Maternity leave

Thorntons amps up family-friendly policies

Law firm Thorntons has introduced new family-friendly policies, including trebling paid maternity leave and upping paternity leave to 12 weeks.

Banker awarded £300k over sex and maternity discrimination

A banker whose responsibilities were eroded while on maternity leave has won her seven-year legal battle against Commerzbank.

Pregnant worker given parenting tips before sacking wins tribunal case

A woman made redundant two months before she was due to go on maternity leave has won £130,000 from an employment tribunal.

Proposed Neonatal Care Bill offers flexibility to working parents

The government's proposed Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill has undergone a second reading in parliament.

Low paternity pay makes fathers reluctant to take leave

Low paternity pay meant just a third of eligible new fathers took paternity leave in the last year.

Adoption and surrogacy – What HR needs to know

Adoption and surrogacy rates in the UK are on the rise – in the year ending March 2020, there were 3,440 adoptions and 413 parental orders following a surrogacy arrangement.

Rising childcare costs outstrip maternity pay

The UK's childcare costs are the highest in the developed world, yet maternity pay has dipped over the last 12 years.

TikTok boss slammed for criticising maternity leave

News that a senior TikTok boss has reportedly told London staff he doesn't think companies should offer paid maternity leave has been universally condemned as out of touch and even “dangerous.”

Half of employers advertising legal requirements as job perks

UK employers are advertising pensions, sick pay and training as job perks despite them being obliged to offer them by law.

The problems with Shared Parental Leave

Lockdown 2020 and my wife and I were delighted to find out we were expecting our first child. 

Talent war boosts maternity and parental leave packages

A majority (79%) of employers now offer enhanced maternity pay, compared with 57% in 2017, according to a new poll.

Employers not telling staff about SPL

?Almost two-thirds (63%) of employers do not tell dads-to-be about their right to request Shared Parental Leave (SPL), according to research by PowWowNow