New mothers embarking on maternity leave not expected to return
News Article - 31 August 2011
Category:
Business
Two-thirds of UK employers do not expect new mothers to return
to work after a lengthy period of maternity leave, according to a
report published this week by HR consultancy, Reabur.
The study was conducted following analysis from Mel Stride,
Conservative MP for Central Devon, who questioned the rules
allowing staff from companies employing 10 or fewer people to take
up to 52 weeks off on maternity leave.
Almost two-thirds of employers (64 per cent) admitted they did
not expect mothers to return to work following maternity leave, of
which 47 per cent revealed they felt this way due to past
experience.
41 per cent of employers polled said they had a 'return to work'
policy in place for mothers returning from leave, with more than
three quarters (76 per cent) revealing they offered returning
mothers part-time working hours.
Kirsty Burgess, co-MD of Reabur, believes employers shouldn't
have to expect members of staff not to return after maternity
leave.
"Having a child needn't change women's career choices at all,
and employers shouldn't necessarily expect a member of staff not to
return," she said.
"Although many women do indeed decide to take further time off,
this is in no way the norm, especially with the rising cost of
childcare it has become more essential for women to return to
work.
"This is a personal decision for an individual to make, and
employers need to be really careful about making assumptions - if
that message gets back to the employee they could find themselves
defending a discrimination claim."
However, the survey suggests some employees (23 per cent) simply
don't want new mothers to return after maternity leave because they
would "lack enthusiasm" in comparison to newly-acquired staff
members.
In order to manage the recruitment and HR process more
efficiently many growing businesses are choosing to integrate HR business software. SMEs
seek to ensure the smooth transition of new starters and the
process of expectant mothers going on maternity leave and returning
to work, thus allowing HR departments to support every aspect of
the employee lifecycle.
Article keywords:
maternity, hr issues, hr
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