To think the amount of SMP is entirely unreasonable?

State pension is £220 per week, so not loads more, and for many mortgage or rent still has to be paid.

Paternity pay is even worse. You don’t get even one single day on anywhere near your normal salary. It’s £184 per week from day 1. My DH normally earns £1200 per week, we couldn’t survive on £184. So he couldn’t take any paternity leave at all.

I only get 18 weeks full pay and then SMP (standard in my sector). Be grateful you get 6 months!!! I'm the higher earner. And we had IVF costs to pay for to have our kids. My ability to save for first child was obviously easier than its been this time again. Oh, and in Scotland so we don't get any funding for childcare until they are 3years old. But if you want children, you make it work.

It's not taking the piss. It's life. I'm sure she didn't have 3 kids in short succession to annoy you or her boss. In my local authority you have to go back to work for 5 months (full time, or part time equivalent) to get any enhanced pay. So she likely wouldn't have taken any money from your employer, only SMP from the government.

Because they are actually being productive for the employer. I used to work for a London borough council and it wasn't unusual. One woman had 3 maternity leaves only actually working a couple of months in between and then left the job when supposed to return after having the 3rd baby. That's just taking the piss

No I don't actually. The person commenting was referring to women/mothers. The passive aggressive correction wasn't necessary. 🙄

Why? They'll still be taking the same amount of leave in total? What's the difference between going back to work for 3 months or 9 months??

You're correct that it is not "sickness" but it is "recovery" especially if you have had a traumatic birth or surgical intervention, and it should be treated as such for payment and time off work.

But there are those who won’t qualify for UC not significantly struggle on smp

the state provision should be enhanced through taxation on the very high earners (80k +)

You mean a parent not just mothers.

The one thing I think shouldn't be allowed is women going back to work already pregnant again, working for a few weeks then getting another lot of maternity pay. Should insist that you actually work ( as in physically working) for at least 9 months before getting another lot of maternity pay elsewhere you get some women working about 3 months over a 2 year period

My DD was not born in the UK, and this is exactly what I had. Quite common in America too, I think?

You cannot possibly compare injury or illness (serious enough injury or illness to be off work for an extended time period of time) to maternity leave. It’s offensive to both categories really. Women do deserve maternity pay and rights but comparing it to sickness is silly.

That's ridiculous... Having kids is an absolute necessity if you want working age adults to exist who are going to pay taxes, to pay for the pensions. In fact it may as well be 'if you want a pension you have to have had a child'.

There is state provision. There is UC which is - rightly - much higher for parents than those without children.

But it's not really about the woman wanting extended leave as though they just don't want to work - it's about the child having nurture, bonding, care etc. It's an investment in the people who will form society in the future. Plenty of children will of course be fine going into a nursery at a very young age but if it is possible for mothers to stay with their children then surely that's a positive thing?

Unfortunately this has become a luxury that most people can't afford to take.

same here, DS1 was at childminders at 3 months and I went back to work full time. That was 18 years ago

I actually think that's pretty good. We get 13 weeks at 90% but topped up to full pay by SMP them straight onto SMP for the next 26 weeks. If you have a working partner then it's not too awful. Paying for nursery once you go back to work is the killer.

@fitzwilliamdarcy

On the flip side at my work I knew several colleagues who had full paid sick leave of 13 weeks ....injured playing football at an age should know better ....and my company didn't offer any full paid EMP at the time

I'd have been better off breaking my arm whilst giving birth

The ill thing though is the future viability of you in the role. But it’s still fucking terrible And we all should be really critical of the firms we join and the benefits they offer

I agree it's insulting - they want more women in work and more women in professional roles and then pay a pittance

If you told a man he would have to carry a baby for 9 months give birth accept all the physical emotional and emotional changes having a baby brings and then "live" on SMP - as a main earner - men wouldn't have children

@ABirdsEyeView society as a whole benefits from a healthy birth rate (broadly we need a new generation of workers to support those who go on to retire). Society also benefits from women who are/would like to be parents working; as there is an economic gain from this.

Smaller organisations probably do need more support to meet the costs of doing so; but I think we should be trying to move more towards a system of full pay for the first 6 months (which we see in the public sector and some industries)

Its such a significant difference when you work in the public sector or an industry that effectively offers full pay for 6 months. I wonder if there has been any research about how this supports families; and maybe helps women to stay in work or to have more than one child?

I know where you’re coming from. I had a lifesaving major surgery and my employer gave me 8 weeks off with gritted teeth and a lot of kvetching, but in that team over the past decade I’ve seen women taking 13 months off 2 or 3 times and nobody bats an eyelid.

As they shouldn’t - it’s a legal entitlement but I think if you haven’t been seriously ill, you underestimate how much protection and ‘give’ that you actually get from an employer.

how does it impact employability as the women are already in jobs? Career progression arguably but that will happen if 6 months or a year are taken.

in this scenario it’s 6 months, is that 6 months full pay? Or just 6 months leave generally speaking?

no one is pushed into 12 months leave, women have the option to return earlier and paid leave is only 9 months.

but I agree for enhanced pat leave but probably not for the same reason as you.

im blessed my dh gets 6 months full pay pat leave and I the same mat but this isn’t standard