Maternity leave hike a threat to jobs: firms

CONTROVERSIAL new EU laws which propose to increase maternity leave to 20 weeks fully paid will devastate small businesses and cause further jobs losses if forced onto employers, it has been claimed.

Currently in this country women are entitled to 26 weeks’ statutory maternity pay, which is a maximum of 80% of their pay.

There is no legal obligation on an employer to ‘top up’ a salary and the top statutory rate is €265.60 per week.

Now however, proposed European laws aiming to standardise maternity rights and give all women 20 weeks full pay.

The proposal will be debated tomorrow in Strasbourg, with a vote on Wednesday.

Head of research at ISME Jim Curran said companies simply would not be able to afford to pay.

Mr Curran said if the measure was forced on employers here it would be devastating and could cause further job losses.

“At the moment the state pays 26 weeks, at this moment in time if companies were forced to pay it would have serious ramifications. Small Irish businesses would not be able to pay and it would put some companies out of business. They already have to pay for someone to cover the maternity leave so any additional payment would not be sustainable.”

The proposal comes after the European Parliament Women Rights Committee in February voted in favour of extending fully paid maternity leave from 14 to 20 weeks. The commission has proposed that new mothers shall be entitled to full paid leave for the 18 weeks of maternity leave but with a possibility for member states to set a ceiling at the level of sick pay.

However, changes to the EU’s Pregnant Workers’ Directive were put on hold in March amid protests that they would mean a massive extra burden on business if it were to become law.

A report last month estimated that extra cost across a sample of just 10 EU countries, including Britain, at €121.18 billion between now and 2030. Britain would bear 47% of the total says the report – £47,832 billion or £2.5bn a year.

Legislation on the length of maternity leave and how it is paid varies from one member state to another.

The current minimum EU requirement is that member states offer at least 14 weeks’ maternity leave, paid at no less than sickness pay in the member state concerned.