Page 6 | To think maternity leave should be capped at 6 months to protect small businesses?

SapphireOpal · 04/04/2025 16:14

Is your objection the pay or the time off? Cos you seem to be saying it should be 6 months paid then people can take unpaid, but your argument is about the disruption. So wouldn't that be just as disruptive - or are you saying people will take less if it's unpaid?

Original poster

YourOpalLeader · 04/04/2025 16:13

Themagicclaw · 04/04/2025 15:58

You're advocating the rest being shared parental leave...
So I take it you'd be happy for all your male employees to take up to 6 months then? Surely having 100% of your workforce with kids being off for chunks of about 6 months is just as disruptive as women taking year.

Yes, I think male employees should have access to meaningful parental leave too and I’d support that. Shared parental leave should be normalised - not just to make things fairer at home but also to reduce the automatic assumption that women will always be the ones out for long periods.

But you’ve actually hit the point I was trying to raise: it’s not about gender, it’s about business strain. Whether it’s a man or a woman, when a key member is gone for 6-12 months, it’s disruptive - especially for small businesses with limited backup.

That’s why I think we need more creative, flexible models that protect both parental rights and business sustainability - instead of treating it like an either/or.

OP posts:

Respectornot · 04/04/2025 16:12

The business needs structures in place to be able to cope with employees taking leave for whatever reason.

AmusedGoose · 04/04/2025 16:12

I agree. When I had my children you only got 18 weeks. SMP is pathetic and personally I think it would be better to drop back down to 6 months but pay more. I had major surgery and was back in a physical job 12 weeks later. It is unfair on business and frankly I needed to get back to work for MH reasons.

titchy · 04/04/2025 16:10

YourOpalLeader · 04/04/2025 15:49

That’s a fair point - longer cover can allow for more continuity if the temp is good and stays the full 12 months. But in my experience, especially in smaller teams, the problem isn’t just the length - it’s that the temp rarely has the same level of investment, experience, or adaptability. Even after training, things often fall through the cracks, and the pressure lands on the rest of the team regardless.

For SMEs running on tight margins with little overlap in roles, even a well-trained temp isn’t a perfect fix - and the longer someone’s away, the more disconnected they often feel when they return, which adds another challenge.

I’m not anti-maternity leave at all - I just wonder if we’ve reached a point where the length of leave might need to be more flexible depending on business size and capacity.

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And how is employing a temp on an even shorter contract going to help?

SeventeenClovesOfGarlic · 04/04/2025 16:09

I'm childfree, so no skin in the game, but I couldn't care less about anyone's small (or large!) business.
If they're incapable of providing basic legal entitlements to staff they aren't a viable business.

Original poster

YourOpalLeader · 04/04/2025 16:08

nadine90 · 04/04/2025 15:46

You work for a small business or you own one?
If you work for one, not your problem (and you will be glad of the time if you ever need it).
If you own one, well that’s just something you need to factor in.
It’s hard enough going back after 9 or 12 months with a baby that wakes through the night, breastfeeding and all the rest of it. And we do need people to have babies to pay taxes and look after us when we’re old. So why make it harder than it already is?

I hear you. I’m not trying to make life harder for parents (especially mums) and I completely agree that we need to have babies for society to function long-term. I’m also well aware of how tough returning to work can be and I have nothing but respect for people juggling babies and jobs.

I work for a small business and while I don’t own it, I’m close enough to see how stretched things can get. This isn’t about saying ‘maternity leave is too easy’ or ‘people shouldn’t have kids’ - it’s about asking whether the structure we have works for all sides. Because when a business can’t cope with long absences, the pressure doesn’t just disappear - it lands on colleagues, clients, and often creates resentment what helps no one.

I’m not advocating slashing leave - just opening the door to discuss how we support both parents and small businesses more effectively.

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Respectornot · 04/04/2025 16:06

Only one thing for it OP, go back to the 1950's and keep the laws that meant women lost their jobs if they got married.

CandidAzureBee · 04/04/2025 16:06

YourOpalLeader · 04/04/2025 16:03

Thanks for laying that out and you’re right about the refund mechanism, which definitely helps from a financial point of view.

But the issue I’m raising isn’t just about the money. It’s about the wider impact on small businesses when a key team member is out for up to a year - including recruitment, training, knowledge gaps, lost momentum, and the toll it takes on a stretched team. £191 in direct savings isn’t the point - it’s the structural disruption that can be hard to absorb when you’re working with a small, tight-knit team and limited capacity.

It’s not about cutting people off - it’s about questioning whether the current model is sustainable for every kind of business and whether there’s space to improve it for both employees and employers.

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Your AIBU was, "AIBU to think six months should be the limit, with the rest unpaid or taken as shared parental leave?"

How does your suggested solution a solution to "questioning whether the current model is sustainable for every kind of business and whether there’s space to improve it for both employees and employers"?

Hellskitchen24 · 04/04/2025 16:05

We need to be improving maternity leave in this country not making it even worse. It’s already atrocious compared to other European countries. So no, I think your suggestion is absolutely rotten.

I have had a challenging pregnancy and had to start my maternity leave early, so do lots of women. Your way would leave me with approximately 5 months with my baby. And I’m only taking 9 months because I can’t afford the 12 months unpaid.

Respectornot · 04/04/2025 16:03

I heard of a small business owner who hired a 50+ person so they wouldn't be taking maternity leave...they needed 4 months off for surgery.

Original poster

YourOpalLeader · 04/04/2025 16:03

CandidAzureBee · 04/04/2025 15:44

Statutory maternity pay is

90% of your average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks
£184.03 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks

The rest of maternity leave is indeed unpaid.

Then for most businesses they can claim back 92% of that (potentially 103% if your business qualifies for Small Employers’ Relief).

So your big improvement would be paying nothing between week 26 and week 39, so 13 weeks of paying out a total of £2392.39, of which £2201 will be refunded, saving a grand total of £191.39?

Thanks for laying that out and you’re right about the refund mechanism, which definitely helps from a financial point of view.

But the issue I’m raising isn’t just about the money. It’s about the wider impact on small businesses when a key team member is out for up to a year - including recruitment, training, knowledge gaps, lost momentum, and the toll it takes on a stretched team. £191 in direct savings isn’t the point - it’s the structural disruption that can be hard to absorb when you’re working with a small, tight-knit team and limited capacity.

It’s not about cutting people off - it’s about questioning whether the current model is sustainable for every kind of business and whether there’s space to improve it for both employees and employers.

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Chipsahoy · 04/04/2025 16:02

And how do you propose we breast feed baby when we are at work? By one most are weaned but if they aren’t (mine weren’t) they fed in the evenings and at night.
At 6 months mine were still being fed regularly and I could not pump at all.
A small business is not an excuse to rid a child of their mother for hours a day when they are so tiny and when a lot of them, still rely on them for their food!

Respectornot · 04/04/2025 16:01

Having a system in place /SOPs/ handbooks is essential for every role imo. Get that experience into documentation so no one is relying on memories to know what to do. Cross training can make work more varied and enjoyable and reduce the reliance on one person.

Coconutter24 · 04/04/2025 16:01

Hiring temps who don’t know the role, training them, juggling workloads - it can’t always be absorbed.

Surely if a temp has been hired and don’t know the role, they then learn that in the first few weeks and after 6 months should know the role so why can’t they continue for another 6 months to cover 12 months? The most disruptive part would be the first few weeks and not in the last 6-12 months

MajorCarolDanvers · 04/04/2025 16:01

YourOpalLeader · 04/04/2025 15:58

Haha, honestly, I think some small business owners probably do quietly think like that, which is exactly the problem.

It shouldn’t come down to avoiding hiring women - it should be about having better systems in place to support everyone, so small businesses aren’t stuck between doing the right thing and barely surviving.

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Best avoid hiring men of any age because they could be off on paternity leave any old time.

FanofLeaves · 04/04/2025 16:00

And woman who are breastfeeding very small babies who have only just started to wean? What are they supposed to do? Where are all the childcare places available to care for these very small immobile babies, many of whom are still dependant on their mother for nutrition? Not to mention the emotional and possible physical impact of going back to work six months after giving birth. I know some women do it, whether out of choice or necessity, but to suggest it should be the norm is ludicrous for all involved.

MajorCarolDanvers · 04/04/2025 16:00

Also @YourOpalLeader I would be interested in hearing your personal experience?

Were you completely physically recovered after your births by 6 months?
Did you breastfeed - how did you cope with that when you returned to work?
How did you find weaning onto food at 6 months whilst juggling your job?
Was your baby sleeping well at that age?

Drivingmissrangey · 04/04/2025 16:00

RattyNeighbours · 04/04/2025 15:43

Neither of my babies were sleeping well by 6 months so I'd have been useless at my job and would have probably ended up screwing up your business.

Mine weren’t sleeping any better at 12 months 😂

Original poster

YourOpalLeader · 04/04/2025 15:58

shoppjngtime · 04/04/2025 15:43

Well you could stop employing women of child bearing age?

Haha, honestly, I think some small business owners probably do quietly think like that, which is exactly the problem.

It shouldn’t come down to avoiding hiring women - it should be about having better systems in place to support everyone, so small businesses aren’t stuck between doing the right thing and barely surviving.

OP posts:

Themagicclaw · 04/04/2025 15:58

You're advocating the rest being shared parental leave...
So I take it you'd be happy for all your male employees to take up to 6 months then? Surely having 100% of your workforce with kids being off for chunks of about 6 months is just as disruptive as women taking year.

MajorCarolDanvers · 04/04/2025 15:58

@YourOpalLeader you ask AIBU to think six months should be the limit, with the rest unpaid or taken as shared parental leave?

A great many employers only provide statutory maternity pay and employers can recoup 92% of that cost via HMRC.

So the total amount that employer would save under your system is about £190 over the remaining 13 weeks of statutory maternity pay.

Do you really want to force women back to work and young babies into childcare to save £190?

Littlemisscapable · 04/04/2025 15:56

Surely 12 months is much easier for recruitment? Who wants a 6 month post ?

DearBee · 04/04/2025 15:56

YourOpalLeader · 04/04/2025 15:54

Thanks - I totally agree that not everyone has the option of shared parental leave and I’m not suggesting it should be enforced, just that more flexibility in how leave is structured could help both parents and small businesses.

I also get that stat maternity pay only covers 39 weeks but people are still entitled to take the full year off, and in a very small team, being down a key person for that long can seriously destabilise things, especially if others are already stretched.

My issue isn’t with people taking the leave they’re entitled to - it’s with how little structural support exists for businesses expected to absorb the impact. I don’t have a perfect solution (and I know 6 months would feel unfair to many), but it feels like the conversation always stops at ‘it’s the law,’ rather than looking at how it affects everyone involved.

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Sure, but as you are starting to identify, smaller businesses need more help to absorb the costs.

That doesn't mean those costs should be cut by forcing women back to work earlier. That's so regressive.

Pricelessadvice · 04/04/2025 15:56

But you’ll still have the same problem of needing to hire and train someone, so they might aswell be on a 12 month contract rather than 6 month.