maternity and paternity leave in the UK

Important Topics

and Government Agencies

Leave

In April 2003, new provisions regarding Maternity and Paternity leave were put into law in the United Kingdom. These

new laws changed the amount of time both mothers and fathers could take off to prepare for the birth of a child

and care for the child after birth. The United Kingdom also provides families with the option to take leave from work to care

for their families. While the United Kingdom's leave policy is not as good as many of its European Union counterpart's

policies, compared to the amount of leave offered in the United States, the policies in the United Kingdom seem generous.

image of a mother and father playing with an infant in a park

Maternity Leave

Women in the U.K. are allowed 26 weeks of paid job protected leave
An additional 26 weeks of unpaid leave is also available
During the first 6 weeks of the paid leave, women are elligible to receive 90% of their prior pay, while the other 20 weeks are paid

at a flat rate of £100 a week

The leave may begin as early as the eleventh week before the baby is due, if the woman wishes to start the leave at that time
Adoptive mothers are also allowed the same leave as women who are pregnant

Paternity Leave

Fathers in the U.K. are also granted leave for the birth or adoption of a baby
Fathers are allowed two weeks of paid leave at flat rate of £100 per week
In order to receive the paid leave, fathers must have been employed for at least 26 weeks proir to the time at which they

will be taking the leave

Parental and Family leave

Any parent having or adopting a baby is entitiled to 13 weeks of unpaid leave that can be taken anytime during the first five

years of the child's life

This type of leave is in addition to the maternity and paternity leaves offered by employers
To qualify for this leave, parents must have worked for at least one full year with their current employer before the leave can be taken
"Family Leave" was also created so that workers could take time off for family emergencies (such as an ill child or spouse)

A Broader look at leave Policies in the U.K.

In the mid 1990's, family policy comprised only 8.3% of the U.K.'s total social spending
Governmental spending on policies such as maternity and paternity leave has dropped from 5.0% in 1980 to about 3.9% in

the mid 1990's

An average of $62.00 was spent on maternity and parental leave per employed woman in the mid 1990's in the U.K.
For a woman earning £22,000 a year, the total pay accumulated after her 26 weeks paid leave would only be £5,300, but

if she had worked full time for the same six month period at full pay she would have earned £11,000

References

The Clearinghouse on International Developments in Child, Youth and Family Policies. N.d. "United Kingdom."Institute for Child and

Family Policy, Retrieved October 25, 2006 (http://www.childpolicyintl.org/).

The Clearinghouse on International Developments in Child, Youth and Family Policies. N.d. Assorted Statistics from charts in sections

"Demography and Social Trends", "Employment" and "Social Expenditures." Institute for Child and

Family Policy, Retrieved October 25, 2006 (http://www.childpolicyintl.org/).

Mercer Human Resource Consulting. 2006. “Maternity benefits – European study shows wide variations.” London, United Kingdom: