> Maternity leave is paid by the government not by the employer in all the countries I heard it exists in. In the UK, it is paid by the Government for the fir

> Maternity leave is paid by the government not by the employer in all the countries I heard it exists in. In the UK, it is paid by the Government for the first two weeks. The employer is then required to pay the employee on a reduced basis for six weeks before the Government takes-over again for 33 weeks ( edit: at a standard rate not associated with the original salary ). There is no financial support for the hiring or training of another employee to provide cover during the period of absence. Source: recent personal experience