Petition · past parliament
Grant junior doctors the same maternity/paternity rights as other employees
Closed
478 signatures
What the petition asks
The junior doctor contract allows doctors on mat leave to be moved to a different hospital, risking being placed 100s of miles from their old job, with insufficient warning for childcare planning and despite vacancies in their previous hospital. Other professions are protected from this by UK law.
Junior doctors taking maternity leave are having the location of their employment changed drastically on returning to work, often making it unfeasible to continue training. Morale is already low and this can cause added stress and anxiety to doctors with young families. There is a staffing crisis across the NHS and so it would be in the public's interest to close this loophole and allow junior doctors the same parental rights as other employees, to increase junior doctor retention in the NHS.
Timeline
| 14 Mar 2018 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 14 Sep 2018 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
478
Status
Closed
Opened
14 Mar 2018
Closed
14 Sep 2018
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.