Maternity pay is to be changed from a fixed, and low, rate to 40% of salaries.

ECONOMIST: Banyan

"If their employer is not paying employers' National Insurance, unbeknownst to them they may not then be entitled to statutory maternity pay if they become pregnant, they may not be entitled to statutory sick pay if they fall ill, " he said.

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Chancellor George Osborne has proposed a cap of 1% - which is below the expected rise in the cost of living - on increases in most working-age benefits, such as Jobseeker's Allowance and maternity pay, and tax credits for three years from 2013-14.

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It highlights big differences between Britain and the rest of Europe in terms of maternity leave pay, leave for fathers, working hours and childcare.

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This could mean pay rises and rights to holidays, sick pay, maternity leave and access to private health benefits.

BBC: Agency workers receive pay and conditions boost

It is a market failure in the sense that the incentives for men to control resources and dole them out (including even in a stipend for extended maternity leave that the female workers pay for themselves mostly) end up leaving children without the optimal equal attention and support from both parents.

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These include pay, overtime, shift allowances, holiday pay and bonuses attributable to individual performance, as well as maternity rights.

BBC: Agency workers receive pay and conditions boost