A small number of firms offer maternity benefits beyond what is required by the Acts. Only 15 percent offer longer leave periods to full-time employees than required. At these firms, an average of two weeks of paid leave and 14 weeks of unpaid leave are available.
Additional paternity leave is even less common.
Eight percent of employers offer paternity leave to full-time employees beyond what is required by the government Acts. The average additional paid leave is one week. The average additional unpaid leave offered is 17 weeks. Leave for immediate family member care is offered to more employees than paternity leave but less than maternity leave. Twelve percent of firms offer leave beyond what is required to full-time employees.