Rejected petition Extend statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance to 18 months

Extend statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance from 39 weeks to at least 18 months, to help new families with the cost of living and job security whilst maternity/paternity period.

More details

Maternity pay currently lasts only 39 weeks while leave can last 52 weeks, leaving many families without income before returning to work. UK childcare costs are among the highest in Europe, with full-time nursery care often costing over £13,000 per year. Extending maternity pay to 18 months would help families manage childcare costs, reduce financial pressure on new mothers and support parents in the early years of a child’s life.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

We have a petition already open on this subject which you may wish to sign:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/760489

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 13 March 2026
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