What Is Maternity Leave? Everything You Should Know

Maternity leave is a compulsory employee benefit in many countries, but its application isn’t always the same. The length of leave, amount of maternity pay, and specific prerequisites differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. If you’re hiring globally, you need to understand all the applicable regulations to remain compliant—and that can be hard to do alone.

In this guide, you’ll find comprehensive answers to all your questions about maternity leave.

Why You Need To Manage International Maternity Leave Effectively

If you’re new to hiring international talent, you’ll soon discover providing benefits to a global team can be challenging and time-consuming. Each country and jurisdiction has its own labour laws and regulations you must follow; maternity leave is just one of them.

As a global business, you need to understand all the intricacies of providing maternity leave on an international scale to attract and retain talent and remain compliant. This includes costs, duration, employee prerequisites, and other employer obligations. If you don’t comply, you risk fines or legal action - and employee retention may suffer too!

Thankfully, working with a trusted global employment partner and Employer of Record (EOR) like Omnipresent can help you manage maternity (and parental) leave with ease.

Maternity Leave Definition and Applicability

Maternity leave is a type of leave that mothers or birthing parents typically take shortly before and after giving birth. In some cases, it applies when adopting a child too. Maternity leave is defined in local employment law and differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It may be paid, unpaid, or paid in part.

The purpose of maternity leave is to give new mothers adequate time to give birth, recover, care for, and bond with their new baby before returning to work. During this time, the employer has a legal obligation to hold the employee’s job.

Some employers may offer employees additional maternity benefits within their employment contracts. This could involve additional payments or extended maternity leave, for example. Even in countries where paid maternity or parental leave is not mandated, employers can give themselves a competitive edge with a generous package.

Who Is Entitled to Maternity Leave?

In many countries, maternity leave is available to biological mothers and those adopting or fostering children. In some, these benefits extend to fathers and other parents (see below).

However, there are often prerequisites that a pregnant employee must meet in order to qualify for statutory maternity leave. These eligibility criteria may include:

• The employee’s length of continuous service with their employer
• The employee’s contribution to certain state funds, such as national insurance
• The employer’s size (e.g., the number of employees in the company)

Sometimes, notice periods and proof of pregnancy are also required. This is another area where employers can set themselves apart by making their policies regarding prerequisites and documentation easily accessible and transparent rather than difficult to understand and follow. 

Are Fathers Entitled to Maternity Leave?

Fathers and secondary caregivers may be entitled to paid paternity leave or parental leave instead of or in addition to a mother’s maternity leave policy. The length of paternity and parental leave differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but it’s typically less than maternity leave.

In some countries, like the UK, parents may be able to share parental benefits, meaning each spends a period of time off work to look after their new baby. In some cases, parental leave can be taken to look after older children too, sometimes up to the age of 18.

‘Family leave’ is a phrase that encompasses maternity, paternity, parental, and adoption leave. Many employers opt to take a more inclusive approach to family leave, allowing primary and secondary caregivers to take paid leave regardless of their gender. This typically goes above and beyond statutory requirements and aims to foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Companies offering a gender-inclusive or gender-neutral parental leave policy may benefit from increased employee engagement and retention. It may even help you attract more diverse talent. As reported by HR Magazine, business leaders, political representatives, and impacted families are all in favour of family leave, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Do Employees Get Paid During Maternity Leave?

In the vast majority of countries, employees receive some form of maternity pay or allowance during their leave. However, it’s worth noting there’s often a difference between maternity leave and maternity pay. As a result, employees may only receive maternity pay for part of their entitled leave.

On the other hand, some major markets do not mandate any pay for maternity leave. The US doesn’t include any legal provision for paid maternity leave at the federal level. It does mandate 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid maternity leave, but only 60% of workers are eligible. Similarly, Papua New Guinea offers no statutory maternity pay, opting for just six weeks of unpaid leave instead. In these markets, you likely do not need to provide paid maternal leave. However, it should be considered a best practice.

For example, even though the US has no federal mandate for paid maternity leave, 13 individual states within it do have active laws requiring employers to provide some form of maternal pay to mothers on leave. New York, in particular, requires companies to purchase insurance to cover these expenses. And, even absent any form of legal mandate, providing a competitive benefits package that includes robust maternity leave and pay will attract top talent to your company.

Who Pays for Maternity Leave Benefits?

Local regulations determine who pays for maternity pay: the employer, the state (through social security), or a combination of the two. In Nigeria, for example, maternity pay is paid entirely by the employer, whereas in Spain, Norway, and France, it’s paid by social security.

The UK is an example of a country that uses a mixture of public funds and employer liability to pay for maternity leave. Employers are responsible for paying Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) to their employees through payroll, but they can often reclaim 92% of it back from HMRC, the UK tax authority. In the US, states that mandate paid maternal leave pay for it through state and city-level taxes, with the exception of New York (which requires insurance, as noted above).

If you’re looking to hire the best talent, you may choose to offer more than statutory pay for your employees. This enables new parents to be able to afford to take sufficient time off to recover and look after their new child.

Other benefits of offering comprehensive paid parental leave are:

• Improved retention
• Better talent acquisition
• Increased employee engagement

Supporting families in their time of need paints a positive image in employees’ minds. This reputation spreads across the public at large—both within a given market and across the world. Even if it incurs greater up-front costs, providing robust maternity benefits can create long-term value for every company.

How Is Maternity Leave Calculated?

Maternity pay is calculated differently in every jurisdiction. It will typically be a percentage of the employee’s previous salary or a predefined recurring lump sum.

In some countries, like Austria, employees on maternity leave receive 100% of their previous salary for the full duration of statutory leave, but this is not the case for all countries. According to the OECD, the majority of its member countries provide maternity payments that replace over 50% of an employee’s previous earnings. See below for a breakdown of countries with the most generous mandates for paid maternity leave as of comprehensive 2023 data per OECD. 

Calculating maternity pay for variable pay employees, such as salespeople, adds another level of complexity to the matter. Commission and bonus schemes may or may not be included in calculations depending on various factors, so where uncertain you may wish to consider seeking professional advice in this scenario.

Breakdown of Paid Maternal Leave by Country

The biggest consideration when determining payments for mothers on leave is how much you need to pay (by % of an employee’s total salary) and for how long. Both factors vary widely.

OECD countries with average payment rates of 75% or more for paid maternity leave include:

Interestingly, even among these high-rate countries, the length of time (in weeks) that the pay replacement is guaranteed varies widely, from 6 at the low end (Portugal) to 58.6 (Bulgaria). In some cases, a lower rate paid for longer can create a higher full-rate equivalent. For example, Slovak Republic’s 75% paid over 34 weeks is equivalent to 25.5 weeks of full-time pay, which is a higher total compensation than countries that mandate 100% pay for 25 or fewer weeks.

In addition, some countries create more favourable, comprehensive packages for mothers and families when considering broader paid familial leave in addition to maternal pay alone.

For example, Slovenia’s 15 weeks of paid maternity leave may appear to be less generous than Colummbia’s 18 weeks of 100% pay. But, when adding in a paid parental leave policy—which Columbia does not provide, at present—Slovenia offers 52 total weeks of paid parental leave to families.

Another notable country in this regard is Estonia, which provides 14.3 weeks of maternal leave paid at 100% and another 67.9 weeks of familial leave, also paid at 100%—a total of 82.1 weeks.

What this all means for employers is that maternity leave needs to be a serious consideration when employing in any country. It can be a sizable portion of the compensation provided to employees, and it can be challenging to understand—and meet—legal obligations on this front.

Do Employees Receive Benefits While on Maternity Leave?

You may be wondering if you’re required to provide regular employee benefits, like annual leave, meal vouchers, and health insurance while a pregnant employee is on maternity leave. The answer is complex and depends on where your employee is based, so you’ll need to approach it on a country-by-country basis.

In the UK, for example, employees are entitled to all their usual rights and contractual benefits during paid maternity leave, except for wages.

While the US doesn’t have legal provisions for a paid maternity leave policy on a national level, employers are still required to continue health coverage for employees on FMLA leave.

Employee benefits are treated differently in every country, even outside of maternity leave, so you’ll need to consult a local expert or partner with a global employment provider like Omnipresent to ensure you remain compliant.

How Long Is Maternity Leave?

Again, the length of maternity leave differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s Maternity Protection Convention mandates a minimum leave period of 14 weeks (with cash benefit) but recommends leave of at least 18 weeks. The average maternity leave among OECD countries is 18.6 weeks, including pay.

Many countries also offer job-protected maternity leave without pay, which employees can take after paid maternity leave ends. In the UK, for example, mothers are entitled to 39 weeks of maternity pay but can take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave in total.

Bulgaria offers one of the most generous maternity leave provisions globally, with 58.6 weeks of leave at 90% of the average wage. On the other end of the spectrum, the US offers 0 weeks of paid maternity leave, with just 12 weeks of unpaid statutory leave.

When Does Maternity Leave Start?

Maternity leave often starts before the employee has given birth. While some jurisdictions enforce specific start dates for maternity leave, others do not. For example, in Austria, mothers must start leave eight weeks before the baby’s due date.

Maternity Leave FAQs for Employees

We’ve answered many of the most common questions employers ask about providing maternity leave, so here are some FAQs for employees too.

How Do You Apply for Maternity Leave?

If you’re eligible for maternity leave in your country, you typically need to notify your employer in plenty of time before starting leave. Local regulations will dictate how far in advance this should be.

Where maternity leave is paid through social security, you may have to submit forms to the relevant local authority to apply for it. If your employer is responsible for paying maternity leave benefits, they will likely process it through regular payroll.

How Does Maternity Leave Work?

In general, maternity leave consists of statutory maternity leave (the length of time you’re legally permitted to take off work), statutory maternity pay (the amount of pay you receive during leave), and any additional employer benefits you’re entitled to.

Once you’ve given appropriate notice, you can then take time off work for the agreed period of time. Your employer is legally required to hold onto your job for the length of statutory maternity leave, so you can return to it after your leave is over.

When Do You Go on Maternity Leave?

In some countries, local laws dictate when your maternity leave starts. This is typically before the birth of your child. However, in other countries, you may decide when to start leave according to your needs. Ask your employer if you’re not sure.

How Do You Write a Maternity Leave Letter?

While not all jurisdictions require written notice, writing a maternity leave letter is generally considered to be the most professional way to communicate to your employer that you intend to take maternity leave.

If you’d like to write a maternity leave letter, here’s what you should include:

• That you’re pregnant or intending to adopt a child
• When your child is due
• When you’d like to start maternity leave
• When you intend to return to work
• A work proposal stating the work you intend to complete before you take leave and the work that needs to be completed during your absence
• The level of communication you want from your employer during maternity leave
• A medical letter (if required)

Remember, maternity leave letter requirements may differ from country to country, so always check local regulations before writing one.

What Is SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay)?

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is an extended form of regular payment for individuals who stop working due to childbirth. In the UK, SMP is paid for 39 total weeks, starting at 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first six weeks, then either that same rate or £151.97 per week (whichever is lower) for the remaining 33 weeks.

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