Clause 1 - Paternity leave
Employment Bill
9:30 am
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
This is an important point because later in the Bill we will be extending the right to maternity leave to one whole year. I suggest that when a live child is not produced, a year's leave is grossly excessive to protect the health of the mother.
Obviously, that is a traumatic circumstance, but it is not the same as the birth of a child who needs to be cared for. If the same pay and leave are available to the mother of a stillborn child and the mother of a living child, the proposed extensions in the Bill need to be reviewed.