New UK maternity legislation discourages business from employing women
August 2, 2007 by Andy Merrett · Leave a Comment
New research by the software company Citrix Online suggests that over half of the employers surveyed believe new maternity legislation introduced in Britain on 1st April this year is making some managers think twice about recruiting women.
34% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) were unaware of the new legislation, which includes the extension of statutory maternity pay from 6 to 9 months, and the removal of qualifying criteria so that all mothers are entitled to 12 months of maternity leave.
30% of employers surveyed thought that it would be harder to retain talented women in the workforce, while 26% thought the latest changes would have a commercially negative impact.
