New European Union proposals to extend maternity leave to 20 weeks at full pay have been criticised as ‘unaffordable’ in the current economic climate by the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC). Current UK maternity leave entitles women up to a year off work, with six weeks at 90% pay, 33 weeks on Statutory Maternity Pay of just under £125 a week, and the rest unpaid.

The BCC claims that the move to 20 weeks at full pay will cost the UK £2.5bn. But others say that economic concerns, particularly short term ones, should not be a guiding force for policy of this nature. The chief executive of the National Childbirth Trust, Belinda Phipps, has said that these objections are invalid: “Those babies form the population of the future, so we shouldn’t be letting a temporary financial crisis drive our policy on supporting new mothers.”

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