THE government has been urged to double maternity pay instead of penalising women for having children.
Unison and Maternity Action have warned that women are being forced to cut short their maternity leave and skip meals because the current statuary amount is too low to survive on.
They have said that the statutory weekly amount should be upped to £364.70 so that mothers receive the equivalent of the national minimum wage of £10.42 an hour.
The current statuary maternity pay is 90 per cent of the mother’s average weekly earnings before tax for the first six weeks.
It then decreases to whichever is less out of either £172.48 or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings for another 33 weeks.
A Unison survey of 1,400 mothers found that a quarter of women on maternity leave had gone without eating, sometimes all day, so they could afford to feed their families.
Nearly half said they were buying less-healthy food to save money.
Financial pressures forced 58 per cent to return to work before they were ready.
Another 55 per cent said they had to turn down their heating, which was said to have led to problems with mould, damp and respiratory issues.
Women also worried about keeping their new babies warm enough
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “No mother should have to go without food or skip meals but the failure of maternity pay to keep up with increasing living costs is driving many pregnant workers and new mothers into severe financial hardship.
“The government is effectively forcing many women to choose between work and family.
“They must raise maternity leave pay to ensure no-one is penalised for having a baby.”
Maternity Action director Ros Bragg said: “Women should be reducing their stress levels during pregnancy and their child’s first year, not worrying about how to pay for essentials.
“Stress during pregnancy puts women at increased risk of post-natal depression and other mental health conditions.
“The government should be supporting pregnant women and new mothers to live healthy lives, not leaving them struggling to keep their house warm and eat a balanced diet.”
