UK Wedding News
03/12/2014
The research, commissioned by uSwitch.com, found that families can be left as much as £537 short each month during maternity leave. As a result, this leaves 58% of families in debt, as well as forcing half of mothers back to work just so they can make ends meet. A further 11% said they can't afford to stay at home and return to work just to pay off their debts.
The study found that families who decide to have children later than planned, suffer a drop in their household income, from £3,121 to £2,181 a month, and this is £537 less than the minimum amount families say they need each month to cover bills and the basic household essentials.
Subsequently, during maternity leave, 58% of mums will take on an average debt of £2,012.
Following the birth of their child, 18% of mothers admitted they go back to work early because they need the money. While 79% returned to work after maternity leave, 63% said they do so because they can't afford to stay at home.
Elsewhere, for 28% of couples, they said they had children later than they planned due to financial concerns. In fact, couples are now said be waiting three years later than planned to start a family. 18% said it was purely because they could not afford to have children sooner.
The findings have been released by uSwitch.com as the UK Government reveals its new Shared Parental Leave law, which comes into force this month. The legislation allows both parents to share up to 50 weeks of maternity cover between them. Interestingly however, almost one in three (32%) of mums with children under the age of four are unaware of the initiative. Of those who do know of the scheme though, 65% said it will have 'little' or no impact on their decision to have another child.
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, said: "The drop in income while on maternity leave can be crippling for families, particularly as one third of working mothers are the main breadwinner.
"The Shared Parental Leave legislation has the potential to alleviate some of the difficulties faced by parents, but it's going to take a major awareness drive by the Government, not to mention a significant cultural shift in the workplace, for it to start having an impact.
"There is still a lot of work to be done to ease the strain on new parents, but in the meantime, families can help themselves by taking a long hard look at their household budgets to see where they can cut costs.
"Short-term debt solutions may seem an efficient way to fund spending, but they can also lead to long-term debt if not managed properly."
(JP/IT)
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Household Income Falls During Maternity Leave
Household income can fall by as much as 30% during maternity leave, a new study has revealed.The research, commissioned by uSwitch.com, found that families can be left as much as £537 short each month during maternity leave. As a result, this leaves 58% of families in debt, as well as forcing half of mothers back to work just so they can make ends meet. A further 11% said they can't afford to stay at home and return to work just to pay off their debts.
The study found that families who decide to have children later than planned, suffer a drop in their household income, from £3,121 to £2,181 a month, and this is £537 less than the minimum amount families say they need each month to cover bills and the basic household essentials.
Subsequently, during maternity leave, 58% of mums will take on an average debt of £2,012.
Following the birth of their child, 18% of mothers admitted they go back to work early because they need the money. While 79% returned to work after maternity leave, 63% said they do so because they can't afford to stay at home.
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Elsewhere, for 28% of couples, they said they had children later than they planned due to financial concerns. In fact, couples are now said be waiting three years later than planned to start a family. 18% said it was purely because they could not afford to have children sooner.
The findings have been released by uSwitch.com as the UK Government reveals its new Shared Parental Leave law, which comes into force this month. The legislation allows both parents to share up to 50 weeks of maternity cover between them. Interestingly however, almost one in three (32%) of mums with children under the age of four are unaware of the initiative. Of those who do know of the scheme though, 65% said it will have 'little' or no impact on their decision to have another child.
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, said: "The drop in income while on maternity leave can be crippling for families, particularly as one third of working mothers are the main breadwinner.
"The Shared Parental Leave legislation has the potential to alleviate some of the difficulties faced by parents, but it's going to take a major awareness drive by the Government, not to mention a significant cultural shift in the workplace, for it to start having an impact.
"There is still a lot of work to be done to ease the strain on new parents, but in the meantime, families can help themselves by taking a long hard look at their household budgets to see where they can cut costs.
"Short-term debt solutions may seem an efficient way to fund spending, but they can also lead to long-term debt if not managed properly."
(JP/IT)
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