Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department plans to take to help women get back into work after maternity leave.

A woman has the right to return to the same job if she has taken 26 weeks of maternity leave or less. If she has taken more than 26 weeks of maternity leave, she has the right to return to the same job or another job which is suitable and appropriate, if it is not reasonably practicable to give her the same job.

It is also possible for a woman to work up to 10 days during a period of maternity leave (with her employer’s agreement) without bringing her maternity leave or entitlement to statutory maternity pay to an end. These days are called ‘keeping in touch days’.

The Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme can make it easier for a mother, if she wishes, to return to work sooner by curtailing part of her maternity entitlement to provide for shared parental leave and/or pay for the father or her partner to take, subject to eligibility and compliance with the correct notification requirements. The Government is currently running a communication campaign to promote the scheme.

Flexible working can also help a returning mother balance her work with other responsibilities. In addition to the statutory right to request flexible working, we have established a Flexible Working Taskforce to work with groups representing business, workers and relevant interests, to respond to the Prime Minister’s call to businesses to make flexible working a reality for all employees by advertising all jobs as flexible from Day 1, unless there are solid business reasons not to.