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The proportion of maternity benefit recipients was highest during 2021 reaching 7.2 per 100 female employees in the 15 to 44 age bracket. In 2022 the proportion of maternity benefit recipients had dropped to 5.5 per 100, the lowest rate of the 4 years analysed. The general downward trend between 2019 and 2022 is related to a drop in birth rates coupled with rise in the numbers in employment over the same period. In 2021, however, there was small increase in the birth rate and a drop in the numbers in employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These trends will be discussed in further detail in the section “Benefit Recipient Trends 2016 to 2022” below.
The proportion of paternity benefit recipients was also at the highest level during 2021 reaching 3.9 per 100 male employees in the 15 to 44 age bracket and dropped to 3.4 per 100 in 2022.
The definition of a maternity and paternity benefit recipient used in this report is based on payment of maternity or paternity benefits in the relevant year. The recipient is counted within the year in which the claim started, so a maternity starting in 2019 and ending in 2020 is counted in 2019. Throughout this report the various cohorts will always be referred to by the year in which their maternity started. The proportion of benefit recipients in each year was calculated using the total number of employed persons aged 15 to 44, the main child-bearing age group. See Background Notes for further details.
Results for 2022 should be considered as provisional as not all data was fully available and subject to change.
Looking at trends including data from previous years, the proportion of maternity benefit recipients has been declining since 2016, dropping from 6.9 per 100 employees in 2016 to 6.1 in 2020. There was notable increase up to a peak level of 7.2 in 2021 before dropping back to 5.5 in 2022, continuing the downward trend from previous years. The general downward trend in benefit recipient rates since 2016 is clearly related to two factors; over the same period there has been a reduction in the birth rate year on year, and an increase in the work force year on year. The work force trends, provided by the CSO Labour Force Survey, are shown in Figure 2.3 below. The birth rate trends are provided by CSO Vital Statistics and are shown in Figure 2.4.
In 2021, however, the total persons employed dropped below the levels of the previous two years, while there is also a small increase in the birth rate in 2021, resulting in the peak in maternity benefit rates seen in that year. These are likely impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trends for paternity benefit recipient rates are somewhat flatter than the maternity benefit trends. As paternity benefit was first introduced in 2016, the numbers taking the benefit were relatively low that year. As with maternity benefits there was a peak in recipient rates in 2021, again likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CSO Labour Force Survey can be found here: Labour Force Survey (LFS)
The CSO Vital Statistics are published here: Vital Statistics
In 2022 the highest rates of maternity benefit recipients per 100 employees were in Human Health & Social Work Activities (7.0), Education (6.8), and Construction (6.4). The lowest rates were in Accommodation & Food Service Activities (2.5), Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (2.6) and Industry (4.4).
In the same year the highest rates of paternity benefit recipients per 100 employees were in Public Administration & Defence (5.3), Education (5.0), and Administrative & Support Service Activities (4.5). The lowest rates were in Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing (1.5), Accommodation & Food Service Activities (1.5), and Other NACE Activities (1.8).
In 2021 the rate of maternity benefit recipients per 100 employees increased significantly compared to the previous year in the following sectors:
Those sectors were particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and saw significant decreases in their labour force size in 2021. Each of these sectors had high rates of Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) claims among maternity benefit recipients (see Background Notes for further details).
In 2022 the labour force had recovered across these sectors with the result that the maternity rates were more comparable to pre-pandemic levels.
COVID-19 impacts on the rate of paternity benefit recipients per 100 employees can be seen in following sectors where the labour force reduced in 2021 -
Maternity and paternity benefit recipient rates were highest in large enterprises (enterprises with 250 or more employees).
Maternity benefit recipient rates per 100 employees tended to be flat, between 4 and 5, within micro (0 to 9 employees), small (10 to 49) and medium enterprises (50 to 249). The benefit recipient rate then increased to between 6 and 7 per 100 in large enterprises.
On the other hand, paternity benefit recipient rates tended to increase incrementally with the size of enterprise. Paternity benefit rates were around 2 per 100 employees in micro enterprises, increasing to around 4 per 100 in large enterprises.
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