New Mums use Maternity Leave to Plan Self Employment

Maternity leave is a Hallelujah moment for many women thrilled to be finally kicking off the shackles of unfulfilling employment.

So much so, that 1 in 6 pregnant women decide to set up their own business instead of going back to work.

VoucherCodesPro made the discovery when conducting a survey of 2,319 UK women who had given birth in the last five years.

When asking how maternity leave was to be used, 18 per cent said they would take up a new hobby, 15 per cent planned to set up a business and 12 per cent aimed to learn a new language.

A total of 55 per cent of women squeezed their entire maternity entitlement out whilst 35 per cent returned early and 11 per cent didn’t go back to work at all.

A staggering 81 per cent of new mums said they had to return to work sooner than they were entitled to due to financial reasons. Though, 70 per cent were eager to get back to adult conversation instead of the daily grind of childcare.