Her argument? That regulations like this are stifling businesses, and we should be careful not to place too much of a burden on companies. Her comments have understandably raised some eyebrows. Currently, statutory maternity pay starts at 90% of your earnings for the first six weeks, then drops to either £184 a week or 90% of your pay – whichever is lower – for the next 33 weeks.
It’s not exactly a fortune, especially when you factor in the high cost of living. But Badenoch believes it’s too much – “excessive” even. She argues that it is regulations like these that are making it harder for businesses to thrive and for the UK economy to grow.
READ MORE: Subscribe for the top National journalism in our subscriber-only newsletters Let’s break this down, because many people, myself included, are struggling to make sense of her point. Maternity pay exists to help parents cover basic living costs during a period when they aren’t working because they’re looking after a newborn. It’s not about luxury or pampering, it’s about survival during one of the most important and challenging times in a person’s life.
Yet, Badenoch seems more concerned with the impact on businesses than on new mothers and their families. To make matters worse, Badenoch later doubled down on her stance, claiming that she practises what she preaches. During her time at The Spectator magazine, she resigned when she was pregnant because she didn’t think it was fair to ask the company to.
