Women not expected to return from maternity leave

New research has found that almost two thirds (64%) of employers do not expect female employees to return to work after their maternity leave. Almost half of these employers say this expectation is based on ‘previous experience.’

 

The study, conducted by HR Consultancy Reabur.com, also revealed that 16% of respondents admitted they didn't want their employee to return to work after maternity leave. Around 38% of these said this was because they believed that the employee would have a ‘reduced level of concentration’ once they returned to work, and 23% claimed it was because the returner would ‘lack enthusiasm,’ when compared to a newly hired member of staff.

 

Kirsty Burgess, Co-Managing Director of Reabur.com, said:

 

“It is interesting to see that even though an employee may say that she wants to return to work after having a baby, employers don’t necessarily believe her. Having a child needn’t change women’s career choices at all, and employers shouldn’t necessarily expect a member of staff not to return.”

 

“Although many women do indeed decide to take further time off, this is in no way the norm, especially with the rising cost of childcare it has become more essential for women to return to work. This is a personal decision for an individual to make, and employers need to be really careful about making assumptions- if that message gets back to the employee they could find themselves defending a discrimination claim”