It means of course another employment cost will be loaded onto small- and medium-sized signage outfits—which is almost every sign-maker in the country.

The Liberal Democrats headed by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg are pushing for the legislation with the backing of the Conservatives, who see it as a vote winner and a long-overdue reform of maternity leave law. Labour back the plans as do the Greens, along with the Welsh and Scottish Nationalists, which means that unless there is a UKIP Government in 2015, it will happen.

Many in the sign-industry will welcome the plan, especially those planning a family, but for those who employ them it is something that will have to paid for. Human resources website, Xperthr, says the average bill for maternity leave per organisation, including the cost of replacements, is around £125,000, according to a survey they conducted amongst their members.

With the weekly statuary maternity pay (SMP) at around £139 a week, it is hard to fathom how they came up with the figure—but the paperwork for SMP is fiendishly complicated and time consuming, and that is something that must be borne by the sign-maker. Whatever the cost to a sign firm it is still a substantial amount that comes straight off the bottom line.

Women deserve the right to pursue their goals and not feel they have to choose between having a successful career or having a baby”

The BBC reports the Institute of Directors business group as saying the plan was a “nightmare” that would “heap yet more burdens on struggling employers.” They quoted the deputy director of policy Alexander Ehmann saying: “The proposed system is considerably more complex and unwieldy than the current laws and employers will once again have to absorb the cost of adapting and implementing this new system.”

However Clegg said in a statement: “Women deserve the right to pursue their goals and not feel they have to choose between having a successful career or having a baby.
“We need to challenge the old-fashioned assumption that women will always be the parent that stays at home, many fathers want that option too."

At present parents can share some of the 52 weeks' existing leave, with the father able to take up to six months beginning after the baby is 20 weeks old, although it must be taken in a single block. In a concession to small businesses such as sign-makers, the plans give bosses the right to retain the continuous block element.

What do you think of the new legislation? Will it hit your sign-making business? Send your views to online_ed@signlink.co.uk
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