average earnings if lower.
How many KIT days can I work?
Up to 10 keeping in touch days, by agreement, without ending your leave or losing SMP (Annex R Part 3 for officers; regulation 12A for staff). For officers a KIT day is paid at the hourly rate in Annex R and does not use up a week of police maternity pay.
Does the planner store my due date?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing you type is sent to us. The calendar file is made on your device. We count only that the planner was used and whether it was for an officer or staff member.
Does this cover Scotland and Northern Ireland?
No. Police Scotland officers and PSNI officers have their own regulations and determinations. The SMP dates are the same UK-wide, but leave rules differ, so check your own force's policy.
Sources
Read on 14 October 2026. Where something could not be confirmed from an official source, the guide lists it under “Not verified”. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- Police Regulations 2003, regulation 33 (leave, antenatal care, maternity leave) : Reg 33(6) special leave for antenatal care; reg 33(7) maternity leave by determination
- Home Office determinations under the Police Regulations 2003, Annex R (maternity leave; KIT days) : Part 1 paragraphs 1 to 12 (maternity period, notice, 21 days); Part 3 paragraph 29 (10 KIT days)
- Home Office Circular 003/2020, Annex L (maternity pay) : 26 weeks' pay, 63 weeks' service at the beginning of the EWC, half-pay option, SMP offset; in force 4 January 2021
- Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3312) : Regs 4, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12A (employees, so police staff)
- Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, sections 164 and 171 : SMP conditions, 11th week, 28 days' notice; s.171 office holders count as employees
- Statutory Maternity Pay (General) Regulations 1986, regulations 2, 6 and 21 : 4-week rule, weekly rate, relevant period between paydays
- GOV.UK, Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 : SMP rate and the £129 lower earnings limit
- GOV.UK, Maternity pay and leave: how to claim : MATB1 from 20 weeks before the due date; 28 days' SMP notice
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulations 1, 16 to 18 : New or expectant mothers, night work certificate, written notice
- NPCC Family Support guidance 2026, Chapter 4: Pregnancy, Maternity, Paternity and New and Expectant Parents : Risk assessment reviews at least every two months; hosted by the British Association for Women in Policing
- Police Federation of England and Wales, Maternity Guide for Police Officers (2022) : Police maternity leave, SMP timing for officers, KIT days and recall