maternity-leave

[bart-leby]

In the book Passport to the Pub by Kate Fox there is the following sentence.



[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]This enforced maternity-leave from the local was clearly damaging to[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]the family unit, not to mention bad for business, and so the family pub[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]was created.[/FONT]


I have problems with the phrase maternity-leave in the context of the sentence. Maternity leave [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]"[/FONT]is an employee benefit available in almost all countries that provides paid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]"[/FONT]. But this does not fit to the meaning of the sentence as I undestand it – mothers were not allowed to go to pubs in the past and it caused problems with functioning of families. Can you please translate for me the part [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]This enforced maternity-leave from the local was clearly damaging to the family unit… [/FONT]

 

[riquecohen]

One of the definitions of local in the Oxford Dictionaries is "a pub convenient to a person's home."
It seems to me that a fuller context is required here. It's not clear if the maternity leave was mandated by law or if the mother needed time to care for the child or if the mother-to-be had complications of pregnancy. Is there any indication of how the situation damaged the family unit in any way other than financial?

 

[SoothingDave]

I don't understand what is being said either. What is is a "family pub" and how is it different from a local? Who was on maternity leave? An employee of the local? How was it bad for business?

More context is needed.

 

[bart-leby]

Here is the paragraph preceding my sentence:


If you are visiting Britain with young children, these pubs could transform your holiday. Family pubs have been rapidly multiplying ever since the brewers and pub-owning companies discovered that many pubgoers are also parents. Parents, especially mothers, had long been deprived of the joys of regular pub-going, because children were not legally allowed in pubs.

 

[riquecohen]

Family pubs are pubs that welcome children. It's not clear to me whether the law prohibitng children has been changed or if these pubs operate under a different set of rules. Perhaps an English member would be able to shed more light on this matter.

 

[SoothingDave]

OK, so it is nothing to do with "maternity leave" as a benefit of employment.

The mother literally had to take a leave from hanging out in the pub since she had to take care of the kids and they weren't allowed in the pub.