Premature babies
An east London council is to offer extra maternity and paternity leave to all staff who become parents to premature babies. The council believes it is the first employer in the UK to introduce such a policy.
The council has introduced an extra week’s maternity and paternity leave for every week parents of premature children have to spend waiting in hospital for their child to be allowed home.
The change was implemented this month after deputy leader councillor Clyde Loakes agreed to back the Smallest Things Campaign, which aims to get extra maternity and paternity leave for all working parents of premature babies. Full- term babies are born after 37 weeks of their mother’s pregnancy, but premature babies are born at less than 37 weeks.
The Smallest Things Campaign is currently being championed in Parliament by Steve Reed MP through the Maternity and Paternity (Premature Birth Bill), which seeks to change current legislation.