64 The situations indicated below apply also in case of adoption or custody. CHILDCARE LEGISLATION AND SUPPORT There are different forms of support that governments offer to families when it comes to childcare. Here are the main ones. Maternity leave If the baby is born early, leave starts the day after the birth. It is possible to work up until childbirth if a doctor provides documentation that guarantees the baby s health is not jeopardised by the mother keeping working. In the UK, employees can take 52 weeks of maternity leave. The first 26 weeks are called Ordinary Maternity Leave and the other 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave . Mothers can take it 11 weeks before the due date and they must take at least 2 weeks after the birth (or 4 weeks if they are factory workers). Statutory maternity pay can be paid for up to 39 weeks and can be prolonged if the company has a maternity scheme. Other forms of support Lactation breaks: In the UK, there is no legal right to paid breaks but employers are required to provide a private, safe, and healthy environment where to express breast milk. In Italy, either parent has the right to a daily reduction of the working hours (1 or 2 depending on the timetable) up to the child s year of age. In Italy, maternity leave is mandatory and lasts 5 months, with the earliest that it can be taken 2 months before the expected week of childbirth . Mothers are entitled to an allowance for the full leave which is equal to 80-100% of her pay. Paternity leave In the UK, fathers may be eligible depending on the government s requirements for a paternity leave that lasts 1 to 2 weeks with pay. Alternatively, parents may get shared parental leave and statutory shared parental pay which amounts to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between mother and father. In Italy, fathers are entitled to 10 days of full paid compulsory leave. Parental leave: In the UK, each parent can take up to 18 weeks per sick child until they are 18, with a maximum of 4 weeks a year. In Italy, either parent can take parental leave for the whole period of sickness of the child up until they are 3 years old and a maximum of 5 days a year for a child aged between 3 and 8. Other forms of allowances or leave may be granted in the following conditions: special needs of the child (disability, neonatal care, etc.); the government aims at promoting natality and thus provides recurrent or one-off economic incentives. allowance: indennit custody: affidamento to jeopardise: mettere a rischio leave: congedo one-off: una tantum 132 BABIES AND CHILDREN