Yesterday we got 575 signatures on our petition to raise Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay in line with the National Living Wage.
This is good, but it's not good enough.
We need 100,000.
We've got 6 months.
Petition link: https://lnkd.in/eB7ik93s
However, the algorithm was not helping me yesterday.
My post announcing the campaign was reposted 22 times in one day - and yet, despite this, it only achieved 3608 impressions vs the 101,889 impressions (and 1 repost) that my post from two weeks ago got about the school not calling my daughter's dad when she was poorly. Or the 7869 impressions my post got earlier this week about why we write with so much blank space on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn, do you think £4.99 per hour is acceptable for parents to be paid when the National Living Wage is £12.21 per hour?
The answer, by the way, is no. Not even close to acceptable.
Therefore, please can I ask that if you see this post, you share it, like it, comment on it. Anything to get this as much visibility as possible.
And sign the petition: https://lnkd.in/eB7ik93s
Baroness Philippa Stroud, Chair of the LPC, said about the National Living Wage: "The Government have been clear about their ambitions for the National Minimum Wage and its importance in supporting workers’ living standards."
OK - BUT WHY IS NO ONE *SUPPORTING* OR *PROTECTING* THE LIVING STANDARDS OF NEW PARENTS?
The increase in SMP/SPP between 2024 and 2025 equated to a 9p pay rise per hour. NINE PENCE. At this rate of growth, we're never going to achieve anything close to equity on pay. This model needs a radical, wholesale change - and to do that, we need to show that there is momentum behind the campaign.
So, please sign the petition: https://lnkd.in/eB7ik93s
To be clear on the differences...
As of April 2025, the figures (based on a 37.5 hour week) are as follows:
> Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay - £187.18 per week, £811.11 per month
> National Living Wage - £457.87 per week, £1983.88 per month
> Single parents with children benefits cap (in Greater London) - £486.98 per week, £2,110.25 per month
It's time to sign.
Enough is enough.
Campaign website here: https://lnkd.in/emCRBHG5
CC: Joeli Brearley, Elliott Rae, Anna Whitehouse, The Dad Shift, Pregnant Then Screwed, Celia Venables, Emmie Faust, Alex Lloyd Hunter, George Gabriel, Doing It For The Kids, Nugget Savings, Katie Guild, Harriet M., Maternity Action, Gingerbread, UN Women, UN Women UK, Frankie Tortora
Campaign by Aphra
In partnership with Business and Babies