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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think Katie Hopkins (ex Apprentice) is a nasty piece of work who should not be given airtime?

109 replies

MaryThornbar · 15/03/2011 09:03

They just wheeled her out on Daybreak to comment on the woman who took her employer to tribunal for making her redundant while on maternity leave.

She was bleating on about how she only took 2 or 3 weeks maternity leave for each of her 3 children, and that we should be more like the USA and have 6 weeks unpaid leave instead of what we have now.

I can't bear the woman, and think she is a self important twunt, who should never have pro-created in the first place.

OP posts:
peppapighastakenovermylife · 15/03/2011 11:24

Didn't she spend the whole of the apprentice saying 'I have had my children, I can tell that to potential employers and it is a major advantage'

Then went on to have another baby?

Confused
TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 15/03/2011 11:25

She is vile, but if we only let nice people on TV there would be about 15 minutes of programming a week.

LadyShapes · 15/03/2011 11:31

She was a stand-by contestant for Big Brother wasn't she? Says it all really.

Crystyclear · 15/03/2011 11:40

she is v. irritating and self-important. She sat opposite me on a train once just after the Apprentice and when she'd been given her first newspaper column to write... and proceeded to phone everyone in her address book to tell them.

i got up and moved carriages.

prettyfly1 · 15/03/2011 11:41

I cannot abide this woman at all - she stands for the worst kind of misogyny (sp?) by perpetuating attention grabbing stereo types purely for her own end HOWEVER (pretty dons hard hat and boots) I have to admit I would feel very sorry for a small employer who has to shoulder the cost of two children back to back. It isnt the cost of maternity leave that causes the problem, its the cost of training not one but two people (as this woman is going back for six months) whilst a vital member of staff is out. These staff are not a permanent investment, they are temp cover and it costs a fortune - the company have to pay holiday etc for someone who is not there for the best part of two in three years - that is one hell of a burden in a major recession. Its not PC but expecting a job to be open after two and a half years seems somewhat unbalanced to me.

ziggyf · 15/03/2011 11:43

ugh i hate that woman, she's awful

Lizzylou · 15/03/2011 11:48

I can't stand her, she is a moral vacuum, the sort of woman who thinks nothing of pushing anyone out of her way be that in business or in her personal life iirc.

It is admirable to be driven and a certain amount of healthy competitive drive helps people to succeed, but she takes it too far and is just wheeled out as the cartoon villain now.

Her ideas are outdated and very 80s anyway.

vic77en · 15/03/2011 12:15

I have worked for a few small businesses and neither have an anti-woman bias as a result of the impact of maternity leave.

Yes, recruiting cover can be a challenge, but the govt reimburses truly small companies for the SMP they pay out so the financial wages cost doesn't have to be a barrier....

KenDoddsDadsDog · 15/03/2011 12:20

She just makes grandiose statements for the sake of controversy.
And shows utter contempt for Mumsnet at every turn I noticed. How dull!

FellatioNelson · 15/03/2011 12:21

That's exactly what she does Ken, you are right.

thefurryone · 15/03/2011 12:22

YANBU she is a truly awful person.

Also the government reimburses SMP to companies so it shouldn't actually be the financial burden on business that some people make out to be honest.

new2cm · 15/03/2011 12:22

YANBU for all the reasons already stated by others.

HipHopopotomus · 15/03/2011 12:24

oh I do wish she would fuck off - she's an extremely self serving, me me me person dragged out from her hole in the ground from time to time and paid to be 'controversial'!

Bramshott · 15/03/2011 12:26

I'm sorry, I don't buy this "maternity leave is a disaster for small companies" line. Most of the companies I've worked for have between 10 and 20 employees. When they have to recruit to cover maternity leave, it's a valuable chance to get someone with a slightly different skillset/outlook in, sometimes an opportunity to pay them slightly less than the permanent employee, and the SMP costs are reimbursed by the govt, so I fail to see where these "massive costs" everyone talks about are. Most people I've spoken to agree that it's much easier to get someone to cover a maternity leave now that it's likely to be for 1 year rather than 6 months.

Rannaldini · 15/03/2011 12:30

maternity can cost in terms of cover if a company has to hire a temp
but often in the case of an sme someone more junior gets the opportunity to step up into the mat leavers role. someone else in the office gets to supervise the junior thus honing their skills further also
it can give everyone a chance to do something different or extra for a while

things can seem like the end of the world or a great opportunity depending on how you look at them

better that we accept that women's rights are a fact and get better at dealing with the fact

interesting to see that these sorts of view points are getting more time now that the tories are in
she wouldn't have had tv face time during labour reign imo

TennisFan · 15/03/2011 12:35

Yes, the SMP is covered for most very small business, and they actualy claim most if not all of it back.
However, what about the extra cover the cost of recruitment, training and holidays - there is nothing to recompense for that.

AlpinePony · 15/03/2011 12:35

Actually bramshot, not all costs are covered by the government. The government does not pay for all maternity leave, holiday accrual, bonus', training of the replacement employee, advertising for the replacement employee or re-training of the woman on maternity leave. (off the top of my head)

AlpinePony · 15/03/2011 12:36

Plus the government does not pay for pension contributions on a private pension plan.

Rannaldini · 15/03/2011 12:37

we CANNOT give the right to maternity leave airtime

it isn't worth discussing

it is a right an absolute right and not open for negotiation

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 15/03/2011 12:37

Give men equal paternity leave rights. Wait 10-20 years.

Problem solved.

Bramshott · 15/03/2011 12:40

Yes, I appreciate that there are some costs, but they're hardly "massive" are they?! Recruitment can be very cheap or free these days with all the online options. Maybe I'm biased because in the sector in which I work most recruitment is by word of mouth / free listings; all training is done in-house so minimal cost; and there's rarely a pension scheme!

kittybuttoon · 15/03/2011 12:44

Hello Katie Hopkins!

We all know you're reading this, because you can't resist anything which mentions you, can you?

I bet you've started a few threads about yourself in your time, too, haven't you, you self-seeking, self-publicising gorgan?

(OP, I'm not accusing you of being KH, btw!)

piratecat · 15/03/2011 12:50

2 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks, maternity leave ( she was also the boss)

vag of steel then.

bitbitchy · 15/03/2011 12:58

She is absolutely a pantomime villain - and a media desperado at the same time. I feel sorry for her, actually, because she is clearly full of self importance but no one has a good word to say about her.

Original poster
MaryThornbar · 15/03/2011 13:07

kittybuttoon I did wonder for a moment there! I can assure you I most definitely am not KH or even remotely like her!

I agree, her opinions are massively outdated, and I think show insecurity - you shouldn't need to be such a ball breaker to prove that you're any good at what you do - or only take 2 or 3 weeks maternity leave for that matter.

The fact is, women have children, and it is for the good of the future of our country that we care not put off having children who will grow up to pay taxes, and it also our duty to bring those children up in the best possible way we can, so that they grow into upstanding members of society - not palm them off after 2 or 3 weeks leave.

We should also encourage women to return to work, if that is what they want - if every woman who got pregnant automatically lost her right to return to her job, it would be a very sorry state of affairs indeed.

OP posts: