The eligibility test
The eligibility test for Maternity Allowance has two parts, and you need to pass both. The first part is about time: how many weeks you worked. The second part is about earnings: how much you earned in some of those weeks. Both parts are measured inside the same window, called the test period, which is the 66 weeks before your baby is due. GOV.UK provides a test period calculator to work out your exact dates, and using it is worth the few minutes it takes, because guessing the window is a common source of error.
Part one: 26 weeks in 66
You can get Maternity Allowance for up to 39 weeks if you have been either registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby is due, or employed for at least 26 weeks in the same 66 weeks. The weeks do not have to be together. They do not have to be with the same employer. Periods of unemployment inside the window do not erase the weeks you did work. That flexibility is the whole point of the test: it rewards a working history spread across jobs and gaps, where the Statutory Maternity Pay test, which demands continuous service with one employer, would fail you.
Part two: the earnings test
If you have been employed, you must have been earning, or classed as earning, at least £30 a week in at least 13 weeks of your employment. Again, those 13 weeks do not have to be together, and you can pick your best weeks. The £30 figure is low by design: it is far below the Statutory Maternity Pay earnings threshold, which is why Maternity Allowance catches low earners whom the employer scheme misses. For self-employed claimants, the earnings picture is expressed differently, through Class 2 National Insurance contributions, as explained on the rates page.
Worked example
Suppose your baby is due in late June, and your 66-week test period runs back to roughly March of the previous year. In that window you worked 20 weeks for one employer, then had three months without work, then worked 12 weeks for a second employer, earning more than £30 a week in at least 13 of your 32 worked weeks in total. You have 32 weeks worked, which clears the 26-week test, and 13 qualifying earnings weeks, which clears the earnings test. The fact that the work was split across two employers and interrupted by unemployment does not matter.
What counts as work?
Employment and self-employment both count, and a mixture of the two can add up to the 26 weeks. Unpaid work for a spouse or civil partner's business is treated separately, under its own 14-week route, and does not simply blend into the main test. If you are unsure whether a particular period counts, for example a period on agency work, a zero-hours contract, or a short contract, gather the payslips or records for that period and include them with your claim; the Department decides on the evidence, and a missing payslip is a weaker position than a payslip that needs explaining.
Recently stopped working
GOV.UK states expressly that you may still qualify if you have recently stopped working. This matters for women who leave a job because of pregnancy-related health problems, because a contract ends, or because they choose to stop before the birth. The test looks backwards at the 66 weeks before the due date, not forwards at whether you are still in work when you claim. Do not assume that leaving work ends your entitlement; check the test period first.
Common test-period mistakes
The most frequent errors are counting from the actual birth date instead of the due date, counting only the most recent job, and assuming the weeks must be consecutive. The test period is anchored to the due date, which is why the MATB1 certificate, which records the expected date, is such an important piece of evidence. Use the GOV.UK test period calculator, write the dates down, and then match your payslips and self-employment records against those dates before you fill in the form.
Sources: GOV.UK, Maternity Allowance: eligibility; GOV.UK, Maternity Allowance: how to claim (test period calculator).