Nursery owners cite the uncertainty of the current economic climate as one of the reasons women are choosing not to take their full maternity leave entitlement.
Providers who might have previously been concerned that extending maternity leave would impact negatively on their business are seeing a rise in the take-up of places for babies.
They also claim that women who might have initially wanted to return to work part-time are under pressure to return to full-time employment rather than using their right to request flexible working.
Redundancy
Treetops Nurseries, which has 20 settings, mainly based in the Midlands, has seen a 20 per cent rise in take-up of places for babies aged from three months to one year.
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