Paid maternity leave?

[ShirleyPhallus]

I’m not ready for babies yet but looking at changing jobs and starting a family in next year or two. I thought maternity leave would be a key consideration but looking at my company’s policy, it’s only 3 months paid full salary and then statutory thereafter. Would love to know others experiences of their company’s maternity pay. I work in the city in a big firm along the lines of law / management consulting etc (and sorry for lack of paragraphs!)

...surprised people can afford to have children

Most people save up before ttc or their partner will support them, or both.

I saved like crazy from the day I tested positive, no nights out or holidays, Xmas got downgraded, bare minimum on clothes. Some people take a mortgage holiday or go onto interest only for the year. I didn’t have my dc until 40s so the mortgage had shrunk a bit. Plus take out the cost of commuting & lunches.

The really difficult bit starts when you need full time childcare so you can return to work. I paid £800 a month £10 years ago.

I teach in an academy and get 6 weeks full, up to 18 weeks half, up to 39 weeks stay pay and then nothing. If you haven't worked for the academy for 2 years already though then you don't get anything - think you'd qualify for maternity allowance which is similar in value to stat maternity pay.

As a teacher my holidays are technically not paid so I don't get to add them on. The pay shocked me too.

Six Months full pay for first baby, nine months full pay for the second (unfortunately I only had one so I cant take advantage of this great offer!)
This can be spread over up to 2 years Pro Rata and you can then come back to work for any fte you want and they must accommodate.
Very lucky situation- higher education sector in Australia

Most people save while ttc or before and then save during pregnancy. It's s good idea even if your partner works. Makes it a lot easier.

Some people just have to take the hit. To be fair though, childcare isn't cheap. You need a plan for that. Personally I found that period far harder, money wise, than mat leave.

1st - SMP. Company (private sector) mat pay was a bonus payable when you told them you were going back (7 weeks full pay) and a bonus when you returned (13 weeks half pay). I was the main earner so we saved up about £4k before I went on mat leave and took 9 months.

2nd - public sector role and I received 6 months full pay then 3 months smp. Saved about £2k to allow me to take a year.

3rd - SMP (private sector).

Just started mat leave 3 and we haven't saved anything this time around. However we've cancelled all childcare which means SMP equates what my salary was after our childcare costs. So we're about the same as we were before. Planning on taking between 9 months to a year but currently undecided. Have done training to become a childminder when I return to work and it depends on the take up as to when I officially start working again.

9 months full pay. (Rail)

If you haven't worked for the academy for 2 years already though then you don't get anything - think you'd qualify for maternity allowance which is similar in value to stat maternity pay

I’m expecting this has either been slightly misunderstood or misconstrued as it’s not legal as set out.

The qualifying period for SMP is 26 weeks’ continuous service by the qualifying date, which is roughly (for simplicity’s sake) 25 weeks pregnant.

MA is there for those who don’t meet this criterion but have worked within the last two years (qualifying periods are more flexible on that one). There’s v little difference these days, though.

I'm currently on maternity leave. I had 6 weeks at 90% of my salary and then 33 weeks at statutory and I think it's left as around the last 3 months are unpaid.

We get 26 weeks full pay, 13 weeks MA/SMP and up to 13 weeks unpaid.

NHS employee. 8 weeks full pay, then 18 weeks half pay plus stat, then the rest stat (up until 9 months). Last three months unpaid. I have spread my payments out over the term which has been great. They had to give me stat 90% for 6 weeks first, then spread the rest out).

That's a better than average package you're on there OP, as the majority of women in the UK only get statutory. I don't know whether it's good or bad for your sector, but never having had a single day of ML at full pay yours sounds pretty enviable. Especially for private sector, which it sounds like you are.

And what people do: save up beforehand to cover the shortfall. Keep as much annual leave as possible before going on ML and taking all this plus the annual leave they incur before coming back, thus giving them a longer period of full pay. Share the leave with dad if his company has a more generous policy. Sometimes stop paying for childcare for any older children when they're on ML, so they might actually be better off.

There are also a lot of lower income part time working women for whom it doesn't make a massive difference, particularly if they'll be getting top up benefits too. I've been assisting my friend in her SMP calculations. Her company do the bare bones legal minimum. She will be about £13 a week worse off on maternity pay, which she feels she can weather easily. I was like this with my second actually: I was part time, and by the time the costs of working were deducted I wasn't coming out with massively more than the amount you get on SMP anyway. So it wasn't that hard to cope with the difference. This is less common with the first child I think, but gets more so on later pregnancies.

I'm a civil servant and get 6 months full salary + 3 months SMP, I'm about to go on my second mat leave and the generous package had been a key reason I haven't changed jobs in the last few years.

Lookimahooman Oo okay, thank you for that. I'm planning on moving schools soon and being pregnant hopefully fairly soon after that so I'll look into the legalities of policies like that.

Do. The universal info you’ll need is on .gov.uk. Make sure you gen up on your rights well. Sadly many are still not clear on them. Good luck with TTC.

I work in a fairly senior sales role at a small manufacturer so it's statutory only - i.e. fuck all - and then they'll probably try to push me out when I go back. There is a reason I am the only woman in our industry doing this job!

I would love to find another job before ttc but I don't know how you find out about maternity pay before starting other than by altering them to the fact that you're looking to take it, which naturally will take me out of the running anyway. I am the main earner in our household so I am looking at potentially only being able to take 2-3 months. I'm telling myself women in the US seem to get by with 6 weeks, but it's not encouraging - what if I was unwell while pregnant and had to go off early? Would I then have to go back to work a couple of weeks after giving birth and go out to see customers with semi healed stitches and 2 hours sleep a night??

@Seniorschoolmum

Six weeks 90% pay, to 9 months on statuary pay and then nothing up to 12 months. Then they fired me first morning back, bless them. And then I took them to tribunal. smile.

What was the outcome?

19 weeks full, 20 SMP, 0 for remaining 3 months or so.

I can manage 11 months using holidays after SMP.

notsohorriblestory In the end, my ex employer paid out, three days before the hearing.

It ended ok but was very stressful.

My advice to anyone.who needs to tell their employer they are pregnant, would be to tick the family legal insurance box on your house insurance first.
£16 premium paid for a senior solicitor for 9 months plus a barrister.

Working in FE we get 6 weeks full pay, 12 weeks at 50% pay plus SMP (no more then usual full salary) any more SMP only x

Civil Servant - gov agency and we get 52 weeks fully paid. During that time you still get your full years annual leave so I took 58 weeks with first, came back for 10 months and took another 60 weeks for number 2.
We are very lucky with regards mat leave.

12 weeks at full pay then 37 weeks at ssp

Better than standard but not great!!

I got 6 months full pay then 6 months SMP both times, I was very lucky

Did you win senior?

2 months full pay
6 months half pay + SMP
3 months SMP only
3 months no pay (if taking full 12 months)

I work for an NHS organisation

They paid out just before the tribunal hearing. They didn’t want the bad publicity. But v stressful and if I hadn’t had legal insurance, they would have told me to whistle.
But yes, I was paid, after a fight.