Maternity cover explained for employers
Antenatal care, delivery, caesarean sections and newborn cover. What a good maternity benefit includes and the questions to ask before you choose a plan.
For many teams, maternity is the benefit that gets used most, and the one that causes the most disappointment when it is not what staff expected. If you have young staff, this post is for you.
What maternity cover usually includes
- Antenatal care: regular check-ups, routine tests and scans during pregnancy.
- Delivery: normal delivery, and on many plans a caesarean section (C-section), often up to a set amount.
- Postnatal care: check-ups for mother after the birth.
- Newborn care: cover for the baby for a short time after birth, before they are added as a dependant.
Where plans differ the most
| Item | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Waiting period | How long must someone be on the plan before maternity starts? |
| Delivery limit | What is the maximum paid for normal delivery and for a C-section? |
| Complications | Are complications during pregnancy or delivery covered? |
| Newborn cover | How long is the baby covered, and how do we add them to the plan? |
| Hospitals | Which hospitals on the list offer maternity services near our staff? |
Supporting staff beyond the plan
Health cover is one part of looking after expecting parents. The rest is how your company behaves:
- Allow time off for antenatal appointments without fuss.
- Make your maternity and paternity leave policy clear and easy to find.
- Explain how to add the new baby to the plan before the due date, not after.
- Plan a gentle return to work.
Action plan
Your maternity cover action plan
- 1
Look at your team
If many staff are in their 20s and 30s, treat maternity as a priority benefit.
- 2
Filter plans by maternity
Select maternity as a priority on Yousure to see plans that include it.
- 3
Ask the five questions
Waiting period, delivery limits, complications, newborn cover and hospitals.
- 4
Negotiate the waiting period
Ask for it to be waived or shortened for your group.
- 5
Write a simple guide
Tell expecting staff exactly how to use the benefit and add their baby.
