To think the amount of SMP is entirely unreasonable?

This is a really bad idea. Many women are still breastfeeding at 6 months & want to continue (which is supported by national & international guidelines). Why should they be forced to be separate from their babies and back into the workplace just in the name of feminism/equality?

We have shared parental leave as an option. Take up is low because it isn't the right choice for most families. Women should be able to make that choice themselves, it shouldn't be compulsory. Having a baby, nursing etc is biological. Not everyone can split it all 50/50 all the time - mum might just need / want more time off for physical, hormonal, emotional reasons. & how would that work for single parents etc.

Women & their families need to be prioritised, not equality targets.

That’s amazing! Even with the funding mine is £1k a month so you are definitely into a winner there.

Agree.

The amounts paid to people who have disabilities preventing them from working, to single people who can't find work through no fault of their own, and to carers of disabled children are much, much less than the amount quoted in the OP. And those people haven't chosen their circumstances and may be completely unable to change them, so are arguably much more vulnerable.

I'd much rather see those people helped before more money is given to women on mat leave.

My org offers shared leave, which would allow more time at full pay and therefore a better overall income for a household, but take up is lower than 1% as women don't want to share "their" leave.

This is tricky because the flip side to paying women more money and giving g longer may leave, is that it makes women an unattractive employment prospect. All things being equal re qualifications/job experience, at interviews the male candidate is seen as a safer bet because they won't be taking mat leave.

Honestly, I think the solution is compulsory shared leave if you want to keep babies out of nursery at 6 months - mum gets the first 6 months, then dad gets the second six months.

It’s shite OP...bit of a warning though, it’s best not to look at it as “getting through the year” but more as a permanent reduction in family income because when you do start earning again, most of it will go on childcare so you won’t have what you had before or you’ll reduce your hours/stop work so you won’t have what you had before.

You are taxed on smp if your earnings for the calendar year fall above the threshold.

So if you have your baby in April and have a year maternity with only SMP you won’t be taxed but if you have your baby in November you will likely be taxed for the first 5 months. It’s awful.

It's in the interest of everyone to have well-adjusted kids joining society. Regardless of when the parents came off leave, they need to be adequately financed to afford this.

FYI, in spite of being someone who got Mat Allowance only, I was able to live off this as we're very financially prudent as a couple. However I've worked in the early years and in the prison sector, both of which show the abundant need to invest in the early years. Best provided by direct support to parents, who no, will for the large part no fritter it all away on fags.

Crude maths, but let's say a company sells a product for £95. But they need to fund better parental leave, so it now costs £100. However, the overall picture of less policing, less insurance, more educated and higher paid workforce now means that instead of 40 people spending £95 they now have 45 people spending £100.

But I also think that time is missing from the equation. Everyone focuses on wages, but in my experience, most people want more TIME with their families.

Why should they?
Pregancy is a lifestyle choice (in such a scenario, not talking about by non-planned mean), illness is not.
also, many companies have to hire maternity cover, which is an extra cost, so why should they pay you more?

SMP is shockingly low. There are lots of (professional) jobs where there is no enhanced maternity pay, mine being one of them (this is the norm in my industry unfortunately).

Although I knew this, it was still a shock to suddenly become financially dependent on my dh. And he’s a good one, there are plenty of threads on MN about women who are suffering financial abuse during their mat leave.

While I understand that having children is a choice, it becomes a society issue when women decide to stop having children due to cost.

It's called research go to glass doors often people have provided that information in their reviews.

And quite frankly most large companies offer good packages so aim for those companies.

Pretty obvious a small business is less likely to have a good one as they can't afford to

Have you ever tried asking to see a maternity policy as an applicant/ candidate for a job?

This is why some people only have one child or wait until they can afford a child and some have help from the State anyway.

There isn't an endless pot of money to help everyone.

Pensions are the same idea and you could delay having children if you're not ready to save. Maybe have fewer holidays.

To be crystal this doesn’t apply to me, I’m talking in the general sense.

taking on debt is foolish and no card as a 0% interest for years as you say. Remember not everyone qualifies for them, likewise with low loan rates.

same that every cannot save enough to sustain themselves for 9 months on less than £1k a month. Not everyone has a partner to be relied on either, a lot of dads just walk away

I think it's awful and will deter more and more women from having children. Its not just the SMP but how expensive everything is connected to raising children, detriment to your career, childcare/nursery, cost of living, university fees/loans, having to help your kids on the ladder. It only makes sense if both parents are mega earners or have full access to benefits. Everyone else will be impoverished having children.

No, it shouldn’t be a race to the bottom, but what’s really striking about this topic is the difference in attitudes towards SMP and to other benefits (UC, JSA etc).

Could you imagine a person insisting that their UC should be more so they can cover gifts for relatives, days out and takeaway coffees? They’d be ripped to shreds!

That’s like mine! They say it’s enhanced but it’s 6 weeks at 90%, then 7 weeks at 1/2 pay + SMP, then the rest at SMP till about 9 months then unpaid. So it’s only 7 weeks enhanced…. That’s for a government authority.

Yes this! Pushing for more when you’ve had it so much better than the previous generation.

I am shocked that women with enhanced 6 months full pay don’t feel responsible for their own financial planning and want even more subsidy for the gap. I got 12 weeks full pay, then half pay and thought that was generous enough. I lived very frugally and saved like mad to afford a year off.

If you know what you’re going to get at the start of pregnancy you have months to make a financial plan and execute it. No eating out/ holidays/ treats if that’s what it takes. If you want to sustain your lifestyle and won’t save or sacrifice… you will need to borrow to afford it.

If mothers were given 1 full year on full pay, there would be threads on here saying how unfair this and demanding 2 years on full pay.

The deal right now is broadly speaking not too bad.

Cut your cloth.

Well if you haven’t saved enough that’s what you will need to do. Or your partner does overtime or takes a second job like my dad did. You have had plenty of subsidies and it’s up to you and your partner to do your own financial planning. If you’re not comfortable with a loan then you need to tighten your belt and save during pregnancy.

I took a 0% credit card and put all my groceries on it for a few weeks at the end of mat leave. Lots of people do this. It took me years to pay it off (we also moved house with second child and I purchased stuff for house) but it was a manageable low monthly payment. It was in my budget and fine. I’m afraid that’s what you need to do if you haven’t saved enough/ your partner doesn’t earn enough money to sub you.

So just to be clear, you should take on unsecured lending debt in this current high interest rate environment and knowing that when you go back to work, you’ll have even higher outgoings due to childcare?

that sounds like an excellent plan 🙃

If you don’t have help from family you take out a 0% credit card or loan and pay it back when in work.

I don’t understand the entitlement on this thread. It’s really strange that people don’t consider the need to save or borrow to bridge the gap in earnings… these financial instruments exist for this kind of purpose. Bizzare how you think the taxpayer should plug the gap after 6 months of full pay.

Enhanced maternity packages were hard fought for by women in their 50s/late 40s in the places I’ve worked in. Now the younger generation are complaining it’s not enough to get 6 months pay. So ungrateful

Isn’t that what 0% credit cards are for? That’s how I funded my two maternity leave periods as I am higher earner so it was a big blow . Also you get Child Benefit too. That’s quite a generous handout. I saved like mad before going off… used annual leave on return and KIT days. It was tight but we managed and through the other side. Totally normal!

To be honest you sound unrealistic in your expectations… starting a family has always been a struggle. Speak to anyone older … my parents had no savings, had to do nights cleaning to make ends meet. You just gotta suck it up. Those slightly older than me at work got naff all mat leave… companies have really upped their game, I consider you to be part of a lucky generation when it comes to maternity support.

I think SMP is pretty generous looking at other benefits…it was £140 when I claimed a few years ago. I see it’s gone up a lot more than CB has.

Also YABVU saying you need a lot of money to fund baby equipment. That’s rubbish. Your baby actually NEEDS very little… you just WANT it. Baby doesn’t care about second hand stuff, ikea cheapo baby chair etc

Happens to the best of us

My bad!

It was a different poster who said that.

Please accept my apologies