Almost 29,000 families in Scotland received maternity pay last year worth over £200 million, official figures show.
Official figures from the Department of Work and Pensions revealed that in 2022-23 £206.3 million was paid in maternity pay to 24,900 families in Scotland.
A further 4,540 families benefited from Maternity Allowance September 2022 to September 2023, with the allowance being worth £19.1 million in 2022/23.
Statutory maternity pay starts at 90 per cent of average weekly earnings for six weeks – then falls to either £184.03 or 90 per cent of the mother’s average salary for 33 weeks.
Labour’s Employment Rights Bill – which has its second reading this week – is set to bring an additional 1.5 million parents into scope by making Parental Leave a right from the first day of work.
The Bill will also bring in new protections for pregnant women, as an estimated 4,000 pregnant women and mothers returning from Maternity Leave a year are dismissed each year at present
It comes after Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch described maternity pay as “excessive”.
Scottish Labour MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Melanie Ward said: “While Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch believes that maternity pay is excessive, in reality it supported almost 29,000 families in Scotland last year, and more support for working families is on the way.
“Labour’s Employment Rights Bill will give working people more security and make work pay, which in turn will fire up growth.
“This is biggest upgrade on workers rights in a generation and will be a game-changer for working families, and offer new protections for pregnant women, an estimated 4,000 of whom return to work from maternity leave only to be dismissed.
“A better deal for workers is a better deal for families, and that will lead to the growth our country needs to see.”
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