The Impact of Maternity Leave in the UK

Discovering you’re pregnant can bring immense joy and excitement. But, it can also stir up complex feelings when considering the realities of maternity leave.

These emotions, often affecting career-orientated women, stem from concerns about being out of the workplace for a prolonged period.

As you prepare to welcome this baby, it’s natural to feel responsible for leaving your coworkers, who may need to manage heavier workloads during your absence. You could be equally anxious about pausing your career or juggling full-time work duties with child care.

As a working parent with a male partner, you might also be curious about how paternity leave works and whether sharing the parental load is possible.

Read on for more information about the intricacies of maternity leave pay, the enduring stigma of maternity leave on mothers, and the potential benefits of longer paternity leave.

What Is Maternity Leave?

UK maternity leave is designed to support expecting mothers, providing them with an extended absence from work to care for a newborn or newly adopted child.

So, how does maternity leave work, anyway? There are a few things key points to consider.

Divided into three separate time segments, maternity or childcare leave can last up to one year. These offer various levels of flexibility depending on individual needs and preferences.

• A mandatory two-week period must be taken immediately after birth, followed by ordinary maternity leave lasting 26 weeks. Afterwards, new mothers can choose to reenter the workplace.

• Alternatively, they can extend their leave for 16 to 26 weeks of optional, additional maternity leave. Some employers may provide payment during this time.

• After 52 weeks, working moms are generally expected to return to their pre-maternity roles unless there's a valid reason for their dismissal.
  

The duration of maternity leave depends on the nature of your job, recovery, and readiness to return to work. Those who decide to return after the first 26 weeks must inform their boss within eight weeks before their intended return.

Is maternity leave paid? Women eligible for statutory maternity pay or SMP get paid for 39 weeks. This allowance constitutes 90% of their total earnings before tax for the first six weeks and a flat rate of £156.66 or 90% of the average weekly earnings – whichever is lower – after that. People who don’t qualify for SMP can apply for a stipend or maternity allowance.

Is There a Stigma Surrounding Maternity Leave and Being a Working Parent?

Maternity leave in the UK that protects the employment status of working moms is a relatively recent development. Before the 1970s, women who fell pregnant often faced mass discrimination and unfair job losses.

The first maternity leave legislation that enabled female employees to have children without risking their employment status was the Employment Protection Act of 1975. Although a step forward, it only covered a small portion of working women. It wasn’t until 1993 that everyone earned the right to take paid childcare leave, with the law shielding working mothers from being sacked.

Undeniably, although employees are legally permitted to take parental leave and return to their same job, an ongoing stigma lingers. This unfair and inaccurate stigma tends to suggest that women focus less on their professional lives once they start a family.

Current misogynistic and distorted perceptions can continue to block women from furthering their careers and achieving their goals after becoming mothers. A 2015 Equality and Human Rights Commission report describes a high degree of discrimination in the workplace levelled against pregnant people, including the use of negative language, harassment, and significant pay cuts.

Although many want to return to work, some working mothers might feel compelled because they sense pressure to validate their worth after having a kid.

Maternity Leave Challenges of Working Moms

Childcare leave should be a magical time when new mothers, birthing parents, and their spouses or partners nurture a bond with their newborns.

Despite feeling excited about growing your family, being stressed or anxious about being away from your job is also natural.

From concerns about parental leave slowing their career progression to fears about how being out of the workplace might dull their abilities, working mothers on maternity leave often grapple with these challenges.

1. Impact of Maternity Leave on Career

Thanks to laws protecting employees from maternity discrimination, most working parents' jobs remain safe. Yet mothers at the height of their careers might choose to return to work prematurely because even with job security assured, many might face unfair maternity leave biases.

It's not uncommon for working mothers to be passed up for a promotion or overlooked for projects deemed unsuitable for parents.

Because of some of the obstacles they encounter post-baby, some may describe their time away from the office as a "career killer".

This issue doesn't stem from a lack of desire from working parents to move their careers along. Rather, societal preconceptions may limit working moms and dictate their priorities when entering parenthood.

2. Fear of Losing Their Edge Undoubtedly, caring for a newborn presents a host of new challenges.

The day-to-day revolves around a repetitive cycle of changing nappies, decoding baby cries and breastfeeding. This new mother role can leave you overwhelmed and disconnected from your old work self.

Additionally, an extended work absence combined with sleep deprivation can leave you doubting your abilities on your return.

All of the above may motivate you to rejoin the workforce sooner. Back at the office, you might be eager to exercise your mental faculties and recover your former identity for part of the day.

3. Work Duties Impacting Your Leave

Besides your baby, job-related stress could also keep you awake at night. You might question whether your handover was clear, concise and easy to follow or if your coworkers still see you as invaluable in your absence.

Rather than fixating on worst-case scenarios and possible unknowns, make yourself available for clarifying questions and updates during your leave period. Being proactive will reduce work-related anxieties and keep you in the present.

4. Longer or Shorter Leave: The Great Debate A significant, often difficult discussion exists among new mothers about how much childcare leave they should take.

It’s not solely a matter of what you’re entitled to. Instead, it's about balancing being a dedicated parent with demonstrating your commitment to your job.

The short vs. extended maternity leave debate carries substantial weight and can be highly divisive. Some argue that very extended leave can harm their careers. In contrast, others stress that having more time builds a stronger bond between mother and baby.

Mothers face an impossible dilemma: to be on parental leave for longer, wondering whether their careers may suffer or re-enter the workforce sooner but grapple with parental guilt.

Of course, alternatives are available to women, but these are often the most chosen. Other possibilities include part-time work or becoming full-time carers, depending on their family circumstances and preferences.

How to Best Manage Your Maternity Leave

Maternity leave can be stressful if you don’t plan for it properly, so craft an action plan with the following in mind.

1. Reassign Your Tasks, Duties and Responsibilities

Divide easily manageable tasks between team members, remembering to assign the best people for more specialised roles and responsibilities. If no one can perform specific duties, consider requesting a temporary replacement.

2. Ask For Your Colleagues' Input

Instead of dumping work on people without their knowledge or feedback, discuss your plan with them. When seeking their assistance, flexibility, accommodation, and gratitude are key.

3. Communicate Regularly to Reduce Career Impact While caring for a baby, it’s perfectly reasonable for work to be the last thing on your mind.

However, establishing an allotted weekly phone call or email time might benefit you and your colleagues. This arrangement gives you peace of mind that your job is well managed. And at the same time, others are reassured by the fact you’re available, within limits, for questions and assistance.

To avoid being overwhelmed by work requests, establish boundaries about when colleagues can contact you. Better yet, designate a proxy to handle specific work matters on your behalf.

Also, note that while you might like to keep to a schedule, babies don’t adhere to timetables. Be flexible with your work hours because you can’t hold yourself to a rigid timeline. Remember, your most important job is caring for a newborn at this stage.

4. Arm Yourself With Information Knowledge is power when planning your leave, which means knowing your rights and what you’re entitled to.

We’ve outlined how much leave you can take, but knowing your standard employee rights can be job-saving.

For example, are you aware that redundancy rights protect you and that you can still receive salary increases or promotions while not actively working?

What Is Paternity Leave?

Paternity leave is the paid time off expectant fathers receive. This relatively brief time spans one to two consecutive weeks after the child is born. It's worth pointing out that dads-to-be can’t take paternity leave before birth. In addition, this leave has a time limit and must be used within 52 days of the baby’s arrival.

One of the biggest complaints with paternity leave among modern-day fathers is that it's short. In response to new dads wanting more time with their new offspring, The UK government introduced Shared Parental Leave in 2015.

This groundbreaking working policy permits eligible parents to split their time off by repurposing the weeks of parental leave the mother chooses not to take. In other words, the mother shares a portion of her leave (and pay) with her spouse or co-parent – which might include the father, civil partner or same-sex partner. Those who qualify receive 50 weeks of statutory leave and 37 weeks of statutory pay.

The parents can stagger this leave throughout the year, ensuring that someone is always home with the child. Being off simultaneously for six months is another option they can opt for.

What Are the Potential Benefits of Shared Parental Leave?

Shared parental leave hands choice and flexibility over to working parents. Not only does this enhance the lives of working parents, but it can result in happier, more productive employees in the workforce.

1. Sharing the Childcare Shared parental leave allows fathers and non-birthing spouses to be around for the first baby milestones, cementing a deeper bond with their baby and helping them grow as parents.

Raising children is incredible but taxing – having both parents involved in the heavy lifting can only strengthen a relationship and the family dynamic.

2. Supports Gender Equality Gendered stereotypes have long portrayed women as the primary caregivers and men as the hands-off providers and breadwinners.

Shared parental leave sheds these stereotypical roles and supports gender equality by encouraging both parents to actively participate in their children’s lives.

Moreover, when one partner takes long stretches off work, the other working parent can pursue career ambitions.

3. Addresses the Gender Pay Gap While the gender pay gap has narrowed, many women experience a substantial salary reduction once they become parents. This change often occurs if women reduce their working hours or leave demanding, time-intensive jobs to care for their children. In contrast, becoming a parent has a substantially smaller impact on a father's salary.

The shift to shared parental leave can have a far-reaching impact on a household. In the long term, it can create an altered, balanced family dynamic that challenges traditional norms. In the future, we could see men choosing to work far more flexibly.

4. Benefits the Employer, too

After spending pivotal moments with their children, employees may return with a positive mindset and demonstrate increased productivity and better quality of work.

Has Shared Parental Leave Successfully Taken Effect?

In theory, improving paternity leave promises to enhance lives and alleviate the burden for working mothers, but it has yet to become transformative or achieve widespread success.

Disappointingly, the uptake for shared parental leave has been low. Research from a 2018 study shows that only 1% or 9200 of the 920,000 eligible parents applied for this benefit.

Despite the availability of better options, the number of men taking more than a few days or weeks off for their babies is marginal. And here’s why.

1. Fear of Discrimination or Career Impact Men express fears of being discriminated against in the workplace, marginalised or even humiliated for taking anything above the average paternity leave.

This mindset might be strongly influenced by entrenched stereotypes around gender and parenting roles, as previously mentioned. Unless we address these unspoken workplace norms, men might miss out on the formative stages of their child’s development.

2. Lack of Mentors and Role Models

It’s simple: paternity leave uptake will remain depressingly low if men don’t start setting an example for other men.

In other words, being inspired by others, notably senior professionals and leaders, to take leave that’s rightfully theirs.

Males in high positions must demonstrate to others that caring for their offspring won’t lead to negative consequences, penalisation or punishments.

3. Don't Know Better

Missing out on career opportunities is one reason men don’t take much paternity leave. However, another contributing factor might be a lack of awareness. Some men might not understand how much leave they can take, perhaps assuming they're limited to the bare minimum.

Returning to Work After Having a Baby

Returning to work after having a baby is a landmark event involving a tidal wave of emotions. Given the intense mix of feelings, it's an experience that warrants a warning label.

You’re not alone if you’re feeling immensely guilty. Whether you’re looking forward to rejoining the workforce or doing so reluctantly, leaving your baby in someone else's care is a bitter pill.

After spending months with your new child, adjusting to your old work self can be difficult, considering the life-changing nature of parenthood.

Here are some tips to make this transition easier.

1. Keep-In-Touch Hours

For a more gradual return, explore the option of keep-in-touch hours. This optional program is designed around the needs of mothers preparing to return to the office. You can take a few days (up to ten) out of your parental leave to get updated by colleagues on work projects, show your face around the office, and generally ease into your work schedule before your start date.

This approach ensures the return to work won’t be a massive shock to the system.

2. Arranging Childcare While Pregnant Although it might seem a distant concern, researching childcare before giving birth can reduce your guilt about returning to work. You'll have peace of mind knowing your child's in the best possible hands when you can’t be with them.

3. Setting Boundaries at Work Arrange an early meeting with your boss about their and your expectations. During this conversation, highlight your working hours and availability as a working parent. Don't hesitate to establish clear boundaries and speak out if you need help or support.

4. Flexible Working The pandemic has reshaped how we work, with many companies adopting variations of flexible working setups. With the rapidly evolving landscape, mothers who return to work in a supportive business environment might elect to work flexible hours or remote-in some days. Doing so might help them to strike a balance between their working and personal lives.

Having children is nothing if not unpredictable, so having a flexible schedule ensures you’re ready for the unexpected.

5. Reducing Hours After Maternity Leave For one or both parents, having a full-time job or greedy work that demands a huge chunk of time and attention might be incompatible with this life stage. Many might step away from their old jobs and into part-time positions where they can prioritise their responsibilities and protect their family time.

However, one of the most significant issues working part-time is that this detour might damage, pivot or delay their career goals.

6. Cut Yourself Slack

Returning to work for some mothers might be like riding a bike: effortlessly picking up where they left off. But for others, it might be challenging to adjust. Despite returning to the same work environment, you've undergone a profound life change in a short burst of time. In addition, you might be dealing with post-partum symptoms and mom fog that make it harder to dive back into your old life initially.

Takeaway

Expecting a baby is exciting, but many parents worry about how maternity leave affects their professional lives.

In this article, we've addressed the anxieties of new mothers’ and provided solutions for workplace issues surrounding maternity.

Is shared parental leave the ultimate solution? We delved into the advantages of this and how it can positively impact the trajectory of careers and parenthood for men and women while changing family dynamics.

Finally, we answered every question and provided tips on preparing for maternity leave to make the transition back to work easier.