Maternity pay has gone too far

100% correct. - your post that is, not the comments made by Toxic Kemikal Badenough!

I don’t even get this argument.

I have a small business. The government pays 110% of the SMP cost so it’s not a cost.

There is an issue of cover yes. But that doesn’t cause a company to go under.

Her opinions are reminiscent of Monty Python… What has regulation ever done for us? 🤣

I do however live in a country whose government regularly lies to its citizens for populist reasons about allowing large numbers of immigrants for necessary economic reasons; then whips up hatred about a few thousand refugees to divert the population from the need for legal immigration. But it is pretty well, if not absolutely, controlled.

@MakeMeATea

You say you live in a country with uncontrolled immigration?

I don't.

Which country do you live in?

🤣

I often come out with really controversial small state conservative views when asked a live question. We must have the same issue!

Miriam Cates on Radio 5 this morning kindly explained that Badenoch didn't mean what she seemed to have said. Apparently we should accept with grace that people often say things they didn't mean in live interviews. So that's OK then. 🙄

I guess you couldn't find it then @LongtailedTitmouse. Meanwhile, on the video that is available on Badenoch's own twitter account, she says that maternity pay is excessive.
She was also 'misrepresented' on The Telegraph website this morning too, poor thing.

I think this comment is quite upsetting bullshit. I think 9 months is a good length of time - 6 month olds are still babies and it is really hard to get affordable care at the ratios they need and really challenging to let them go. 9 month olds are starting to move more and should be eating so breastfeeding mums can feel more comfortable leaving them and they should finally be getting some sleep which you can’t guarantee at 6 months. It’s a huge difference. I went back at 10 months with both of my first 2.

Those not working might be having lots of kids (where?) but they are affected by benefit caps and two child limits.

I was only asking how it helps which I presume is different than advocating

See I had 3 but spaced them out so wasn't paying 2 lots of full time childcare in one go.

We only had one despite earning average UK salaries as cannot afford the cost of childcare for 2 plus the rising cost of paying a mortgage, council tax and even food shopping.
I look around me, my working sil only has one, lots of smaller families barely making replacement rate.
Meanwhile my mum had 3, her mum had 3, fil side had 7 😱ok maybe that is extreme.
Meanwhile uncontrolled immigration and those who aren't working are having loads of kids.. sahm mums (lucky).
So working couples are being penilised and aren't having that many kids anymore.. Just the wealthy and those who don't work..there's no incentive for those on a middling salary to have children.
Can't wait to see what this country will be looking like in 20 plus years.

The best thing Labour can do at this point is increase statutory maternity pay.

It’s currently 44% of national minimum wage.. Why? It needs to be increased to be in line with minimum wage to start with as it just proves you can’t live properly off the current amount.

Apologies, I thought you were one of those arguing that six months maternity was sufficient. I may have misunderstood.

What bothers me most about this is the innate cognitive refusal to see babies not as people.

We are all born. Even if you are tiny and don't have a vote, the UK government is responsible for you just like any other citizen.

Calling a human being a "lifestyle choice" is ridiculous.

@BarbaraHoward

I’m not entirely sure why we’re arguing as I originally made the point that nursery doesn’t have to mean the end of the breastfeeding relationship and made it clear I went back at 7 months. You made the point that not all babies take a bottle. I said mine didn’t, and bottle refusal didn’t mean the end of breastfeeding for us.

You’ve now turned this into a going back before 6 months issue which isn’t my situation, so I'm not sure what your point is now. I’m sorry for anyone who does have to go back before six months.

@ChallahPlaiter well happily we now have a Labour government who will no doubt sort everything out.

She said: "Maternity pay varies, depending on who you work for - but statutory maternity pay is a function of tax, tax comes from people who are working."

Note she didn't say:

Winter fuel allowance is a function of tax, tax comes from people who are working.

Yes exactly this.

In fact the cladding disaster can be traced back to the Thatcher years so it was clearly a deeply embedded problem. However, it was undeniably David Cameron who said his government would “kill health and safety culture” and who introduced a one in one out system when it came to new H&S regulations. It was Boris Johnson as London mayor who closed fire stations and got rid of fire engines prior to the tragedy. It was Conservative run Kensington and Chelsea council that allowed the base of Grenfell to be built up, preventing easy access to firefighters.

Sewage is discharged into Scottish rivers regularly.

The water companies are being fined for mismanagement but it has always been the case that in times of exceptional rainfall sewage is released into the rivers and sea.

I agree, I don't live or never have lived in a Nordic country but I have Scandinavian relatives and the attitudes towards being a parent are so progressive compared to this country, investing in your future.

The Tories have just lost touch with reality and they think this is the way forward, really??

Yes but again that's a good four weeks after weaning.

Six months of maternity leave typically means a baby that's 5-5.5 months, which is hugely different to seven months. Was your bottle refusing baby ready to be left all day long five days a week at 5 months? Because mine sure as hell weren't.

9 months of leave allows babies to be established on solids and for mothers to stop working a little earlier. I worked to 38 weeks happily - in my desk job. The women at my DC's nursery (who obviously are on feck all pay) don't make it anywhere near that because they have physical jobs that are hard to do in their third trimester. Six months after they start leave they tend to have 4 month olds babies at best.