Raise statutory maternity/paternity pay to match the National Living Wage
The Parliament petitions site records 107,966 signatures for this petition, which closed on 18 September 2025. The Government responded on 25 April 2025. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 27 October 2025.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Raise statutory maternity/paternity pay to match the National Living Wage
Statutory maternity and paternity pay is £4.99 per hour for a full-time worker on 37.5 hours per week - approximately 59% less than the 2024 National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour for workers aged 21+, which has been set out to ensure a basic standard of living.
If the National Living Wage is £12.21 per hour to legally enforce and ensure a basic standard of living, why is statutory maternity or paternity pay just £4.99 per hour?
We feel that working parents, especially women, who contribute to the tax system are being pushed into poverty at their most vulnerable time. We believe this undermines family stability and suggests the Government does not prioritise childbirth or its economic value.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 25 April 2025; the petitions site lists the Department for Work and Pensions as responsible. Its summary:
Parental pay entitlements are intended to provide a measure of financial security to parents to care for their child(ren). However, they are not intended to replace earnings.
The opening 318 words of the 802-word response:
The Government recognises the importance of parents having time away from work to care for a new child in their family. This is a key part of our plan to Make Work Pay, which aims to improve the quality and security of work. Parental leave and pay entitlements include Maternity, Paternity, Shared Parental and Neonatal Care Pay, as well as Adoption Leave and Pay, all of which are designed to support parents to take leave whilst retaining an attachment to the labour market so they can return to work when appropriate.
Maternity pay is primarily a health and safety provision for pregnant working women, providing a measure of financial security during this important time.
There are two types of maternity pay available to pregnant working women: Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), paid by employers and Maternity Allowance (MA), paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to eligible women (including the self-employed and women in employment who are not eligible for SMP). The qualifying conditions for both SMP and MA are based on a woman's recent employment and earnings.
Both SMP and MA are paid for up to a maximum of 39 weeks. For SMP, the first six weeks are paid at a weekly rate equal to 90 per cent of the woman's average weekly earnings, with no upper limit, followed by up to 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate or 90 per cent of the woman's average weekly earnings. MA is paid at either the standard rate or 90 per cent of the woman’s average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower, for a maximum of 39 weeks.
Paternity Leave and Pay arrangements enable eligible employed fathers and partners to take up to two one-week blocks of leave, either consecutively or separately, during the first year following the birth of their child or placement for adoption. Paternity Pay is paid at the statutory rate.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Tooting, with 6.6 signatures per 1,000 electors (502 in all).
107,793 of the signatures were from the UK and 173 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tooting | 502 | 76,168 | 6.6 |
| Putney | 474 | 72,686 | 6.5 |
| Lewisham West and East Dulwich | 418 | 69,386 | 6.0 |
| Walthamstow | 443 | 74,474 | 5.9 |
| Leyton and Wanstead | 400 | 71,491 | 5.6 |
| Streatham and Croydon North | 414 | 76,313 | 5.4 |
| Wimbledon | 385 | 76,334 | 5.0 |
| Esher and Walton | 357 | 74,042 | 4.8 |
| Beckenham and Penge | 364 | 77,198 | 4.7 |
| Hertford and Stortford | 372 | 78,915 | 4.7 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 18,737 |
| London | 17,321 |
| East of England | 11,627 |
| North West | 10,686 |
| South West | 9,737 |
| West Midlands | 7,582 |
| East Midlands | 7,458 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 7,378 |
| Scotland | 7,238 |
| Wales | 4,427 |
| North East | 3,050 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,997 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 27 October 2025. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/715292.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
617531ac9583fed7… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.