26 February 2004 - Publication of DWP in-house research reports: Maternity and Paternity Rights in Britain 2002: survey of parents, and; Maternity Rights in Britain 2002: Survey of Employers
Two research reports conducted by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) were published today.
The Survey of Parents was jointly funded by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Trade and Industry. This research outlines the provision, awareness, take up and views of family friendly working practices including maternity and parental leave in 2002.
In addition the study explores women’s engagement in the labour market during and following their pregnancy.
Alongside this research DWP commissioned a survey of employers to explore their awareness of maternity rights and benefits; describe the schemes employers provide above the statutory minimum and identify how, if at all, these were affected by maternity rights and benefits legislation.
The research also examines how employers perceive maternity rights legislation to operate in practice whilst identifying any difficulties with the requirements of the legislation.
Both reports serve as a baseline against which to track how awareness, experiences, behaviour, provision and take up of maternity and paternity rights change following the implementation of reforms to maternity and paternity rights and benefits in 2003.
They also provide a time series of information following a similar format to that conducted in 1996 allowing us to examine the impact of 1999 legislative changes.
The main findings on Maternity Rights are as follows:
Maternity and Paternity Rights in Britain 2002: Survey of Parents
- Almost all women who worked for at least 26 weeks between 31 August 1999 and the birth of their baby qualified for some form of maternity pay.
- Among women who worked as employees during pregnancy, reported levels of awareness of their statutory maternity rights were generally high, especially of employment rights and general aspects of maternity leave and pay. Levels of awareness were lower on specific details of the legislation, such as the earnings thresholds for entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance.
- The great majority of mothers who were employees during pregnancy (85 per cent) were entitled to additional maternity leave (AML). However three-quarters of mothers entitled to 30–40 weeks AML took less than this amount. Among women who had worked as employees during pregnancy and who were entitled to AML, taking advantage of their full entitlement to AML (or more) was strongly associated with being in a higher paid job during pregnancy. For women entitled to AML Occupational Maternity Pay (OMP) played a key role in enabling women to take a greater proportion of the statutory entitlement.
- About two-fifths of women who worked as employees during pregnancy reported that they received OMP. This represents an increase since the 1996 PSI Survey when a fifth of women who worked as employees during their pregnancy reported receiving some form of OMP. The receipt of OMP was associated with women’s occupational level, higher pay, full-time work, larger establishment size, longer years of continuous service, trade union representation and membership and the number of work-life balance policies provided by employers.
- About eight in ten women who were in work during pregnancy were entitled to SMP. Ninety per cent of these women received either SMP for the full 18 weeks to which they were entitled or extra-statutory maternity pay that exceeded SMP levels. Three per cent of women who qualified for SMP received SMP for less than 18 weeks. The remaining 22 per cent who were in work during pregnancy qualified for MA.
Maternity Rights in Britain 2002: Survey of Employers
- Employers reported a high level of awareness of various aspects of the maternity rights legislation. However, awareness was higher for regulations relating to maternity leave compared with issues of pay and benefits. Levels of awareness were higher in 2002 than they had been in 1996. It is reasonable to conclude that the greater awareness of maternity rights legislation in 2002 compared with 1996 may be related to a greater reliance on outside specialists and agencies.
- Seventeen per cent of all establishments provided extra-statutory maternity benefits. There was a clear association between size and sector of establishment and the probability of providing extra benefits. A fifth of establishments reported that there were restrictions on access to the additional maternity benefits at their establishment.
- Most establishments (86 per cent) that were aware of the legislative changes and had experienced a pregnancy since January 2000 said that the changes did not affect their administrative workload or affected it only marginally.
Notes for editors
- “Maternity and Paternity Rights in Britain 2002: Survey of Parents ”(In-house Research Report 131), and;“ Maternity Rights in Britain 2002: Survey of Employers” (In-house Research Report 130) are published on 26th February 2004.
- The Survey of Parents was based on two large scale quantitative postal surveys, one of mothers who gave birth in January 2001, and the other of their partners. Fieldwork took place in spring 2002. Only women who had worked for at least 26 weeks between 31 August 1999 and the birth of their baby were included in analysis and reporting. This is because these women would qualify for at least the most basic statutory maternity leave and pay provision. The research was conducted by the Policy Studies Institute. The report’s authors were Maria Hudson, Stephen Lissenburgh and Melahat Sahin-Dikmen.
- The Survey of Employers was based on a large scale quantitative telephone survey of employers from January to April 2002. The research was conducted by the Policy Studies Institute. The report’s authors were Dorothe Bonjour and Stephen Lissenburgh.
- Details of the 1996 research are as follows: Callender, C., N Millward, S. Lissenburgh and J.Forth (1997) Maternity Rights and Benefits in Britain, DSS Research Report No. 67
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