Maternity Action
Maternity Action is the UK's specialist maternity rights charity, providing free legal advice on employment rights, pay, and NHS maternity care charging, plus training, policy research, and campaigning for pregnant women, new mothers, and migrant women.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Maternity Action does
Maternity Action is a UK registered charity (Charity reg. no. 1128776), founded in 2008 and headquartered in London, that operates as the country's specialist maternity rights organisation. It delivers three core services free of charge: a Work & Benefits Advice Service providing telephone and email legal advice on employment rights, pay and benefits; an NHS Maternity Care & Charging Advice Service for women invoiced for NHS maternity care; and a Migrant Women's Rights Service offering training and support to health professionals, advisers, community workers and volunteers. It also publishes an Advice A-Z online resource and produces recurring research such as the annual Cost of Living on Maternity Leave report series and joint surveys with UNISON.
The organisation combines direct service delivery with systemic advocacy: it submits consultation responses, briefs parliamentarians, runs the 'End Pregnancy Poverty' campaign, and produces research with partners including the Women's Budget Group, Refugee Council, and WHEC. It is governed by trustees, employs 11-50 staff, and operates across England with no global footprint. Its underlying technology is a standard content website (1.4 million annual visitors) and standard office tooling; there is no proprietary technology product.
Maternity Action's revenue model is entirely non-commercial, drawing on voluntary public donations, grants from trusts and foundations, and trade union affiliation fees. All services are provided free to beneficiaries, and pricing is not applicable. Marketing and beneficiary reach are achieved through the website, blog, email newsletter, podcasts, social media across five platforms, press releases, parliamentary submissions, seminars and events, and a trade union affiliation and corporate partnership programme.
Maternity Action firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Maternity Action
- Legal name
- Maternity Action
- Website
- https://maternityaction.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Maternity Action is the UK's specialist maternity rights charity, providing free legal advice on employment rights, pay, and NHS maternity care charging, plus training, policy research, and campaigning for pregnant women, new mothers, and migrant women.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Maternity Action industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Maternity Rights Advocacy
- NAICS
- Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Social Assistance (624), Individual and Family Services (6241)
- SIC
- Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Lactation, Postpartum & Perinatal Support Services (HLAFAJAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Postpartum Family Helper (Non-Medical) (HSAAAGAJ), Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ)
Keywords
Where Maternity Action is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Maternity Action business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and voluntary contributions: Maternity Action relies on voluntary donations from the public to fund its operations, advice services, and campaigns. The website promotes one-time and recurring donations.
- Grants and funding from funders: The organization receives grant funding from institutional funders to support its research, training, and advocacy work. A 'Fund our work' page invites trusts and foundations to support the organization.
- Trade union affiliation fees: Maternity Action has a trade union affiliation programme and provides resources and support to affiliated trade unions, likely through membership/affiliation fees.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
Maternity Action product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Maternity Action provides free specialist legal advice by telephone and email on maternity and parental rights at work, pay and benefits, and NHS maternity care charging. It also delivers training and support to health professionals, advisers, community workers and volunteers assisting vulnerable migrant women during pregnancy and their child's first year. The charity supplements these direct services with online information resources, annual research publications, and policy advocacy work.
Product overview
Maternity Action is the UK's maternity rights charity offering free specialist services rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings consist of three advice services: the Work & Benefits Advice Service providing free legal advice on employment rights, pay and benefits; the NHS Maternity Care & Charging Advice Service offering guidance on healthcare costs; and the Migrant Women's Rights Service providing training for professionals supporting vulnerable migrant women. These services are supplemented by online information resources including an Advice A-Z database, research publications such as annual Cost of Living on Maternity Leave surveys, and policy advocacy work.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Work & Benefits Advice Service Free specialist telephone and email advice on maternity and parental rights at work, pay and benefits for pregnant women, new parents, trade unions and advisers in the UK.
- NHS Maternity Care & Charging Advice Service Free and confidential expert advice to women who have received an invoice for NHS maternity care or been told they will be charged for NHS maternity care in England.
- Migrant Women's Rights Service - Training and Support Training and support services delivered to health professionals, advisers, community workers and volunteers supporting vulnerable migrant women during pregnancy and their child's first year.
- Cost of Living on Maternity Leave Reports Annual research publication series surveying women's financial experiences during maternity leave and reporting on poverty, debt and the adequacy of statutory maternity pay in the UK.
- Maternity Rights Survey Joint research publication with UNISON surveying pregnant women and new mothers about workplace experiences and treatment during pregnancy and maternity leave.
Quantifiable outcome
- Helped women claim £326,000 in unpaid wages, benefits and compensation in the last year.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Maternity Action
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Maternity Action technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Maternity Action partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- UNISONcoreMaternity Action and UNISON jointly released findings from their Maternity Rights Survey (February 2026), revealing that pregnant women and new mothers continue to face poor treatment, disadvantage and unacceptable risk in the workplace despite legal protections. Over 2,300 UNISON members responded. This is an ongoing strategic partnership combining union membership reach with Maternity Action's policy expertise.
- Various trade unions and partner organisationsminorThe 2025 Cost of Living on Maternity Leave survey was promoted via Maternity Action's organisational networks and social media outlets with the support of several trade unions and partner organisations, which helped distribute the survey to their members.
- Women's Budget GroupcoreWomen's Budget Group conducted economic modelling for Maternity Action's 'Pushed into Poverty' 2025 report, projecting costs and benefits of uprating SMP, MA and SPP to National Living Wage levels using UKMOD version B.2024.21. This provided the quantitative basis for policy recommendations on the cost of improving maternity pay.
- Women's Health and Equality Consortium (WHEC)minorMaternity Action and Women's Health and Equality Consortium jointly released a report (May 2014) on barriers to accessing GP services, based on a survey of 300 women and five focus groups with BME women, refugee and asylum seeking women, women living with HIV, LGBT women and women with learning difficulties.
- Refugee CouncilcoreMaternity Action and Refugee Council jointly held a seminar (9 July 2013) on the 'When maternity doesn't matter' research into dispersal of asylum seeking women during pregnancy. This was the first of two seminar videos produced as part of a joint research programme.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Maternity Action competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- NCT (National Childbirth Trust): UK charity supporting parents through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. Comparable target audience of pregnant women and new mothers with overlapping information, advice, and campaigning functions, though NCT focuses more on antenatal education and peer support.
- Fawcett Society: UK charity campaigning for gender equality and women's rights at work. Overlapping policy remit on pregnancy discrimination, pay, and workplace rights; comparable research-and-campaigning operating model though broader than maternity-specific.
- Gingerbread: UK charity supporting single-parent families with advice, information, and campaigning. Comparable advice-line service delivery and policy advocacy model, with overlapping audience of pregnant women and lone mothers navigating benefits and work.
- Child Poverty Action Group: UK charity focused on child poverty, benefits uptake, and family finances — directly comparable to Maternity Action's Cost of Living on Maternity Leave research and benefits-advice work, with similar policy-campaigning operating model.
- Working Families: UK charity advocating for work-family balance, parental rights, and flexible working — directly comparable to Maternity Action's workplace rights advice and policy remit, with similar advice-line and research-driven operating model.
Broad incumbents
- Refuge: UK charity supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse. Overlapping audience of vulnerable women — including migrant women — and comparable advice and advocacy infrastructure, though focused on violence against women rather than maternity-specific rights.
- Citizens Advice: Largest UK generalist advice charity offering free advice across employment, benefits, and healthcare issues that overlap with Maternity Action's casework. Significantly larger infrastructure and brand reach, but lacks maternity-specific specialization.
Others
- Women's Health and Equality Consortium (WHEC): UK consortium of women's health and equality organizations. Maternity Action is a former partner and member; WHEC operates as an enabling coalition rather than direct service provider, with thematic overlap on women's health access including maternity.
- Royal College of Midwives: UK professional body and trade union for midwives. Adjacent ecosystem participant — interacts with Maternity Action via NHS charging and migrant women's rights issues — but operates as a professional membership organization rather than an advice charity.
Emerging players
- Family Rights Group: UK charity advising families — particularly those in care proceedings or with children in need — on rights and entitlements. Comparable advice-line and policy-advocacy model, with overlapping client base of vulnerable families navigating state systems.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Maternity Action social profiles
Digital presenceMaternity Action financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Maternity Action leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Maternity Action funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Maternity Action M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Maternity Action
What does Maternity Action do?
Maternity Action provides free specialist legal advice by telephone and email on maternity and parental rights at work, pay and benefits, and NHS maternity care charging. It also delivers training and support to health professionals, advisers, community workers and volunteers assisting vulnerable migrant women during pregnancy and their child's first year. The charity supplements these direct services with online information resources, annual research publications, and policy advocacy work.
Is Maternity Action a public or private company?
Maternity Action is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Maternity Action founded?
Maternity Action was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Maternity Action based?
Maternity Action is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Maternity Action make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and voluntary contributions are the primary driver. The others are grants and funding from funders and trade union affiliation fees.
Who are Maternity Action's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are NCT (National Childbirth Trust), Fawcett Society, Gingerbread, Child Poverty Action Group and Working Families. Broad incumbents are Refuge and Citizens Advice. Others are Women's Health and Equality Consortium (WHEC) and Royal College of Midwives. Family Rights Group is listed as an emerging player.
Does Maternity Action have an API?
No public API is recorded for Maternity Action.
What industry is Maternity Action in?
Maternity Action's product category is Maternity Rights Advocacy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAFAJAN, Lactation, Postpartum & Perinatal Support Services, with a secondary code of HSAAAGAJ, Postpartum Family Helper (Non-Medical). Its NAICS code is 624190 and its SIC code is 8090.