Thursday

28th Mar 2024

UK protests at EU maternity leave proposals

  • London says the proposals would double its maternity leave expenditure (Photo: European Commission)

Plans to extend maternity leave in the EU to 20 weeks have come under fire by the British government a week before the proposal is due to be voted on in European Parliament.

Set to put forward the harshest budget in years on Tuesday (20 October) as it aims to slash its budget deficit of about 11 percent of GDP, London is balking at the new EU legislation which it says would cost it billions of pounds.

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MEPs are to vote on revising a 1992 law on maternity leave to give women 20 weeks on full pay and granting fathers two weeks of paid leave. The current version of the law requires women to be given 14 weeks of minimum sick pay leave.

"The amendments put forward by MEPs on maternity and paternity pay would cost us up to 2.4 billion pounds (€2.7 billion)," said a UK government spokesperson, according to AFP.

"To put this into context, we currently spend around two billion pounds a year on maternity pay, meaning the cost would effectively double."

The MEPs' version of the law is markedly more generous than the 18 weeks giving pay level discretion to member states the European Commission had originally proposed.

EU commissioner for fundamental rights Viviane Reding at the end of September warned euro-deputies of the potential costs for member states of the revised proposals.

The bill has been the subject of huge interest and lobbying as it goes through parliament. It was voted on in committee in February but a full plenary vote, due in March, was postponed so an impact assessment could be carried out.

Critics argue that it would place and undue burden on businesses at a time when they are already struggling due to the economic crisis. In addition, several governments have indicated they are against upping spending in this area when they have to push through severe cost-cutting measures in other areas to rein in spending.

Supporters of the parliament's version say the legislation would help the work-life balance.

"Too much focus on costs may obscure other less tangible benefits such as health effects as well as socio-economic benefits like the fertility rate and reducing the risk of child poverty", said Konstantina Davaki of the London School of Economics and Political Science, at a recent parliament workshop on the issue.

Once parliament takes it vote, the law will go back to member states' table.

MEPs propose longer maternity leave

MEPs have proposed extending maternity leave in the European Union to 20 weeks, a move that has sparked criticism over potential costs to already strained budgets. Meanwhile, some MEPs complained that the draft legislation focusses too much on mothers and not enough on fathers.

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