Women may find that laws regarding maternity leave are damaging their career prospects, according to an article on the BBC News website.

Under current legislation, a women can take up to 52 weeks off work after having a child, with statutory maternity pay for up to 39 weeks, while fathers are entitled to one or two weeks paternity leave.

Nicole Brewer, chief executive of the equalities and human rights commission, said that some employers disregard job applications from women of a child-bearing age.

She said there should be more emphasis placed on shared parental leave, to even out the responsibility of taking time off work for a new baby.

“There’s been a very welcome increase in maternity leave, but we think the focus should be on letting parents decide who takes parental leave after the first six months,” explained Ms Brewer to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Brendan Barber of the union body the TUC added that extending flexible working rights to parents and the option to transfer maternity leave to fathers could help the situation.

Research by the equal opportunities commission found that 5% of women who tell their employer they are pregnant feel under pressure to leave their job.

It seems only fair that the workload of a newborn infant be balanced out between the parent, and employers should start to recognise this….

Discuss…