ONE in four companies see maternity and paternity leave as a business risk, with seven per cent seeing it as a serious threat, according to a new study.
Smaller companies are the most concerned, according to the research by insurance firm Axa.
Some 28 per cent of businesses with 20 or less employees said that it was a business risk as opposed to 15 per cent of those with more than 100 staff.
Proposals made to the government in May recommend extending paid maternity leave from the current six months to nine and then 12.
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