Mothers in Britain receive third lowest maternity pay in EU

Maternity pay in Britain is the third lowest in the European Union, a global study into state provision for new mothers reveals today.

A British mother earning £15,000 receives £2,458 statutory pay in the six months after leaving work – less than in all EU countries except Luxembourg and Greece.

Research by Mercer Human Resource Consulting shows that the most generous entitlements are in Denmark, Italy and Sweden where, using the same example, mothers receive £6,756, £6,058 and £6,000 respectively, compared with an EU average of £4,198. Outside the European Union, the highest level of benefits was offered by Norway, where a woman earning £15,000 annually would receive £7,500 during six months' leave.

Maternity benefits are lower outside Europe, and in the United States women only receive state aid if they qualify for short-term disability or sick-leave benefits.

The report's authors said Britain would remain in the bottom quarter of the 60 countries studied if the research were updated to include more generous state provisions for parents announced in the last budget.

From 6 April, statutory maternity leave will rise to 90 per cent for the first six weeks plus 20 weeks at £100, compared with the current six weeks at 90 per cent of pay and £75 for the remaining 12 weeks. Total statutory leave will increase from 40 to 52 weeks.

Time off for mothers in Britain is the fifth most generous among EU countries, the survey found. Only Sweden, Denmark, Italy and Finland were more generous, offering 96, 50, 47 and 44 weeks respectively. But researchers said many mothers could not afford to take their full entitlement under the current system or its successor.

Gary Bowker, employment law consultant at Mercer, said: "Britain is among countries which offer long leave entitlements but low statutory pay, and women may not be able to afford to take extended leave."

Belinda Phipps, of the National Childbirth Trust, said many women could not afford to stay off work until the end of their entitlement. She said: "Six months is nothing in terms of the life of a woman's career and the benefits of the extra time spent at home to a baby. Women should not be under financial pressure too early."

However, many employers argue that the trend towards longer leave for mothers and fathers in Britain would undermine competitiveness and lead to unemployment. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) believes some flexibility should be left to help manufacturing industries survive.

A survey by the CBI published earlier this year showed that 27 per cent of employers paid more than statutory maternity pay and 26 per cent allowed new mothers more than the minimum leave. The more generous sectors were financial services and utility companies.

The issue of state support for mothers is part of a drive to achieve a work-family balance being promoted by ministers. But sceptics claim the Government's family-friendly agenda is to highlight the working tax credit, child tax credit and better leave for parents planned for the Budget in April, eclipsing tax rises for the childless.

Karen Gadsden, 30 - 'I pleaded for an extra two weeks off'

In theory, Karen Gadsden, 30, had up to a year after the birth of her daughter, Cerys, to go back to her job as arts teacher at a west London school.

But she was forced by the family finances and cost of child care to drastically reduce the breastfeeding and go back to work. Her paid leave ran out after 18 weeks and, just as she was due to start at a school in Acton, her five-month-old daughter stopped eating. "I pleaded with the headmistress to give me another two weeks off [unpaid] and she agreed, probably because she has children of her own," said Ms Gadsden. "I eventually returned two days before the end of the summer term and was entitled to payment for the school holidays, which was lucky."

She returned part-time in September, dashing to the staff toilets between lessons to siphon off breast milk for use later. "I think it is hypocritical of the Government to promote the virtues of breast milk when the system doesn't make it realistic."