Clause 1 - Paternity leave
Employment Bill
9:30 am
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
That means that, in the absence of regulations prescribing circumstances under section 164(9)(a), a woman who went into labour and had a stillborn child will be entitled to 26 weeks of maternity pay. Although one would have every sympathy in such a case, the purpose of maternity pay is to allow people to take leave to care for a child and that does not apply to the case of a stillborn child. Would maternity pay apply for the full period in that circumstance?