END PARENTING POVERTY
Statutory maternity and paternity pay equates to £4.99 per hour for a full-time worker on 37.5 hours per week - approximately 59% less than the 2025 National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour for workers aged 21+, which has been set out to ensure a basic standard of living. For those earning the average UK income, it equates to roughly a 60% – 67% drop in income while on SMP/SPP.
SUPPORTING PARTNERS
We're working with End Parenting Poverty to support an increase Statutory Maternity Pay / Statutory Paternity Pay in line with the UK National Living Wage.
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Our Manifesto for Change:
Supporting Entrepreneurial Mothers
1) End the Penalty for Business Owners on Statutory Maternity Pay
The government must review the unfair policy that prevents business owners from working in their own businesses while receiving statutory maternity pay. Women should not have to choose between their livelihood and their right to maternity support.
2) Make Childcare a Recognised
Business Expense
Self-employed parents can expense travel, client meals, golf days, and hotel stays - but not childcare. This outdated policy must change to reflect the reality of working parents and enable more women to build sustainable businesses.
3) Protect Mothers from Financial and Workplace Discrimination
From miscarriage and baby loss to premature birth and unforeseen complications, self-employed mothers face a system that fails to support them. With no financial safety net and little protection against discrimination, too many women are left vulnerable at their most challenging moments. The government must act to ensure no mother is forced to choose between her family and her future.
