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EU demands six weeks of compulsory leave for women after childbirth
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent19 Nov 2008
WOMEN face being banned from working for six weeks after childbirth under European Commission plans.
City workers and other professionals could see their careers suffer because of the new rules, say MPs.
The Government is battling to stop the extended compulsory leave, as well as other measures, in a draft EU directive on maternity. But the legislation will be decided by qualified majority voting so Britain is unable to veto it.
"Many women in high-pressured jobs will want much more flexibility in handling those first few weeks after childbirth than simply a blanket ban on working," said the Conservative MP for Putney, Justine Greening. "It's not for the EU to mandate what mothers should do."
Mother-of-seven Elizabeth Knox, a partner with law firm Clifford Chance, is one of the "supermums" who have taken short maternity leave. Mrs Knox never took more than six weeks off after giving birth and was once back at work within two weeks.
Currently, women who work in office-based jobs in Britain have to take two weeks off after childbirth, and female factory workers four weeks.
A Department for Business spokesman said: "While we support the Commission's aim of helping parents balance work and family life, we already have very generous and progressive measures in this area, so we are not convinced of the need for further legislation at European level."
Employment relations minister Pat McFadden has raised a string of further concerns about the Commission's draft directive, which includes:
● A big increase in maternity pay.
● Preventing firms from refusing requests for flexible working on the grounds of "business needs" alone.
● Allowing mothers who have multiple births, or whose babies are hospitalised, premature or have a disability, to have more time off.
● Letting women take the non-compulsory part of maternity leave whenever they want after becoming pregnant.
Mr McFadden fears that the EU plans would heap further costs on businesses, as well as increasing the Treasury's social security bill.
The Commission's proposals include full pay for the first 18 weeks, although individual states could cap these payments.
In Britain, new mothers currently receive 90 per cent of their average salary for six weeks followed by 33 weeks at a flat rate of statutory maternity pay of £117.18 a week. The Government is seeking clarification from Brussels over the apparent tripling of maternity pay as the wording of the document is confusing.
On flexible working, Mr McFadden said: "The UK is concerned that the draft does not allow requests to be refused on grounds of business needs alone."
In Britain, pregnant women can take maternity leave from the 11th week before their baby is due. The minister argued that allowing far greater flexibility could be to the detriment of babies as women could stop working at the start of their pregnancy and then have to return shortly after giving birth.
Mr McFadden also claimed that varying the length of maternity leave, currently a year in Britain, according to the type of birth would add an administrative burden to many firms and create uncertainty for mothers and bosses over time off.
Reader views (7)
The trouble is the UK has a way more Capitalist work ethic than Europe: realistically, the woman cited as having 7 children and returning to work 2 weeks later at a top accountancy firm probably had a whole team of domestic workers helping her like a Nanny, a gardner and a cleaner doing the 'Mummy' job whilst she worked. Just like most fathers, in fact - but we don't call them 'Super Dads'.
What women in the UK need is the support to stay at home with children whilst they are very small, if they want to - if, for example, they cannot afford a team of nannies. Here in France, you get a large tax rebate (families are taxed as a unit, not the father and mother seperately) in the first year you have a third child, free rail transport for the family and Assistance Maternel - someone local who is paid to come in for an hour or two to help with things like washing or shopping. The idea is to assist tax payers in reproducing to reverse the population decline, rather than just create a freebies-for-babies environment.
Children are the future tax payers of Society and very necessary: they shouldn't be shoved into the background as a nuisance or a hobby and they shouldn't be the burden of businesses: the State should play a more effective role.
- Roz, Chamonix, France, 20/11/2008 14:18
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Tobin. You decided to have a child. Why should the rest of us subsidise you and your family? I haven't had two weeks off for years despite having a family.
- Serena, Steep UK, 20/11/2008 13:35
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The EU should be banned from making cock-eyed policies for the next 6 years.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland, 20/11/2008 13:33
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There it is. Fascism: "a government strong enough to give you everything you want and therefore strong enough to take away from you everything you have." Including freedom.
Well, Euroids, wallow in your vaunted socialist freedom!
- Richard L. Kent, Esq., Eastpointe, MI, 20/11/2008 11:02
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How about sorting out paternity leave. I recently became a father and was only entitled to two weeks at severely reduced pay.
- Tobin, Andover, 20/11/2008 05:24
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Great so the rest of us have to carry them even longer.
If people want kids, don't expect those of us that do to suffer working more.
Just don't have them.
- P IStaker, London, 19/11/2008 17:18
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Clearly we do not all live in the same world. Given that there is a recession in near as XXXX it in the whole of the EU, what do our bureaucrats do - make us all less competitive. If I was a major manufacturer looking to set up a new factory - where would I do it? in the EU with increasingly oppressive labour laws or China or India or Malaysia? What would do if I were a small or medium sized company and I had the choice of employing a woman of child bearing age or a man?? The costs. Duh!
- Jeremy E, London, 19/11/2008 16:24
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