London Met offers year of fully paid maternity leave

London Metropolitan University is to offer staff a year of maternity and adoption leave at full pay, while paternity leave will be increased to eight weeks fully paid, the institution has announced.

The new policies double the university’s previous offerings of six months of fully paid maternity and adoption leave and four weeks of paternity leave. Staff will also be eligible for parental leave earlier: London Met will now require 26 weeks of service to qualify, rather than a year.

"We are proud to lead the way in supporting our staff during the most important times of their lives,” Lynn Dobbs, vice-chancellor of London Met, said in a statement, “By doubling our leave entitlements, we are making a clear statement about what our values of ambition and inclusivity mean in practice.”

The institution’s executive director of people, Chloe Milano, added, “It’s a real source of pride to be able to offer such a generous, sector-leading, parental leave package. The first few months of parenthood can be tough for so many reasons, so supporting our staff while they undergo this huge life change is important for London Met.”

“Policies should be reviewed and updated to reflect the evolving needs of our employees, and this offering is what we consider to be a great fit for many ambitious parents we hope to retain as valuable members of our workforce for years to come,” Ms Milano said.

Under UK law, staff are entitled to take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave or statutory adoption leave. Only 39 weeks must be paid, however, and employers are not required to meet their employees’ full salary. Staff are only entitled to up to two weeks of paternity leave.

Parental leave in the university sector “varies wildly”, scholars wrote for THE Campus last year. Only a few universities offer 26 weeks at full pay, with most providing between four and 18 weeks, while 7 per cent do not offer any fully paid leave.

London Met is one of several institutions in the capital to update their parental leave policies in recent years. In October 2022 the University of the Arts London joined the University of Exeter in offering equal leave for parents regardless of gender, with salaried employees and hourly paid lecturers given up to 26 weeks of full maternity or paternity pay. 

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com