Why is maternity leave from work 1 year but from UC it is 2 years?

[Bucdynovehbkfdg]

this isn’t a benefit bashing thread, I believe that people should claim what they’re entitled too. I just don’t understand why all mothered aren’t entitled to the same amount of time off with their children.

I’m currently on maternity leave, and obviously we have up to a year off work.

i was just wondering why parents in UC don’t have to look for work until their baby is 2?

But why doesn’t the government make maternity leave 2 years, so that all mums can spend an equal time with their children before returning to work?

there’s 30 free hours from 9 months now, so there’s really no excuse mums of UC to not have to look for work at age 1, the age when working mums return to work by?

Obviously I know it would differ between SMP/OMP/unpaid part of mat leave, but even if the extra year was unpaid some working mums would be able to take it!

I agree with you! With the 30 hours funding starting at 9 months now (I know for many it actually ends up being later than this) I think it would make sense to expect parents to be working from a set amount of time after the child becomes eligible for funding.

In Wales and Scotland there is no funding from 9 months, only from 3 years.

The 30 hours from 9 months is only available in England.

I suspect it comes down to money and how reasonable it is to oblige employers to pay for and wait 2 years for mum to return to work. I can see many facets to this.

An employer would be far more reluctant to pay 2 years of mat leave which could a cause more discrimination against women in the workplace.

Also a mum on UC will potentially cost not much more than the potential childcare vouchers & top up benefits she would likely need to claim to work. If she has been on UC fpr some time, her eaening potential may already be low.

Just a few thoughts!
I am all for mums being able to stay home with littles for as long as possible.

As a supply teacher, I only had statutory mat. leave, and I went back when my babies were 5 months old. Way too early. Maybe I should have gone on UC.

@SanctyMoanyArse
Apologies, I knew that but just didn’t think! I wonder if it would be cheaper to apply the childcare funding to those in Wales and Scotland, than it would be to continue with UC payments! From what I can gather, parents are expected to be preparing for and seeking work up until their youngest child is 12!

Many settings will stretch the funding across the year, applying approximately 22 funded hours per week.

Parents claiming UC across the whole of the UK have to prepare for work once their baby reaches 12 months, and either work for 30 hours or engage in work related activity for 30 hours every week once their child reaches 3.

I don't know if it would be cheaper or not to extend the childcare funding, but that's down to the devolved governments of Wales and Scotland and what they choose to prioritise.

Then (again)... she isn't talking about you! She's talking about those who do! Dear Lord....

I always assumed it was based on free childcare hours eligibility, which used to start at 2.

I know there is additional help for childcare for those on UC, but I assume it would still be difficult for parents on UC to cover enough hours to work without the funded hours.

I don't care. Please go away. Go away. I explained that some people get extra money because they have severely disabled children. I got extra money due to a life changing accident

Even people who get thousands might need it due to disabilities for them or for their kids
See how you feel when you have an accident that means you can't walk for over a year and then get back to me

Im out of this poxy benefits bashing thread.

Maternity leave law and Universal Credit rules serve different purposes, they don't match because they're not the same thing.

Maternity leave is an employment right, not a childcare policy. It's not there so you can look after your baby for 12 months, the idea of it is to protect a job while you're recovering from pregnancy and childbirth. UC claimants don't get maternity leave as they're not employed. They can claim maternity allowance (if they qualify) but it's not maternity leave by definition.
It doesn't mean the government thinks you should return to work after a year or that you must go back, it just means your employer has to keep your job open for you to 12 months and can't penalise you for taking that time off.

Rules for UC are entirely about meeting a set of eligibility criteria and a line has to be drawn to define what the conditions of claiming are. Claimants with a child under one don't need to do anything, once their child is one they need to start having interviews with a work coach. These will be about what jobs they would be suited to, looks at addressing any gaps in training/skills, discussion of any barriers to work, etc. These are all things that take time to determine and address so that things can be set in motive because by the time the child is aged 2, they're expected to be actively preparing for work

The biggest barrier to employment is childcare and there is a significant lack of accessible childcare in a lot of areas. This impacts women already in work too and many women have to reduce their hours, or even leave work, due to a lack of suitable childcare. You can't magic up spaces that simply don't exist.

Also worth noting that many UC claimants work too. Women are more likely to claim UC than men but are also more likely to be working alongside claiming.

I never knew this! Seems unfair it should be the same for everyone.

No. It's due to what the devolved Govts get in funding from Westminster

Yours. Someone Scottish

Fair enough. It wasn't a dig! I just meant that it's not something that comes from the DWP or from Westminster, because it's devolved. DWP policy on when single parents need to get back into the workplace is UK wide, but the policies on childcare funding vary by nation. That's all I was trying to explain.

Scotland and Wales get a budget given to them by Westminster. Hth.

The Scottish government do their best for people in poverty -for example they have doubled the child poverty payment.

Free prescriptions. Free eye tests. Baby boxes. Free part time degrees for people on low incomes

The Scottish government doesn't have the budget Westminster has -and if anyone wants to slag them off. They do their best

And I'm pretty sure at some point Scotland will align itself with England -because we led the way I'm sure -on lot's of things

Scotland was going to abolish the two children cap before England did a U turn under pressure

You want to slag the Scottish or Welsh government off -get your facts straight

The Barnett Formula gives less to Wales and Scotland than England has to spend as it doesn’t factor in any challenges in those populations.

But there isn’t much point in devolution if devolved nations just follow Westminster/each other.

Yes! Because Westminster won't let the devolved Govts have control of UC. Pip yes which in Scotland is adult disability payment. But not UC

We don't just follow Westminster. How is it that if you live in Scotland you can do a degree part time. For nothing. Same in Wales and NI but not in England

Don't get me wrong, I'm not slagging off the devolved governments. I actually don't agree with any parent being pushed to put a 9 month old baby into childcare and get back into full time work - yes they should have the choice, but it should be a choice. I have no issue at all if the devolved governments choose to spend money elsewhere instead of on trumpeting an underfunded childcare policy!

Tbf Scotland has a lot less money than Westminster because Scotland has a population size similar to… Yorkshire alone. There are double the number of people in just London than in Scotland.

UK populations
England - 58.62m
Scotland - 5.55m
Wales - 3.16m
NI - 1.9m

I'm just going to end this conversation by saying I get adult disability payment from the Scottish government. I was treated well throughout the process. Dignity.

We should all be treated the same. Scotland. Wales. England Nl. But we aren't. I applaud the Scottish government for trying to help people

I will also say when I was young a long time ago

My mum maybe got a funded place for me in nursery. Till I was three

But that's all she got - no extras. No working tax credits. No UC. Just her wage and child benefit

My gran was childcare. My dad was a dick and gave her two quid a week till I was 16 and had to be forced to pay that

And he had money. And that's not me saying people shouldn't have help now -they should

Because that financial support would be better directed at aiding intact families and encouraging childbearing in the optimal conditions, which we know to be two married parents where one does not work until their child has reached school age at minimum. Single parenting causes a myriad of social issues and shoul be strongly discouraged as a lifestyle choice.

That's not the reason. Scotland gives plenty of money to the treasury

I never said it didn’t…