Maternity leave is the months off work a mother takes around the birth of her baby. Paid at least in part, and protected by law.
The length and the pay vary enormously between countries, and the British system runs up to a year with the later months unpaid. It is a legal right rather than a favour, and a job must be held open. Paternity leave is the far shorter equivalent for fathers, and shared parental leave lets a couple divide the time between them however they choose.
1phrasematernity leaveA period of leave from work granted to a mother around childbirth.
“She goes on maternity leave in April.”
Practised in Work & Careers, A Man Called Ove
First appears in chapter 7 of A Man Called Ove.
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