Women Ending Maternity Leave Early

Women are ending their maternity leave earlier than they would like to, according to a report from NCT, the UK's largest charity for parents.

The publication suggests that 43% of women return to work before the end of their maternity leave, with almost half (47%) of those women stating that concerns over job security was the reason.

The survey, undertaken on behalf of NCT by Survation, a member of the British Polling Council, also found:

• 76% of women aged 18-24 are likely to take more than 12 weeks maternity leave, compared with 85% of those aged 25 and above;
• 4% of women interviewed said they took less than two weeks maternity leave;
• Women aged 18-24 are more than twice as likely to take less than two weeks’ leave than those aged 25 and above;
• 29% of women said they would be concerned about job security, if they undertook flexible working; despite 70% saying they would prefer flexible working to extra parental leave.

In gathering the information for this report, 2,112 UK-based men and women were interviewed. Of the said 2,112 people, 1095 were new parents with children under the age of 5, while the remaining 1017 interviewed were men and women under 45, with no children under 5.

Commenting on the report, Belinda Phipps CEO of NCT said: “This report shows women are returning to work earlier than they would like to because of money worries or fears about job security. It also suggests that if the government wants parents to make use of shared parental leave they will need to increase dads’ paternity pay." Ms Phipps added: "It is high time we saw maternity and paternity pay raised – at least in line with the minimum wage – so that parents have greater choice about when to go back to work.”

The report, ‘Parental Leave Survey’ can be accessed at http://www.nct.org.uk/press-release/nct-research-finds-women-are-ending-maternity-leave-sooner-they-would

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