Ms Natalie Gamble:

I can answer that query. It used to be case that parents through surrogacy fell through a gap in respect of leave from work, because they were neither not pregnant, which would have given them an entitlement to maternity leave, and nor were they being matched by an adoption agency, which would have given them an entitlement to adoption leave. We campaigned to have that situation changed, and the British Government added a special provision to the adoption laws in 2015. There is now a form of adoption law for surrogacy, which states that where intended parents intend to apply for a parental order, they will be given rights to leave from work and pay after the birth of their child. Those rights work in a way that allows one of the partners to claim the equivalent of maternity leave, while the other can claim the equivalent of paternity leave. We also have some provisions in UK law for sharing that leave if people wish to do so. That all applies. Essentially, therefore, intended parents have the same rights in respect of time off work as any other new parents. Regarding the surrogate, she is a woman giving birth and, as such, she is entitled to maternity leave as well.