EU Member States reject European Parliament's plan to increase
full Maternity Pay to 20 weeks
Employment Law & HR update - 04/07/2011
Ministers from the European Union member states voted in June to
reject a plan by the European Parliament to increase the period of
fully paid maternity leave to 20 weeks'. The UK minister was among
those who voted to reject the proposals. The proposals will now
return to the European Parliament for reconsideration.
Where have these proposals come from?
Proposals to increase the period of fully paid maternity leave
were first put forward by the European Commission in 2008. The
initial proposal was for 18 weeks' leave to be at full pay. When
the proposals were debated by the European Parliament, the period
of paid leave proposed was increased to 20 weeks.
Remind me what the current entitlement to maternity
leave is.
Currently, women in the UK are entitled to 6 weeks' leave at 90%
of their normal pay, followed by up to 33 weeks at a statutory
rate, currently £128.73. The remaining period of maternity
leave, approximately 3 months, is unpaid.
What are the arguments against increasing the period of
fully paid maternity leave?
Because most statutory maternity pay is recovered by employers
from the State, the obvious argument against increasing the period
of fully paid maternity leave is additional cost at a time of
public spending restrictions.
But a second argument – which the UK government put forward - is
that it benefits the rich much more than the poor. Under current
rules, those paid £10,000 per year receive around 70% of their pay
during the maternity leave period, while those paid £60,000 per
year receive only around 23%. So increasing maternity pay to "full
pay" without an upper limit will benefit the better-paid more than
the less well-paid.
So, for both these reasons, increasing maternity pay to the
levels proposed is not likely to be politically acceptable.
With its proposals rejected, what does the European
Parliament think about this?
In a press release, the EU rapporteur on Maternity entitlements,
Edite Estrela, commented:
"I regret that some member states expressed once again a
disrespectful position towards the European Parliament". She also
pointed to a Eurobarometer opinion poll in which 80% of respondents
supported the idea of 20 weeks' fully paid maternity leave.
And what is the view from the UK?
The British Chambers of Commerce expressed its concern at the
impact of the proposals, saying they were 'unaffordable'. The
Federation of Small Businesses has also expressed its
opposition.
The coalition government opposes the proposals and voted against
them. It is proceeding with proposals for a system of shared
parental leave, where mothers and fathers
can share paid and unpaid leave entitlements, and can take
leave at the same time.
So what happens next?
The proposals cannot proceed until EU member states agree. In
the light of the defeat, alternative proposals will need to be put
forward. The result is that any changes are unlikely anytime
soon.