Three-quarters of companies in the UK provide their pregnant employees with better maternity leave pay than the law requires, according to a survey conducted by Incomes Data Services (IDS).

The survey of 115 employers also found that 52 per cent of respondents felt the British requirements were too low, personneltoday.com reported.

All pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks of leave. The statutory paid leave is 39 weeks. For the first six weeks the employee is entitled to 90 per cent of her average weekly earnings. For the remaining 33 weeks she gets a flat £117.18 per week.

By comparison, South African law guarantees four months of leave at 60 per cent of the employee’s income, New Zealand requires 14 weeks at NZ$407.36 per week, and Australia has no mandatory paid leave.