Child related benefits

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If you have a child, or you are expecting one, you may be entitled to benefits, including child benefit and maternity benefits. You may also have a right to maternity or paternity pay if you need to take time off work.

Child benefit

Child benefit is paid to most families with children. Child benefit is paid to one person only – usually a parent, but sometimes to someone else who is responsible for the child.

A fixed weekly amount of child benefit is paid for each child – a higher rate is paid for your eldest or only child, and then a lower rate for any additional children. Child benefit is not affected by your income or savings. Find out more about child benefit rates.

Claims for child benefit are dealt with by HM Revenue and Customs. You may be given a claim form for child benefit from the hospital if you have your baby there, or you can ask the child benefit helpline to send you one. You can complete a form on the HM Revenue and Customs website – you’ll need to print it out and send to the child benefit department.

Child benefit is paid until your child reaches school leaving age and can also be paid while your child is under the age of 20, so long as the child is in certain types of education or training.

Find more information about child benefit on the Directgov website.

Maternity benefits

If you are having a baby, you may be entitled to claim statutory maternity pay for a period before and after the baby is born – up to 39 weeks in total. Although this is a government benefit, payment is made by your employer. Entitlement to this benefit is not affected by any other income or savings you may have.

To qualify, you’ll need to have been employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks up to the 15 to 16 weeks before your baby is due. You must also have earned – on average – a minimum amount each week. A weekly rate of benefit is paid – if you qualify, you’ll get 90 per cent of your wages for the first six weeks of your claim, followed by a set weekly amount. Find details of the weekly amount of statutory maternity pay on the Directgov website.

If you cannot get statutory maternity pay, you may instead be entitled to maternity allowance from Jobcentre Plus. You will need to have worked for at least 26 weeks in a 66 week period that ends a week or two before your baby is due.

If you or your partner have a low income or are claiming certain benefits or tax credits you may be entitled to a Sure Start maternity grant – a one-off payment to help towards the cost of maternity and baby items. You’ll only get this if there are no other children aged under 16 in your family.

Statutory paternity pay

When your partner has a baby or adopts a child, you may be entitled to ordinary statutory paternity pay for a maximum of 2 weeks. Although this is a government benefit, payment is made by your employer. Entitlement to this benefit is not affected by any other income or savings you may have.

To qualify:

you must be the biological father (or adopter) of the child or be the mother’s (or adopter’s) husband, partner or civil partner or have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing
you will need to have been employed by the same employer for a minimum period – at least 26 weeks up to the 15 to 16 weeks before your baby is due
you must also have earned – on average – a minimum certain amount each week.

Rates for statutory paternity pay are set at a fixed weekly amount, or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings if this is less. It is paid for one or two consecutive weeks.

Find more information about ordinary statutory paternity pay and how to claim on the Directgov website.

Maternity and paternity benefits from your employer

You may have a right to maternity, paternity or adoption benefits from your employer on top of any government benefits due. Check your contract of employment or staff handbook find out, or ask your employer.

Tax credits

Tax credits are payments from the government. There are two types:

you may qualify for child tax credit if you’re responsible for at least one child or young person
you may qualify for working tax credit if you work, but are on a low income.

You can often get both types of tax credits. Tax credits aren’t taxable and are not affected by any savings you may have.

You don’t have to be working to get child tax credit, but your income has to be below a certain limit. You have to be working a certain number of hours each week to get working tax credit, and your income must also fall below a certain limit.

To apply for tax credits, you can contact the tax credit helpline for a claim pack. Find more information on how to claim tax credits on the Directgov website.

It’s important to keep up to date with the rules for tax credits – they are changing from April 2012.