More than three-quarters of mothers have had to find ways to cover income gaps due to taking maternity leave, a survey has found.
As the average year-long maternity leave may typically only cover around 54 per cent of a woman's salary, mothers have had to find ways to make up the typical shortfall of £12,852 compared with if they had been working, according to Direct Line Life Insurance.
Its research found that 76 per cent of recent or expectant working mothers have had to find a way to cover the loss of earnings during their maternity leave, including scrimping, dipping into savings and asking family for help.