Ministers: Maternity Leave
The question
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Ministers who are providing cover for a Minister who is on maternity leave receive an exit payment if they leave Ministerial office at the end of the maternity cover period.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
Since 13 October 2025, ministers who serve for fewer than six months are expected to forgo their severance payment.
Ministers who return to office within three months of leaving will be asked to forgo their salary until the end of that three-month period.
Ministers providing temporary leave cover, outside of the provisions of the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Act 2021, are asked to waive their entitlement to a severance payment.
Unpaid ministers are not entitled to a severance payment under the terms of the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991.
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