Keira Knightley: Only rich mums can afford to go back to work

“Archaic” maternity laws combined with sky-high childcare costs mean only mothers who are rich can go back to work, says Actress Keira Knightley – the Daily Mail reports.

Knightley, who became a mother last year, spoke about the issue and acknowledged that attitudes – in the workplace and in society – need to change.

This is something that Wendy Jepson, HR Policy & Compliance Partner at engineering company Siemens, discussed at the Employee Benefits Live 2016 annual conference and exhibition last month.

Talking about how relatively few fathers had taken advantage of shared parental leave (SPL) since its launch last year, she said: “There are many societal and organisation benefits to the scheme and if you normalise a company’s culture, it’s inevitable that more men will take SPL.