Maternity pay has gone too far

@setmestraightplease

Happy to set you straight on maternity leave for Denmark.

While the table you quote shows that statutory paid maternity leave in Denmark is 18 weeks, this is not the full story. Maternity leave is just that - leave exclusively for the new mother. Fathers are eligible for 2 weeks paternity leave.

New parents are entitled to an additional 32 weeks of parental leave - so a new mother could (and usually does) take 40 weeks of paid leave in total.

As well as the rate paid by the State, most employers also pay up to 90% of salaries for the full 40 weeks of leave (minus the portion paid by the State). This is a feature of most employment contracts.

@peepsypops Go on. Tell us how MUCH Norway pays in mat pay? Dare you.

I'm not in a competition here ?? And I have no axe to grind,
Perhaps you can shed light on the question?

(and just wondering why you specifically asked about Norway??)

Just in case you can't use Google :

If you are expecting a child through birth or adoption, and have been in work for at least 6 out of the last 10 months, you may be entitled to parental benefit.
Lump-sum grant (engangsstønad ved fødsel og adopsjon)
If you are a woman and have not earned the right to parental benefit, you may be entitled to a lump-sum grant.
What conditions do I need to meet?
Pregnancy benefits
Pregnancy benefits can be granted if you are unable to work because of a risk to the foetus or your own health. For example, your work may be physically demanding or stressful, or you may work with chemical substances or with dangerous tools. You must document this with a doctor's certificate or a statement from your midwife.
You must provide documentation showing that your employer is unable to allocate you more suitable tasks. (form for alternative/adjusted work due to pregnancy - available in Norwegian only - to be completed by your employer).
Parental benefit
One has to receive a pensionable income for at least 6 out of the last 10 months prior to the start of the parental benefit period. Your annualised income must equal the equivalent of at least 0.5 G (Basic Amount). As of May 2023 this amounts to NOK 59 310.
Periods of sickness benefit, work assessment allowance, parental benefit, etc. count towards occupational activity.
Lump-sum grant for birth or adoption
A lump-sum grant is paid out to women who have given birth but are not eligible to parental benefit.
What am I entitled to and how can I claim?
Pregnancy benefits
These are calculated in the same way as sickness benefit. The maximum benefit is equivalent to 6 G annually, regardless of whether your income is higher; this is NOK 711 720 using the current Basic Amount.
You can receive pregnancy benefits from the point in your pregnancy at which you must stop working, up to three weeks prior to the birth.
Read more about pregnancy benefits and how to apply for them here.
Parental benefit
The parental benefit period is 49 weeks (15 weeks are reserved for each parent) with 100% income coverage or 59 weeks weeks (19 weeks are reserved for each parent) with 80% income coverage. Parental benefit is calculated in the same way as sickness benefit. The maximum benefit is equivalent to 6 G annually, regardless of whether your income is higher.
The three weeks before the birth are reserved for the mother (these are not part of the maternal quota). These 3 weeks do not apply to adoptions, meaning that in such cases, the total period comes to 46 or 56 weeks.
If the father wishes to receive parental benefit that does not come under the paternal quota, the mother must be in gainful activity, e.g. working or studying. From August 2022 all fathers eligible for parental benefit have access to 8 weeks of parental benefit regardless of the mother’s activity.

• 12 months full pay as standard for the mother

• X additional amount (suggestions for duration welcome!) use-it-or-lose-it fully paid leave for the father, which does not come off the mother’s year so fathers are more likely to take it

• free nursery hours start from 12 months so there is no gap to bridge between mat leave/affordable childcare and women do not drop out of the workforce unless they choose to

That’s my wish list. Completely the opposite direction from Kemi.

Well no, but it’s understandable isn’t it. If someone has always wanted a child and thinks it’s her last chance, she may accept circumstances she wouldn’t have ten or even five years earlier

I agree, 12 months and we should value our mothers much more as a society

And that's a good reason to have a child??!

If you think SMP is in any way "excessive" then you really are done deaf in my opinion. Tone bloody deaf.

Absolutely, why on Earth don’t they pay your pension subs. It’s Stone Age level against women

Go on. Tell us how MUCH Norway pays in mat pay? Dare you.

It's a great idea if you're a business owner with lots of staff who have little choice over what job to do, either your firm or an equally unscrupulous one.

Well if they are in their late thirties or early forties, they probably think it’s now or never?

I exclusively breastfed for almost a year with my disabled, severely developmentally delayed baby. They just couldn’t swallow properly. It does happen.

Regardless, it’s a moronic idea for reasons that extend far beyond the specific anecdotes of individual mothers.

@TiredCatLady No one wants to admit they’re trying, often in relatively insecure relationships and less than ideal living circumstances.

WHY are women wanting to bring babies into the world in insecure relationships and less than ideal living circumstances ????!!

@PigeonLady they range from 32 to 39, and not just my daughters but also their friends ....... maybe we just move in different circles??

You don't exclusively breastfeed after six months, though. KB is full of shit, but this isn't a good argument.

Precisely this. No one wants to admit they’re trying, often in relatively insecure relationships and less than ideal living circumstances. Also the man turning out to be the problem is definitely more common amongst my peers than being reported - openly - all “oh it’s your biological clock etc” but actually it’s his, whether through age or just shite lifestyle.

That is interesting. Are they early 30s, mid 30s, late 30s?

If I had been asked by most if I was thinking of having children I would say ‘oh absolutely not at the moment!’.

Even when I was pregnant I was thinking Jesus! It’s quite a lot when your the first.

It’s only now in mid 30s people are quietly expressing panic to I am assuming a select few.

@MorganFreemansVoice In a majority of Eastern European countries, maternity pay is for two years. In the first year, I believe the pay is 90% of your salary, and in the second year, it is 75%. And taking into consideration that these countries are much less well off than the UK. Lovely tories.

And yet many people from Eastern Europe want to come and work here in the UK because salaries / benefits / living conditions are better?

Note where the UK is in the table of statutory paid maternity paid leave in weeks:

• Norway: 54
• United Kingdom: 39
• India: 26
• New Zealand: 26
• Italy: 21
• Australia: 20
• Poland: 20
• Denmark: 18
• South Africa: 17
• France: 16
• Spain: 16
• Netherlands: 16
• Canada: 15
• Germany: 14
• Japan: 14
• Switzerland: 14
• Sweden: 12
• Singapore: 12
• South Korea: 12

@PigeonLady this is precisely where myself and a lot of my cohort are. To other posters, please don’t assume childless = by choice, even if people outwardly state as such. It’s not that simple. KB it seems would prefer to take away all MP - @TriesNotToBeCynical has hit it on the nose. Having a child? Well on the dole queue you go!

Before 1994 you were not entitled to maternity leave unless you had worked for the same company for 2 years by the 25th week of pregnancy.
After then you were allowed a measly 14 weeks total leave.

I don’t agree with what kemi badenoch said either .i think if you want to curb maternity pay then you need to have better provisions for early years childcare so that women can afford to go back to work… families can’t afford Nannies or to put their young babies into nursery and it’s often unfortunately the woman who has to drop out of work.
however your statement is factually incorrect. Norway has the best maternity pay in the world and according to world bank stats, 61.8 pct female workforce participation … same as Singapore which I think only has 2 months of mat pay… there are many countries with 70 pct or better female workforce participation and they aren’t in the tranche of top maternity pay countries .. I suspect you’ll find a better correlation with places where families either get govt help for childcare or where culturally extended families help out more.. or there’s affordable foreign donestic help

I had my first DC in 1995 and because I hadn't been in my job for 2years, I was only entitled to 14 weeks maternity leave. I had to return to work when my baby was 12 weeks old and exclusively BF. I had a nightmare trying to get her to take a bottle and initially our childminder struggled. After a couple of weeks it was ok. SMP was £55pw.
Had another DC in 1999 and then mat leave had increased to 20 weeks if you hadn't been employed for years. Luckily this time, my MIL looked after baby as I couldn't find a childminder. I had put baby's name down for nursery when I was 3m pregnant but didn't get a space until baby was 10m old. SMP was £59pw.

No one seems to have pointed out that Badenoch was saying that there shouldn't be any statutory maternity pay at all, because firms should be able to decide whether they wanted their staff to have maternity pay. That was what she meant by "too much regulation". Obviously those who couldn't get good jobs with reputable firms would have to put up with being sacked and replaced from the dole queue when they were pregnant, as before 1948 or so.

Can’t be arsed to read pages about this imbecilic attention seeker. However on the basis she’s happy to publicly attribute moral clarity to Israel in that specific context as well as this I’d dread to think

PigeonLady
our birth rates are declining. Add to that the data that a third of women are childless, but only 5% are voluntarily childless. It indicates that there is a lot wrong in our society.

Amd yet among my children's peer group ( I'm saying ' children' even tho they're actuallly adults!🫣) I see that there are many more who don't want children than do ............ they're in their 30s and also educated to uni level ??