Statutory maternity and paternity pay is £4.99 per hour for a full-time worker on 37.5 hours per week - approximately 59% less than the 2024 National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour for workers aged 21+, which has been set out to ensure a basic standard of living.

If the National Living Wage is £12.21 per hour to legally enforce and ensure a basic standard of living, why is statutory maternity or paternity pay just £4.99 per hour? We feel that working parents, especially women, who contribute to the tax system are being pushed into poverty at their most vulnerable time. We believe this undermines family stability and suggests the Government does not prioritise childbirth or its economic value.