Almost half of women (43%) are likely to return to work sooner than they would like after having their baby, according to a new NCT report. Of those, 47% said this is due to concerns over job security.
Some women are returning to work extremely quickly; overall 4% of those surveyed said they took less than two weeks maternity leave.
37% of women said they would not consider sharing parental leave with their partner. Of these, half (50%) said it was because they need the income generated by their partner’s pay.
Although over a third (36%) said that they felt it was their responsibility as a mother to stay at home and look after their children.
Belinda Phipps NCT, CEO said: “This report shows women are returning to work earlier than they would like to because of money worries or fears about job security. It also suggests that if the government wants parents to make use of shared parental leave they will need to increase dads’ paternity pay.
“It is high time we saw maternity and paternity pay raised – at least in line with the minimum wage – so that parents have greater choice about when to go back to work.”
Other key statistics
- 29% of women said they would be worried about job security if they took advantage of flexible working, and just 15% said they thought their job would be very secure
- 70% of women surveyed said they would prefer flexible working over more parental leave as a way to spend more time with their children, if they were to have a/another child
- Yet 59% of women said they were unaware that were able to request flexible working from their employers
- Women between 18 and 24 are more than twice as likely (7%) to take less than two weeks’ maternity leave than those aged 25 and over (3%)
- Younger women, aged 18-24, are the least likely to take more than 12 weeks of maternity leave – only 76%, compared to 85% of those aged 25 and over
