Women are expected to benefit significantly from a series of workplace rights due to take effect next month, as reforms to sick pay and parental leave begin to come into force across the UK.
The measures form part of the Employment Rights Act, which introduces changes to statutory sick pay eligibility, paternity leave and parental leave. The reforms aim to widen access to workplace protections and address longstanding gaps affecting lower paid employees.
An analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the UK’s national trade union federation representing more than five million workers, suggested that millions of women could see improved support once the changes take effect.
Sick pay changes expected to reach millions
According to the TUC, around 4.7 million women are expected to benefit from stronger statutory sick pay provisions from April.
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The organisation said more than 830,000 women will become eligible for statutory sick pay for the first time. Many of those workers currently fall below the earnings threshold of £125 a week required to qualify under existing rules.
The TUC said low-paid workers, particularly women, had long faced the risk of having no financial protection when illness prevents them from working.
TUC chief Paul Nowak said the reforms address longstanding problems in the system. “For too long women have borne the brunt of a sick pay system that is not fit for purpose, and a culture of exploitative, insecure work,” he said.
“That’s why the Employment Rights Act is an important step forward for women at work.”
New parental leave rights from day one
Further changes linked to the Employment Rights Act will introduce day one rights for certain forms of parental leave.
Fathers and partners will gain a day one entitlement to paternity leave, while all parents will have the right to unpaid parental leave from the start of their employment rather than after a qualifying period.
The government said the wider package of measures is intended to strengthen job security and support working parents, particularly women who may face career disruption after having children.
A government spokesperson said the legislation would improve workplace protections while also strengthening the economy. “The Employment Rights Act is a huge boost for women in the workplace – introducing enhanced protections for pregnant women and new mothers, menopause action plans for large employers and rights for parental leave from day one,” they said.
“Women thriving in the workplace is not just important for equality but for boosting economic growth.”
Motherhood pay gap remains a concern
The reforms come amid continuing concerns about the financial impact of parenthood on women’s earnings.
Shared parental leave was introduced in 2014, allowing parents to divide up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of statutory pay following the birth or adoption of a child. Under current rules, new fathers can take two weeks of paid leave at a rate of either £187.18 a week or 90 percent of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
But research has shown that many mothers still face significant long-term pay reductions after having children.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that women’s average monthly earnings were 42 percent lower five years after the birth of their first child compared with their pay a year before the birth.
The reduction amounted to about £1,051 per month on average and translated into a total loss of £65,618 in earnings over five years.
The ONS said the decline reflected a pattern in which mothers become less likely to remain in paid employment or return to work at the same earning level after having children.
The forthcoming changes to sick pay and parental leave are intended in part to reduce some of the pressures that contribute to that gap, particularly among lower paid workers who have historically had the least access to employment protections.
