What are the UK’s biggest employers offering new parents in 2026?

We checked every company in the FTSE 100 as it stands after the September 2026 reshuffle, using the company’s own published pages and reports wherever we could find them. 37 rows below are updated or confirmed. For the other 26, we couldn’t find a newer figure, so the table keeps last year’s figure and marks it 2024*.

What’s changed since 2024

  • Barclays now gives the second parent 16 weeks at full pay, up from 2.
  • M&S now gives 6 weeks of full-pay paternity leave, up from 2.
  • Aberdeen Group cut its paid parental leave from 40 to 26 weeks in October 2024.
  • NatWest’s 26 weeks now applies in Northern Ireland. In Great Britain it’s 24.
  • HSBC’s current policy is 26 weeks at full pay, not the 19 we listed before.

Companies ranked by maternity leave

Ranked by weeks at full pay for the mother or primary carer. “Paid” means the company says the leave is paid but not at what rate. Companies that give the same leave to all parents say so in both columns.

CompanyMaternity or primary carerPartner or second carerAs of
Severn Trent46 weeks paidNot stated2024
Unilever39 weeks full pay (12 months’ service), 16 weeks full pay at once3 weeks2024*
Aberdeen Group26 weeks paid (cut from 40 in 2024)Not stated2024
AstraZeneca26 weeks full pay2 weeks full pay2024*
Aviva26 weeks full pay26 weeks full pay2022
Barclays26 weeks full pay16 weeks full pay2026
Beazley6 months full pay6 months full pay2024*
British American Tobacco26 weeks full payNot stated2018
Diageo26 weeks full pay26 weeks full pay2025
Experian26 weeks full pay12 weeks full pay2026
Haleon26 weeks full pay26 weeks full pay2022
HSBC26 weeks full payNot stated2024
ICG26 weeks full pay4 weeks paid2025
JD Sports26 weeks full pay, then 13 weeks half pay2 weeks full pay2026
Lloyds Banking Group26 weeks full pay6 weeks paid2023
London Stock Exchange Group26 weeks full pay26 weeks full pay2024
M&G26 weeks full pay26 weeks full pay2024*
Marks & Spencer26 weeks full pay6 weeks full pay2024
National Grid26 weeks full pay2 weeks full pay2026
Reckitt26 weeks full pay20 working days paid2025
Segro26 weeks full payNot disclosed2024*
St James’s Place26 weeks full pay26 weeks full pay2024*
Standard Life (formerly Phoenix Group)26 weeks full pay26 weeks full pay2024*
Tesco26 weeks full pay4 weeks full pay2026
United Utilities26 weeks full pay4 weeks full pay2026
Centrica26 weeks paidNot stated2026
Land SecuritiesUp to 26 weeks paid6 weeks paid2026
Sage Group26 weeks paid6 weeks paid2026
Sainsbury’sUp to 26 weeks paidUp to 4 weeks paid2026
Airtel Africa26 weeks paid8 weeks paid2024*
British Land26 weeks (2 years’ service), 12 weeks (1 year’s service)2 weeks (2 years’ service), 1 week (1 year’s service)2024*
Intertek24 weeks full pay24 weeks full pay2024*
NatWest Group24 weeks full pay (Great Britain)Up to 24 weeks full pay2026
Rolls-Royce24 weeks full pay2 weeks full pay2024*
Smiths Group22 weeks paid (global)Not stated2023
SSE21 weeks full pay9 weeks (2 full pay)2023
Auto Trader20 weeks full payNot disclosed2024*
BP20 weeks full payNot stated2024
Pearson20 weeks full pay4 weeks full pay2024*
Standard Chartered20 weeks paid (global)20 weeks paid (global)2023
3i18 weeks full pay2 weeks full pay2025
Anglo American18 weeks full pay2 weeks full pay2024*
Barratt Redrow (formerly Barratt Developments)18 weeks full pay2 weeks full pay2024*
BT Group18 weeks full pay, then 8 weeks half paySame for all parents2025
Burberry18 weeks full pay (global)18 weeks full pay (global)2026
Rio Tinto18 weeks full pay18 weeks full pay2024*
GSK18 weeks paid18 weeks paid2026
Admiral Group16 weeks full pay2 weeks full pay2020
Croda International16 weeks full pay (global)2 weeks full pay (global)2026
Schroders16 weeks full pay4 weeks full pay2024*
Shell16 weeks full pay8 weeks full pay2024*
Vodafone16 weeks full pay (global)16 weeks full pay (global)2019
Spirax Group16 weeks paid16 weeks paid2026
Halma14 weeks full pay14 weeks full pay2020
Whitbread13 weeks full pay, then 13 weeks half pay1 or 2 weeks full pay2024*
Legal & General10 weeks full pay, then 8 weeks half pay2 weeks full pay2024*
Prudential10 weeks full pay (1 year’s service)2 weeks full pay (1 year’s service)2024*
Glencore12 weeks at 90% pay1 week full pay, then SPP2024*
Hiscox6 weeks at 90% pay, 7 weeks full pay, then 13 weeks half pay2 weeks full pay2024*
Kingfisher (Screwfix)6 weeks full pay, then 33 weeks half pay2 weeks full pay2026
International Airlines Group6 weeks at 90% pay, then statutory pay to week 391 week full pay, 1 week statutory2024*
BAE Systems160 hours full pay (full time)160 hours full pay (full time)2024*
AntofagastaNot disclosed10 days2024*

How to read the table

In the last column, 2026 means we read it on the company’s own live page this month. A different year is the date of the document we used. A figure marked 2024* is last year’s, which we couldn’t re-confirm. Global means the policy covers the whole company, not only the UK. Click a company name to see where a figure comes from.

We couldn’t find parental leave figures for 32 FTSE 100 companies, including easyJet, Next, RELX and Informa, so they aren’t listed. Five more are investment trusts with no staff of their own. We’ve also dropped companies that were in last year’s table but have left the FTSE 100, such as Entain, ITV, Taylor Wimpey and Rightmove.

Work for one of these companies, or spotted a policy that’s changed? Email hello@dearbump.com with a link to the policy and we’ll check and update it.