To recall, the Commission proposed in October 2008 a Directive amending Council Directive 92/85/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth, extending the minimum period of maternity leave from 14 to 18 weeks. However, last April, the European Parliament Women's Rights Committee voted to extend the period of paid maternity leave to 20 weeks. The European Parliament was divided over the issue but the EPP and ALDE groups were able to block Edite Estrela’s report at the last plenary session before the European elections. The European Parliament voted the report back to Committee.
Presently, legislation on the length of maternity leave and how it is paid varies from one Member State to another. Whereas France, the Netherlands and Spain offer 16 weeks the UK offers 52 weeks. The UK has already adopted legislation which gives pregnant workers entitlements which go beyond most of the minimum requirements of the 1992 Directive and the proposed amending Directive. Moreover, not all EU Member States offer fully paid maternity leave for the total available period. Therefore, it should be the Member States and not Brussels to decide on maternity leave issues and, particularly, on social security benefits.
On 23 February, the European Parliament Women Rights Committee voted, again, 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. Hence, Member States would be allowed to fix a lower amount which must not be less than the national rate paid to those on sickness leave.
In the UK, new mothers received 90 per cent of their average earnings for the first six weeks, and then Statutory Maternity Pay is £123 for the remaining 33 weeks. State paid Maternity Allowance has a ceiling of £123 during 39 weeks of payment. Consequently, the UK’s ceiling is substantially above the level of statutory sick pay which is £79. Pat McFadden, Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, has said to the European Scrutiny Committee “(…) The potential of full pay is a significant spending risk and is at variance with the UK’s general scheme of benefit payments. (…) While a mandatory move to full pay during maternity leave is not the Commission’s intention and pay may be subject to a ceiling, the UK will be seeking further legal clarity in this area.” However, the Women's Rights Committee has voted to introduce compulsory payment of workers on maternity leave full salary, which “must be 100% of their last monthly salary or their average monthly salary.” Such amendment, if adopted, would entail an increase in maternity pay in the UK.
Under the Commission’s proposal a mother would be obliged to take from the 18 weeks a compulsory leave of at least six weeks after childbirth. The MEPs also voted to require new mothers to take six weeks compulsory maternity leave following birth. Consequently, women would be prevented to go back to work for six weeks after having their babies. Such proposal would create additional costs as the UK provides for a compulsory leave of two weeks after birth. According to the Government’s draft Impact Assessment, the annual costs would be around £3.7 million for the Exchequer, around £843,000 for small businesses and around £1.7 million a year for large businesses.
Moreover, Member States would be required to ensure that women can choose when to take the non-compulsory part of maternity leave. Therefore, the remaining part could be taken before or after labour. In the UK, women may take their maternity leave any time from the 11 week before the due date. Several Member States want to keep the right to decide within their national legislation which part of maternity leave must be taken before and after childbirth.
The Committee has also included in the proposal fully paid paternity leave of two weeks within the period of maternity leave.
The Commission’s proposal is facing strong opposition from several Member States. In fact, Member States are concerned that Commission’s proposal would further increase employers’ costs as well as social security expenditure. According to the Government’s Impact Assessment from February 2009, the Commission’s proposal would entail annual costs of around £6.9m. However, the Government has assumed that it would be able to keep the SMP as a ceiling on maternity pay. Moreover, it has not calculated the costs of the amendments proposed by the Women's Rights Committee. According to the Institute of Directors if such amendments are adopted the UK might face a bill of £2bn a year.
Lord Young has stressed that “We already have a generous system which is better than many EU countries and works well, balancing the needs of business and workers.” Moreover, he said “A substantial increase in maternity leave paid at full or near-full pay risks undermining this delicate balance at a time when economies across the EU can least afford it.”
Moreover, some Member States are also concerned with the possible negative consequences of a further extension of maternity leave, as regards the situation of women on the labour market. According to BusinessEurope, the employment rate of women would not be improved by extending the terms of maternity leave. In fact, it argued that more regulation might discourage employers from hiring women. According to Marina Yannakoudakis, Women's Rights Committee spokesperson for the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, "Stricter EU rules on maternity leave will make it harder for women of child bearing age to get work, particularly in small businesses. Small business owners with only a handful of staff are struggling to meet payroll costs already, without the EU forcing them to pay a member of staff for five months without a day's work."
The European Parliament will vote on the proposal on 25 March. Edite Estrela is confident that, this time, the Eureapn Parliament will approve her report. The Government wants to ensure that the proposal would be compatible with the UK existing provisions. However, the UK would not be able to veto the draft directive as QMV is required at the Council. It remains to be seen what will come out from the negotiations.
