Protect New Mothers: Say No to Cuts in Maternity Pay
- by: Care2.com
- recipient: United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron
The United Kingdom Trades Union Congress (TUC) is warning that new plans to revamp maternity and paternity leave might lead to pay cuts for new mothers.
The new plan proposes that once initial maternity and paternity leave is over, parents will "share their overall leave allowance between them, dividing it up in the way that suits them best." Pay, however, presents an interesting conflict.
Currently, statutory maternity leave is set at 52 weeks. This plan allows women to receive 90% of their normal salary for the first 26 weeks.
Under the new plan, leave would be cut to 18 weeks, thus allowing for pay to be cut significantly earlier and causing financial problems for new mothers. As the TUC pointed out, it would "feel like a huge pay cut to thousands of women."
Don't let new mothers suffer extreme pay cuts. Demand that under the new plan, mothers will still be entitled to the majority of their salary for the first 26 weeks of maternity leave.
The new maternity and paternity leave plan is designed to help new parents, but may end up hurting them in the long run.
Currently maternity pay at 90% of a woman's salary is set at 26 weeks. Cutting it to 18 puts the mother and family at risk financially. Families, especially new families, depend on this money to help get their family going. If it is cut it may force women to go back to work early, or put a financial burden on the family that they are not prepared for.
Do not punish men and women for having children by forcing an earlier pay cut during maternity leave. Protect new families and help them prosper by setting a 26 week minimum before allowing maternity leave pay to be cut.
