DATE: 11th October 2024; New research from Pregnant Then Screwed, and Women in DataⓇ has found that 4 in 10 mothers (43%) took just 12 weeks or less following the birth of their most recent child.
Statutory maternity leave is currently a shocking 43% of the national living wage, causing many families to experience financial hardship as a result of taking time out of work when they have given birth.
Further research from the charity Pregnant Then Screwed has found that the majority of mothers (76%) have had to rely on some form of debt or withdraw money from their savings as a result of low statutory maternity pay.
Pregnant Then Screwed is calling on the government to increase the rate of statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance to the national living wage. An amount which is widely regarded as the absolute minimum someone needs to live on.
We know that maternity leave more than 12 weeks has huge benefits for a mother and her child. It decreases rates of maternal physical and mental health issues, decreases infant mortality and improves rates of breastfeeding.
One mother, Laura from West Midlands, needed to return to work at 11 weeks as she couldn’t afford her mortgage repayments on low maternity pay. She explains, “The parenting experience with my child has been greatly impacted. I have been overwhelmed with guilt over the limited bonding time we had in the early months due to my early return to work, which has impacted my mental health greatly.”
Joeli Brearley, CEO and Founder of Pregnant Then Screwed comments, “Maternity pay is an abomination. How is anyone meant to survive on £184 a week, which is less than half the minimum wage – the lowest amount someone can live on. The perinatal period is critically important to the health and well-being of a mother and her child, and I think we should all be deeply concerned that due to severe hardship, we are now seeing a degeneration and a degradation of this vital period. Ultimately, It is a false economy to not pay parental leave at a rate on which families can survive and thrive.”
She continues, “We need a government that will listen to parents, creating policies which ensure they can survive and thrive, particularly in those early days. Right now we are falling way behind our European counterparts, and it is not only this generation which is suffering the consequences, but it will be the next.’’
ENDS
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About the research:
4 in 10 mothers (42.7%) took 12 weeks or less maternity leave following the birth of their most recent child
75.8% of mothers have had to rely on some form of debt, or withdraw money from their savings as a result of the low rate of statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance
Pregnant Then Screwed surveyed 35,800 parents.
Survey design, weighting and analysis powered and executed by the Women in Data team led by Taisiya Merkulova. A final sample of 5,870 respondents was randomly selected from a pool of 35,800 survey respondents. The sample is nationally representative across the UK population along gender, region, social grade and ethnicity. Weighting is based on the latest census and population estimations published by the ONS, NISRA and NRS.
About Pregnant Then Screwed:
Pregnant Then Screwed is a charity that seeks to protect, support and promote the rights of pregnant women and mothers. We carry out extensive research into the effects of systemic cultural and institutional discrimination during pregnancy and motherhood. Our support services include: a free employment rights helpline, a free benefits advice clinic, a free mental health support line, pro bono legal advice and a tribunal mentor scheme that supports women who are considering legal action against their employer. We campaign for changes that will end the motherhood penalty and we support working mums to rebuild their confidence and find work that works for them.
Maternity pay calculation:
How did we calculate that statutory maternity pay is just 43% of the national minimum wage?
(NLW is 11.44 x 7.5 hours) x 5 days = £429 would be your weekly income if you work full time on the NLW
A week’s Statutory Maternity Pay is £184.03
