Changes to maternity leave and pay as part of spending cuts
- 00:01:30
- ITN
Changes to maternity leave and pay as part of spending cuts
A Government pledge to extend maternity pay to a year is expected to be scrapped, because it is too expensive. According to reports, increasing statutory maternity pay from nine months to a year is the first major victim of Gordon Brown's spending squeeze. The additional payment would have cost £500 million and would have been worth £1,600 to eligible families. However, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is expected to announce fathers are to be able to claim up to six months paternity leave. The move will allow parents to split the time off, so that mothers can go back to work after six months and fathers can take time off work instead claiming pay for the first three months. Fathers can currently claim up to two weeks of paternity leave. While the change will be popular with the unions, who the Prime Minister is addressing at the TUC conference in Liverpool, it has been opposed by many businesses.
ITN | September 15, 2009
