A committee of the European Parliament yesterday passed draft legislation that would extend maternity leave across Europe to 20 weeks on full pay.

The vote by the parliament’s Women’s Rights Committee goes even further than the extension proposed by the European Commission, which had put forward 18 weeks.

Such an extension would significantly add to employers’ expenditure on maternity pay. Current UK law states that maternity leave should be paid at 90 per cent of salary for six weeks, followed by 33 weeks at a statutory minimum rate and then up to 13 weeks unpaid. European laws, in place since 1992, only enshrine a minimum of 14 weeks leave, paid at a statutory rate that must be at least at the level of sick pay.

The legislation will now go before the full European Parliament for approval in March, and then to the council of ministers. It could be 12-18 months before the final result is known, and the measures are likely to be watered down if there is significant opposition from member states.

The UK's employment relations minister Lord Young expressed his doubts about the proposals, but stressed they were at an early stage.

“We already have a generous system that is better than many European Union countries and works well, balancing the needs of businesses and workers,” he said. “A substantial increase in maternity leave paid at full or near-full pay risks undermining this delicate balance at a time when economies across the EU can least afford it.”

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) also spoke out against the proposed changes.

BCC director of policy Adam Marshall said: “The Pregnant Workers Directive should be about setting minimum EU standards for the health and safety of pregnant workers - not adding new payroll costs for overburdened companies and national social security systems.

"This vote introduces complexity and uncertainty, which are totally unnecessary, as the UK and other EU countries already have well-developed national maternity pay systems.”