Enquiring re: maternity leave policy before starting new job

[mummaberry]

Really need your advice...
Obvioulsy questions about mat leave are not somehting one would ask in an interview, but am planning on having a second child in a year or so and looking for a new job now to get my feet under the table first.
If there is no mention of maternity leave policy on the organisation's website, how would you find this info out?
ideas please......

[Grevling]

You're going to have to ask unless its a large org and you can ask on here to see if anyone works there.

You could phone HR but unless you work there they are unlikely to send you the information.

Have you tried googling them (assume big company).

[HappyMummyOfOne]

Assume its standard SMP and look at anything else as a bonus.

[StillSquiffy]

Get your job offer first and then call HR and fold it into some other random questions.

EG

1. Just wanted to check what your pension policy is (wait for answer)
   
2. Great thanks, and can you carry your vacation over to the next year if you are too busy to use it up? (wait for answer)
   
3. OK, thanks. And can I check your maternity leave policy and whether you do childcare vouchers?

[flowery]

Is it really going to be a dealbreaker if a good job comes up in a good company? Just apply for jobs you like and then you could ask once you've got your offer as Squiffy suggested.

If the maternity provision would make a difference as to whether you would apply for/accept a particular job, I'd say that job is probably not good enough anyway.

[mummaberry]

Squiffy: like your idea thanks.
Flowery: I work for a charity currently where they only have SML for my first child and it was really hard to live off. It also felt slightly annoying when friends got great packages by comparison. So, since am starting a new job hunt, yes it would be a factor I would look at if possible when deciding weather to apply, the same as I would look at salary etc.
If i worked for the corporate sector then maybe I would have savings to fall back on but living in London and working for the third sector the money is tight.
Thought I'd pot on here to see if there was any kind of website or search engine in existence that listed this kind of information - hey maybe I should set one up!

[flowery]

I just think you might seriously limit your options if you need to take that into consideration tbh.

Having said that if you want to stay in the voluntary sector most big charities ime do offer some kind of enhanced package.

[RibenaBerry]

If you're looking for enhanced packages, generally bigger organisations are more likely to have enhanced maternity than small ones. Public sector tends to be enhanced, so charities in some way linked to NHS or further education might also be a decent bet (although that's a guess).

I think it's going to be unrealistic to plan applications based on maternity policy. However, like Squiffy said, it should be possible once you have an offer. As general request to see the employer handbook often gets you there, and if it doesn't you can follow up like Squiffy suggested.