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1. What are maternity, paternity and other parental benefits

Statutory maternity pay

You can get statutory maternity pay (SMP) for 39 weeks if you are pregnant or have just had a baby, have an employer and earn at least £129 a week (April 2026 rate).

Maternity allowance

If you cannot get SMP but you have recently worked, either employed or self-employed, you may be able to get maternity allowance (MA) for 39 weeks. You may also qualify if you have helped your partner with their self-employment. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for details.

Statutory paternity pay

You can get statutory paternity pay (SPP) for two weeks if your partner is having a baby and you are taking leave from work to care for her or for the child. You can also get statutory shared parental pay (SSPP) in some circumstances. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for details. Unmarried partners, including same-sex partners, can claim SPP.

Statutory adoption pay

You can get statutory adoption pay (SAP) for 39 weeks if you are adopting a child and are earning at least £129 a week from employment (April 2026 rate). If a couple (including same-sex couples) are adopting a child, one can claim SAP and the other can claim SPP for two weeks (or SSPP, in some circumstances).

Statutory shared parental pay

You or your partner can get SSPP instead of SMP, MA or SAP in certain circumstances.

Statutory parental bereavement pay

You can get statutory parental bereavement pay for up to two weeks if a child dies or is stillborn and you are earning at least £129 a week from employment (April 2026 rate).

Statutory neonatal care pay

You can get statutory neonatal care pay if a child born on or after 6 April 2025 is, or has been, in neonatal care for more than a week. You must earn at least £129 a week from employment (April 2026 rate).

2. Who is eligible

Students are eligible for maternity, paternity, adoption, parental bereavement and neonatal care benefits if they pass the basic rules for these. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for details. What follows is a brief outline of the qualifying conditions.

Statutory maternity pay

You can get statutory maternity pay (SMP) if:

you are pregnant or have recently had a baby; and
you have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before your expected week of birth; and
your average gross earnings are at least £129 a week (April 2026 rate); and
you give your employer the correct notice.

Maternity allowance

You can get maternity allowance (MA) if you cannot get SMP and:

you are pregnant or have recently had a baby; and
you have worked, either as an employee or self-employed, for at least 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks before the expected week of birth; and
your average earnings are at least £30 a week.

Statutory paternity pay

You can get statutory paternity pay (SPP) if:

you are the child’s father or partner of the child’s mother and you will be caring for the child or supporting the mother; and
you have worked for the same employer for 41 weeks before the baby is born; and
your average gross earnings are at least £129 a week (April 2026 rate); and
you give your employer the correct notice.

You can also get SPP if you are adopting a child – you cannot get SPP for adoption and statutory adoption pay (SAP) at the same time, although one member of a couple can claim SAP while the other claims SPP (for adoption).

Statutory adoption pay

You can get SAP if:

you are adopting a child; and
you have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks ending with the week in which you are told you have been matched with a child for adoption; and
your average gross earnings are at least £129 a week (April 2026 rate); and
you give your employer the correct notice.

Statutory shared parental pay

You can get statutory shared parental pay if you are caring for a child and:

you are the mother of the child or have adopted the child, and you have reduced your MA, SMP or SAP period; or
you are the father of the child or the partner of the mother/adopter and your partner has reduced their MA, SMP or SAP period.

Your partner must also meet employment and earnings tests. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more details.

Statutory parental bereavement pay

You can get statutory parental bereavement pay if:

your child (under 18) died or was stillborn (after 24 weeks of pregnancy); and
you have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks ending with the week before your child died and you still work for them on the day your child died; and
your average gross earnings are at least £129 a week (April 2026 rate); and
you give your employer the correct notice.

Statutory neonatal care pay

You can get statutory neonatal care pay if:

a child born on or after 6 April 2025 is, or has been, in neonatal care for more than a week; and
you are their parent, or have responsibility for their upbringing, and have taken time off work to care for them; and
you have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before their expected week of birth (or, if not entitled to SMP, SPP or SAP, the week before they go into neonatal care); and
your average gross earnings are at least £129 a week (April 2026 rate).

Prelims

**[THIS RECORD N/A FOR ONLINE]**

Child Poverty Action Group works on behalf of the more than one in four children in the UK who are growing up in poverty. It does not have to be like this. We use our understanding of what causes poverty and the impact it has on children’s lives to campaign for policies that will prevent and solve poverty, for good. We provide training, advice and information to make sure hard-up families get the financial support they need. We also carry out high-profile legal work to establish and protect families’ rights. If you are not already supporting us, please consider making a donation, or ask for details of our membership schemes, training courses and publications.

Published by Child Poverty Action Group

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Tel: 020 7837 7979

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This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

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The author

Angela Toal is a welfare rights worker with CPAG in Scotland, working on the Benefits for Students service.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, many thanks to Judith Paterson, Head of Advice and Rights at CPAG in Scotland, who wrote the first few editions of this Handbook and continues to provide invaluable checking and advice. Many thanks also to Frances Ryan at CPAG in Scotland for checking this edition.

Grateful thanks are due to staff at the Student Awards Agency Scotland for their time and expertise in checking and advising on this Handbook. Thanks too to all of those on the project advisory group for their support and encouragement throughout the year.

Many thanks go to John Dickie and everyone else at CPAG in Scotland for their invaluable support and practical help.

Thanks to Kathy Proctor for editing this edition, Anne Ketley for compiling the index and Claire Veryard for proofreading the text.

CPAG is grateful for the Scottish government’s financial support towards this Handbook.

Abbreviations

ADP	adult disability payment
CA	carer’s allowance
CAPP	carer additional person payment
CDP	child disability payment
CSP	carer support payment
DLA	disability living allowance
DWP	Department for Work and Pensions
ESA	employment and support allowance
FE	further education
HB	housing benefit
HE	higher education
HMRC	HM Revenue and Customs
HNC	Higher National Certificate
HND	Higher National Diploma
JSA	jobseeker’s allowance
LCW	limited capability for work
LCWRA	limited capability for work-related activity
MA	maternity allowance
NI	national insurance
NQ	National Qualifications
PC	pension credit
PIP	personal independence payment
SAAS	Student Awards Agency Scotland
SAP	statutory adoption pay
SMP	statutory maternity pay
SPP	statutory paternity pay
SSP	statutory sick pay
SSPP	statutory shared parental pay
SSS	Social Security Scotland
SVQ	Scottish Vocational Qualification
UC	universal credit

Universal credit rates 2026/27

Standard allowance		£pm
Single	Under 25	338.58
	25 or over	424.90
Couple	Both under 25	528.34
	One or both 25 or over	666.97

Elements
First child (if born before 6 April 2017)		351.88
First child (if born on or after 6 April 2017) and each subsequent child		303.94
Disabled child addition	Lower rate	164.79
	Higher rate	514.71
Limited capability for work (some claims only)		158.76
Limited capability for work-related activity	Lower rate	217.26
	Protected rate	429.80
Carer		209.34
Childcare costs	One child	up to 1,071.09
	Two or more children	up to 1,836.16
	Percentage covered	85%

Capital limits	Lower	Upper
	6,000	16,000
Tariff income: £4.35 per £250 between lower and upper limits

Other means-tested benefit rates 2026/27


		£pw
Housing benefit
Personal allowances
Single	Under 25	75.65
	25 or over	95.55
Lone parent	Under 18	75.65
	18 or over	95.55
Couple	Both under 18	114.35
	One or both 18 or over	150.15
Dependent children	Under 20	87.88
Pension age (and claimant/partner not on UC)	Single (reached pension age before 1 April 2021)	256.00
	Single (reached pension age on or after 1 April 2021)	238.00
	Couple (one or both reached pension age before 1 April 2021)	383.35
	Couple (both reached pension age on or after 1 April 2021)	363.25
Components
Work-related activity (assessed before 3 April 2017)	–	37.95
Support	–	50.35
Premiums
Carer		48.15
Disability	Single	44.85
	Couple	64.00
Disabled child		84.46
Enhanced disability	Single	22.00
	Couple	31.40
	Child	33.99
Severe disability	One qualifies	86.05
	Two qualify	172.10
Family	Ordinary rate	20.22
	Some lone parents	22.20

Tariff income: £1 per £250 between lower and upper limits; £1 per £500 for those over pension age No upper limit or tariff income for those on pension credit guarantee credit
Scotland-only payments
Best Start grant
Pregnancy and baby payment (lump sum)
	First child	796.65
	Any subsequent child	398.35
Early learning payment (lump sum)		331.95
School-age payment (lump sum)		331.95
Child winter heating assistance (lump sum)		265.50
Scottish child payment		28.20

Non-means-tested benefit rates 2026/27

	£pw
Adult disabilty payment
Daily living component
Standard rate	76.70
Enhanced rate	114.60
Mobility component
Standard rate	30.30
Enhanced rate	80.00

Bereavement support payment
Higher rate
Lump sum	3,500
Monthly amount	350.00
Standard rate
Lump sum	2,500
Monthly amount	100.00

Carer support payment	86.45
Scottish carer supplement	11.70
Carer additional person payment	10.40

Young carer grant	405.10

Child benefit
Only/eldest child	27.05
Other child(ren)	17.90

Child disability payment
Care component
Highest rate	114.60
Middle rate	76.70
Lowest rate	30.30
Mobility component
Higher rate	80.00
Lower rate	30.30

New-style employment and support allowance
Assessment phase
Under 25	75.65
25 or over	95.55
Main phase
16 or over	95.55
Work-related activity component (assessed before 3 April 2017)	37.95
Support component	50.35

Guardian’s allowance	22.95

New-style jobseeker’s allowance
Under 25	75.65
25 or over	95.55

Maternity allowance
Standard rate	194.32

Retirement pensions
State pension (full rate)	241.30
Category A	184.90

Statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental, parental bereavement and neonatal care pay
Standard rate	194.32

Statutory sick pay	123.25

How to use this Handbook

This Handbook is intended for students and those who advise students, or potential students, in Scotland about their entitlement to benefits. It outlines the benefit rules and focuses on issues relevant to students. It covers both further and higher education. For more detailed information on the rules, see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook.

This Handbook covers rules affecting students studying in Scotland who are eligible for support through Scottish funding bodies such as the Student Awards Agency Scotland. It does not cover the rules for students getting support from England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or elsewhere outside Scotland.

Up to date

This Handbook was up to date on 1 August 2026 and is intended to be used for the academic year 2026/27. Rates of grants and loans used are those for the 2026/27 academic year. Benefit and rates used are those from April 2026. Note: benefit rates and important changes to benefits are updated each April (but not the benefit rates in the examples).

Full-time students

Most full-time students are excluded from universal credit (UC) and some other benefits. There is one definition of ‘full-time student’ used for UC. Other definitions are used for housing benefit, carer support payment, new-style jobseeker’s allowance and for council tax. Some students, however, can claim benefits despite being classed as full time. If you are excluded from one benefit, do not therefore assume that you are excluded from all of them. Who counts as a ‘full-time student’, or as ‘receiving education’ for UC, is explained in detail in the relevant chapters.