New mums are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave and get up to 39 weeks of statutory maternity pay.Despite this, according to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) 43 per cent of mothers on maternity leave are too afraid to take their full maternity leave.
Business women with successful careers are often shocked at the inequalities that still surround employees who take their full maternity leave.
When it’s time to go back to work, the choices available to women can be quite limited, with a common complaint being that the career break has affected the woman’s chances of promotion (35% of mothers said they felt discriminated against on their return to work).
The average cost of a new baby is £5,464 in the first year of their child’s life – increasing by four per cent to £5,666 for those living in London.
It’s obviously excludes the cost of living, and any childcare required to raise the child, so it’s easy to see how money can be tight for new mums in maternity leave.
While the UK ranks well for paid maternity leave when compared to other countries, there is a distinction between paid and week paid, and when it is compared to countries providing well-paid maternity leave it slips down the scale.
New and expectant mothers have a number of legal rights in the workplace.
Pregnant employees enjoy the right to be paid for time off work that is spent receiving antenatal care (employers cannot request that employees make up this time by working additional hours).
