Duration of enhanced pay during leave ranges from three to 52 weeks
Research into maternity and paternity benefits has revealed that organisations in the UK differ enormously when it comes to length and level of pay they offer staff.
The study of benefits with more than 100 employers, by service provider My Family Care, found that the length of enhanced pay for parental leave ranged from three weeks to a full year.
A quarter of organisations reported that they only offer statutory maternity pay, worth 90 per cent of a worker’s salary for six weeks, followed by 33 weeks at £138, while 16 per cent offered only statutory paternity pay. There was a high degree of overlap between these firms.
Respondents with more than 5,000 employees told the survey they provided enhanced maternity pay, with the majority of these offering enhanced pay for new fathers as well.
Results also showed that there is little consistency in parental benefits by sector, although the legal and banking sectors were, perhaps unsurprisingly, over represented at the more comprehensive end of benefits offered.
Several companies also reported that they structure their maternity pay to include back to work bonuses.
The provider said it had conducted the study after a think tank event where HR professionals expressed an interest in gaining greater knowledge of how competitive their maternity and paternity benefits were.
Jennifer Liston-Smith, director of coaching and consultancy at My Family Care, said: “It is not a topic that is often discussed in public, and clients are often at a loss to know whether their market-leading provisions are still market-leading year-on-year. So, now businesses can see where they can shout about their unique benefits, or where they might even be able to afford to trim their offering and spend funds on other resources and benefits for maternity returners rather than purely on pay.”
Commenting on the findings that the best packages for new parents were supported by the legal and banking sectors Liston-Smith added: “These industries do have a reputation for having an unfriendly work-life culture and they are aware that one of the leaks in their female talent pipeline is around the maternity transition. So it’s easy to understand why they would offer generous maternity packages, such as bonuses after four months of returning to work. In our experience, those who lead the field also focus on ensuring systems are in place to smooth the transition too, with managers being aware and equipped for good conversations and individuals having the skills to manage smart ways of working for themselves.
“Another striking find on the pay side is the fact that one in four companies offer only statutory maternity pay * - a sign of the times as businesses still need to hold expenditure back. However, it’s the companies who invest in their family-friendly working practices that are able to retain and nurture talent over time.”
Ed Bowyer, employment partner at law firm Hogan Lovells , commented: “It’s very interesting to see what other companies are doing. We believe it is very important to support our staff while they are on leave – and upon their return – so we provide attractive rewards for individuals with a view to retaining our people for the long term.”
To view the full results visit the My Family Care website to download the study.