Paid maternity leave

[wylie]

I was very lucky that I was paid for part of my maternity leave. My employer benefited because I went back to work with all my years of experience and they didn't have to train someone else. After baby two I took several years' break with no pay but I kept up my super payments, so my super is very healthy even having not worked for 15 years, and no super paid for the past ten.

Employers have a long way to go though because when I did resign (no higher positions for me in Queensland - bar one which was filled) I asked what if I changed my mind and wanted to come back to work when my third baby was older. Young snip of a woman told me I would have to sit the bank exam with the school leavers and see if I could get a job

No brownie points for having been promoted through the ranks over many years and having reached as high in my area as I could go. Just join the school leaver queue and we MAY give you a job if you pass the test.

I would LOVE to see how the maternity debate worked if men could have babies.......

Wylie

 

[GoAnna!]

Silly me here I was thinking that couples have babies (usually) rather than just women having babies. I don't see maternity leave (or paternity) as an entitlement and I appreciate that small businesses would be unable to fund it themselves but in the case of large business it is smart to hang onto the personel you have invested so much time and money training etc. To lose some-one with ten years experience because they will be off for 12 months is very costly in terms of recruitment, training and loss of skills and knowledge.

You may have noticed the new leave arrangements St George have just announced designed to attract and retain good employees. Work for 4 years and get paid for the 5th while on leave(pay reduced accordingly during first 4 years), 13 weeks per year parenting leave etc. This provides much more work life balace with people more easily able to juggle family and work commitments as well as travel etc. St George has been very open about the fact that they are doing it out of economic necessity in order to be competitive as an employer and attract good employees, not to win awards for being the most family friendly employer.

For the record my family has never been the recipient of paid maternity or paternity leave although I did appreciate the flexiability that allowed us to have time out from work when the babies were born. I understand that not everyone is so fortunate.

 

[Pushka]

Those who have benefitted from paid maternity leave and other employee benefits have worked in large organisations, but it is small business who employs the most number of people as a collective group. And it is small business that simply cannot afford to offer these kinds of benefits.

Tizzy, I agree with you about the super issue. Which, if the whole Income Tax system was changed to accommodate families, as opposed to individuals, then super payments could also be split between two people. Actually, I think if you make the choice of having an SMSF I think you can do this anyway? Not sure of that, I have always worked (only part time when the kids were young) so have always received super.

 

[natmarie73]

I think it comes down to skills and labour shortages as well. Women make up over 50% of the workforce, as well as over 50% of uni graduates.

To put it very simply, if women chose not to work and stay at home to have children then quite frankly many companies simply would not be able to find enough staff to stay open. Thus companies who can afford to pay their valuable female employees 6 or 12 weeks wages while they stay at home with the bub will find that their valuable, skilled employee will return to work after however long she decides to stay at home and bring back her skills and knowledge to the workplace. Those companies who choose not to offer mat leave may find that in a tight labour market they simply can't compete for skilled and educated female employees.

If every woman decided tomorrow that they will not work anymore, this country would go busto overnight.

I think you could just as easily say, "why should I as a boss pay my employee 4 weeks wages so they can have a holiday?" or "why should I pay X% on top of wages for my employee so they can retire with some extra money"?

However, I don't think employers should be forced to pay mat leave as some simply can't afford it. I would prefer to see the govt scrap the baby bonuses and pay it in maternity leave instead. But I do agree with Mark in the fact that if you can't afford to have a child, you shouldn't have one and expect the govt to look after you.

Perhaps there should be something like maternity insurance, that you pay into out of your own wage and can draw on when you have a baby?

 

[our obsession]

Nat, the maternity insurance allowance is brilliant!! Great brainstorming.

Barry Maley is Senior Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies, and former Director of the Centre’s Taking Children Seriously research programme, completed in 2001. His most recent book, Family & Marriage in Australia (CIS 2001) was one of three finalists in the Research in Ethics category at the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

This guy (Barry) has an Issue Analysis (relatively older) but interesting:

http://www.cis.org.au/IssueAnalysis/ia24/IA24.htm

I think we have an answer somewhere...it is a complex issue.

 

[geoffw]

work for the government

Isn't that an oxymoron?

 

[Glucose]

Isn't that an oxymoron?

Absolutely! Ha ha!

 

[letiha]

I have 3 children and i've never had to take maternity leave as i was studying fully time, now i'm back in the work force and finishing my last semester of uni its great that i can focus on work.

I know work loves the fact that i've already had kids, but if i chose to have more they are very flexible, with paid maternity leave for staff with 2 years + experience and even more flexible with returning to work part time or time off when pregnant.

but hey the term should be parenting leave because guys...remember your entitled to the exact same thing. Imagine if we asked women to have 2 weeks of at the birth and then the dads to stay home for the next year.

And then when that years up get calls to comepick up sick bub from kindy.

wouldn't go down well would it