Government to Overhaul Parental Leave and Pay in Landmark Review
Ministers have launched a wide-ranging review of the UK’s parental leave and pay system, aiming to simplify existing policies and better reflect the needs of modern families.
The review will assess all current entitlements, including maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave, bereavement leave, and unpaid parental leave.
At present, mothers can take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave—only the first six weeks are paid at 90% of average earnings, followed by 33 weeks at a statutory rate (£187.18 per week). Fathers are currently entitled to just two weeks’ paternity leave at the same statutory rate. Take-up remains low, with only one in three eligible fathers using it, largely due to financial concerns.
The Government is now exploring the introduct...
