Have you a maternity policy in your workplace?

ali_d

I am just trying to put information together to try and fight for my employer to bring in a maternity policy for our 5 women who work there.

I'm wondering if anyone here works for a multinational company, preferably one that works in any medical sector company (but any info is appreciated) that could let me know if there is a maternity policy and if so, can you give me a general idea as to what it entails. I know some companies pay up to 100% of wage (taking into consideration payment from government maternity benefit) and others 80%.

I have posted on a site like this before and before anyone smart answers, yes I know that there is no legal requirement for an employer to pay you while you are not working, but I am looking to see what is industry standard is. The company previously had a policy which one person benefit from and then they cut it. We are not a company which is struggling and have introduced other benefits and I think it is so unfair that they cut one thing and introduced another!!! Even the men get 3 days paternity leave when their partner has a baby but us women get nothing.

I hope someone can help me!!!

ElleEm

ali_d wrote: »

I am just trying to put information together to try and fight for my employer to bring in a maternity policy for our 5 women who work there.

I'm wondering if anyone here works for a multinational company, preferably one that works in any medical sector company (but any info is appreciated) that could let me know if there is a maternity policy and if so, can you give me a general idea as to what it entails. I know some companies pay up to 100% of wage (taking into consideration payment from government maternity benefit) and others 80%.

I have posted on a site like this before and before anyone smart answers, yes I know that there is no legal requirement for an employer to pay you while you are not working, but I am looking to see what is industry standard is. The company previously had a policy which one person benefit from and then they cut it. We are not a company which is struggling and have introduced other benefits and I think it is so unfair that they cut one thing and introduced another!!! Even the men get 3 days paternity leave when their partner has a baby but us women get nothing.

I hope someone can help me!!!

That's something! Most places "allow" men to take holidays at the time of the birth of their child, at a push. It's gas that women still get nothing.

I spent five years working for an international charity and they did not have a maternity leave policy.

Morag

The thing is usually that information is in a staff/employee hand book and giving information out of that to someone else can been viewed as a breach of contract as it is considered an internal document to the company.

Neyite

Nope, no maternity policy in my workplace - small /medium office, predominatly male workers. They used to have a full-pay thing in place but scrapped it.

The company permits statutory maternity leave only. Dont offer a jot over what my legal entitlements are.

Even worse, there was one person on the Work & Jobs forum who was using Jobbridge internship to fill a maternity position. There should be stiff fines for that kind of carry on. :rolleyes:

Stheno

I've worked for several multinationals, semi states, small and large private companies and to be honest all in the one industry (IT)

The policy varied from company to company, each was bound to allow women take maternity leave as per law, but how much they paid on top of statuory differed per company, some paid 100%, some paid nothing, others paid a portion.

In my experience there is no such thing as industry standards for it.

Blush_01

My current company has no maternity benefits on top of the statutory - I don't actually see why they should be obliged to. If I (or I and a partner) decide to have a child, why should my employer have to foot the bill?

I work in a large, predominately male dominated company. I have worked in companies where they had a 100% pay policy - would I like that from an employer? Sure, I'll never say no to free money. But do I think we're entitled to it by virtue of having proved our fertility as women? Hell no!

Pythia

I believe everywhere I have worked (financial institutions) had 100% pay but I haven't looked into it in great detail as it's not something important to me right now.

Posy

Neyite wrote: »

Even worse, there was one person on the Work & Jobs forum who was using Jobbridge internship to fill a maternity position. There should be stiff fines for that kind of carry on. :rolleyes:

I remember reading that. Totally disgraceful. :mad:

My company just has statutory maternity leave too.

Stheno

Posy wrote: »

I remember reading that. Totally disgraceful. :mad:

My company just has statutory maternity leave too.

Tbh I can see why that would be done, there are often contracts advertised just to cover maternity leave it if was an admin role it could be a useful foothold for someone on jobsbridge.

I think ultimately, and I am not one who could ever be described as being pro women at the expense of men, that what really harms maternity leave and women in this country is that it is a women only policy.

Some of the Nordic states, with some of the highest participation of women in the world in the workforce, require that post partum leave be shared between men and women, which removes that male/female barrier, reduces the risk of discrimination on the basis of maternity leave on women, and causes employers to bear the cost of the leave.

Hard to discriminate when there is a gender neutral policy covering pretty much all of your workforce, against whom you are required to pay for the leave.

ted1

Nothing in my company, no days off for Daddy's need to take holidays if days off are required.

We would fold if we did have to pay someone while on maternity leave. Out of 6 of us we have had 7 babies born in the last 2.5 years.

Neyite

I would love to see maternity leave transferrable between a couple - I think that there are a lot of couples for whom it would be ideal for the mother to return to work and dad to stay at home.

Edit: though the whole reason for maternity leave is to facilitate breastfeeding as far as I recall.

Stheno

Neyite wrote: »

I would love to see maternity leave transferrable between a couple - I think that there are a lot of couples for whom it would be ideal for the mother to return to work and dad to stay at home.

Edit: though the whole reason for maternity leave is to facilitate breastfeeding as far as I recall.

So do I especially for couples where the woman earns more than the man.

Outside of the pure financials, it would be lovely for men to have the opportunity to get to know their very young children.

Maternity leave is nine months here and up to a year with unpaid leave, which doesnt match with my understanding that breastfeeding is most important in the first six months? And you've the whole option of expressing etc.

I've one former colleague who came back to work and expressed after four weeks!

Neyite

Stheno wrote: »

So do I especially for couples where the woman earns more than the man.

Outside of the pure financials, it would be lovely for men to have the opportunity to get to know their very young children.

Maternity leave is nine months here and up to a year with unpaid leave, which doesnt match with my understanding that breastfeeding is most important in the first six months? And you've the whole option of expressing etc.

I've one former colleague who came back to work and expressed after four weeks!

Almost correct:

26 weeks+all your annual leave and public holidays and so on with statutory (max €262 per week) that works out at just under 7 months by my calculations and you can take an optional 16 weeks unpaid.

So for me, I'm in the middle of week 1 of 26 and I will be returning in beginning of December if I take the 26, and March sometime if I take the further 16, brings it to a full 10 months.

So breastfeeding for just over 6 months but you can extend to almost 10 months or so (if you can afford to be minus a wage in the household)

Stheno

Neyite wrote: »

Almost correct:

26 weeks+all your annual leave and public holidays and so on with statutory (max €262 per week) that works out at just under 7 months by my calculations and you can take an optional 16 weeks unpaid.

So for me, I'm in the middle of week 1 of 26 and I will be returning in beginning of December if I take the 26, and March sometime if I take the further 16, brings it to a full 10 months.

So breastfeeding for just over 6 months but you can extend to almost 10 months or so (if you can afford to be minus a wage in the household)

Thanks, I've never worked it out

Imagine if that level of leave even at statutory was spread between genders

I know plenty of guys who would take some of it and plenty of women who would use it to ease back into work

The system here is madness, and I don't have children and have probably benefitted from that fact at my age, but it's entirely predujiced against one gender taking that leave.

Apologies for taking this slightly OT, but I do believe having worked in 95% + male environments that it's reason why maternity policies differ so much amongst companies, that and the gender division and the lack of government support for couples choosing to have children.

Neyite

Stheno wrote: »

Thanks, I've never worked it out

Imagine if that level of leave even at statutory was spread between genders

I know plenty of guys who would take some of it and plenty of women who would use it to ease back into work

The system here is madness, and I don't have children and have probably benefitted from that fact at my age, but it's entirely predujiced against one gender taking that leave.

Apologies for taking this slightly OT, but I do believe having worked in 95% + male environments that it's reason why maternity policies differ so much amongst companies, that and the gender division and the lack of government support for couples choosing to have children.

I agree. I think as well it would help narrow the gap between pay rates overall between genders as both would be taking time out of the workplace, as well as levelling out the potential promotional prospects. And i think that if it was a benefit men wanted to avail of, it would be more common to have it in more companies.

Of course an employer cannot say that the reason they choose a male candidate over a female is down to possible reproduction in the future, but its easy to find an alternative reason.

I know in my case, it works for me to have all the leave as I have the smaller salary, but for my sister, she would be the bigger earner, plus her husband can also work partly from home or remotely. It would be so good to have that choice.

28064212

ali_d wrote: »

I have posted on a site like this before and before anyone smart answers, yes I know that there is no legal requirement for an employer to pay you while you are not working, but I am looking to see what is industry standard is. The company previously had a policy which one person benefit from and then they cut it. We are not a company which is struggling and have introduced other benefits and I think it is so unfair that they cut one thing and introduced another!!! Even the men get 3 days paternity leave when their partner has a baby but us women get nothing

That's just not true, you get what you're legally entitled to. Men are legally entitled to nothing, so the company offers them something. Why do you think your company should supplement your legal entitlement?

John Mason

Yes,

we get 100% with up to 2 years unpaid parental leave.

this can be taken one day a week if required.

we also have some kind of leave where you get all the school holidays of unpaid but your wages are pro rated out over the year, so you still get paid when on 3 months summer holiday leave.

am pretty sure the men get this too (may be not but some of the fathers seem to be on continoues parental leave).

this place is a ghost town in the summer.

plus as were are a caring and sharing company they are flexible with work hours etc.

We get full pay, minus state benefits, for the full 26 weeks. Men get nothing. Not a single day off. You have to be here two years to be entitled to it now, it was 1 when I started and I think they are phasing it out now for new staff as some a lot of people have abused it.

Snoopy1

OP
I work in a multi national medical company. As far as i know the women get 26 weeks paid, then the rest is unpaid. Your holidays build up over this time as well, so you can take some as holidays
The men get 2/3 days also.

A few women have come back from maternity leave pregnant, so are only back for a couple of months

Piste

I would love to see a system of paternity/maternity leave whereby there's a set amount of time that mothers and fathers can divide between them.v It would also get over the hurdle of women being at a natural disadvantage career-wise if they're taking off long stretches of time out of the workforce.