Is Britain's maternity pay excessive and how much does it cost taxpayers? | Motherhood and Paternity

What about the maternity allowance controversy?

Conservative leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch was asked on Sunday whether she thought maternity pay was at the right level. Her answer was taken to mean that she thought maternity benefits were excessive.

Statutory maternity pay is a function of tax. Taxes come from working people, she said. It was taking from one group of people and giving to another. In my opinion, this is excessive. The regulatory burden is so high that businesses are closing down and businesses not starting in the UK.

The former Minister for Women and Equalities later clarified X: Of course, I believe in maternity benefits.

So, is maternity allowance excessive?

Taxpayer-funded statutory maternity pay was introduced in the UK in 1987, paying mothers 90% of their average weekly pre-tax earnings for the first six weeks of maternity leave, followed by 184.03 or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). We pay. For the next 33 weeks.

A person on the UK's average weekly wage of 689 would receive just over 250 per week, less than half of the 540 a person is estimated to need to maintain a minimum acceptable standard of living.

Many employers are offering better terms, but campaigners say numbers have been falling in recent years. Self-employed workers are subject to similar legal conditions. UK employees will be entitled to an additional 19 weeks of unpaid leave, bringing the maximum leave period to one year.

How does the UK compare to other countries on maternity benefits?

Mothers in the UK are paid slightly more and work longer hours than the average of 19 weeks across the OECD group of countries. However, average accrual rates are lower than in many countries with shorter paid leave periods.

The governments of Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Turkey and Slovenia pay full salaries for 14 to 24 weeks. By contrast, the United States offers no federal statutory maternity benefits at all, but some states, such as California, offer up to eight weeks of paid family leave on about two-thirds of earnings.

Are companies complaining about maternity pay?

Alex Veitch, policy director at the British Chambers of Commerce, which represents around 50,000 businesses, said this had not been raised as a concern.

He said a BCC survey last year found that two-thirds of women who had taken on childcare responsibilities in the past 10 years felt they had missed out on career progression as a result, and 86% did not agree there was enough support for those caring for older or disabled people. . Relative or friend.

Veitch said addressing these issues is not only essential for the well-being of women and the workplace, but also for a strong functioning economy.

How will maternity pay cuts affect birth rates?

In the same interview on Times Radio, Badenoch said: There was a time when there were no maternity benefits and people were having more babies.

Conservatives, including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Miriam Cates, have raised concerns about the UK's fertility rate falling from 1.94 births per woman in 2012 to 1.55 in 2021. Hungary's right-wing president, Viktor Orbn, has prioritized raising his country's birth rate and increased maternity benefits. Starting in 2021, you will be eligible for 24 weeks of full pay, making it one of the most generous contracts of any OECD country.

Cuts to maternity pay could disincentivize women to have children and further reduce the UK's fertility rate.

How much does it cost taxpayers to fund maternity benefits?

Around 400,000 mothers receive maternity pay each year, and around 200,000 fathers receive up to two weeks of statutory paternity pay.

Spending on maternity benefits increased from KRW 2.5 billion in 2010-11 to KRW 3.1 billion in 2022-23 and is expected to increase to over KRW 4 billion by 2028-29. According to the Department for Work and Pensions, current spending is about a tenth of what is spent on disability or housing benefits, and more than 30 times less than the cost of state pensions.

How has the rising cost of living affected mothers on maternity leave?

Research by campaign group Maternity Action shows women are returning to work earlier than they would like, sometimes before their bodies have properly healed. As women seek to avoid long-term low income, the number who do so increases from 42% to 58% of respondents between 2022 and 2023. Maternity allowance is equivalent to half of the money earned at a job that pays the national living wage.

What are the benefits of maternity pay?

According to the Resolution Foundation think tank, policies that many people now take for granted have had a major impact on maternal employment rates while maintaining connections between workers and employers, significantly increasing women's return to work.

Research in the US has shown that paid maternity leave improves the mental health of mothers and children, including reducing postpartum maternal depression and domestic violence. This improves infant attachment and child development, reduces infant mortality, increases infant vaccination rates, and supports breastfeeding.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/sep/30/is-uk-maternity-pay-excessive-and-how-much-does-it-cost-the-taxpayer The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

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