To be a little fed up about maternity leave?

[georgie22]

I am not fed up per se as I have had fairly good maternity pay to 6 months and am now going on to SMP for 3 months. What does irritate me is that as working women we get nothing after 9 months - our mortgage, council tax etc. doesn't stop to account for a loss of one income within the household. I have been in the fortunate position to be able to plan for this but it does irritate me that some feckless individuals produce children and then have all their housing costs etc. paid for. It's just another example of how flawed the system is. Then when we return to work we have all the worries regarding childcare and juggling home and work life.

Are my current feelings justified or do I just have more time to dwell on things now? For what it's worth I would hate to be on benefits as I like earning my own money.

FGS not everyone ends up on benefits as a lifestyle choice! I ended up in a refuge with a 4 week old baby and had no choice but to claim income support or we would have starved. What else should I have done?

Hasn't the OP already acknowledged that if the people who did use benefits as a lifestyle choice were unable to, then there would be more available for those who really needed it at a particularly difficult time in their lives?

If you're a single parent with very few skills, it's very, very hard to get a job, especially in an area of high unemployment.

The number of people who are living the life of riley on the dole is vanishingly small. So I find these threads (of which there are many) very, very tiresome indeed.

I'm speaking as a higher rate tax payer incidentally

'Hasn't the OP already acknowledged that if the people who did use benefits as a lifestyle choice were unable to, then there would be more available for those who really needed it at a particularly difficult time in their lives?'

You honestly think that's how it works? Like a bank account? Because it doesn't.

I was a single mum when maternity pay was seldom available,I was back at work 2 weeks after DS birth and have worked ever since,even the guy I spoke to at DWP when asking about a pension forecast commented on my lack of children and was taken aback when I told him,think yourself lucky.

I agree with the OP and many other countries offer tax offsets/income splitting to families with young children (including the States which always gets panned for not having maternity pay), where one parent works and the other stays at home (or works part time). I think this is a fair solution for many people in middle income groups who drop to one income when they begin to raise a family.

It doesnt seem fair for a family with one parent who continues to work, continues to pay the same rates of income tax/NI/Council tax when the families income is halved. At least let them pay less tax on their income.

I will be going on SMP soon and have worked out that with income tax, council tax and VAT we will be paying 60% of DH's salary in taxes!

yabu. You are not a working woman after 9 months.

How do you determine if someone is using benefits as a 'lifestyle choice'? Would you like to move back to a Victorian system of work houses and classifying the poor? Benefits are already barely enough to live on. Yes a very very small minority cheat the system. But there has to be something in place to prevent poverty. That is what the welfare state is about. It was never originally intended to be about 'getting back what you paid in' and all this rubbish people talk about. It is about supporting the poorest in society and providing a safety net.

We do need to break the cycle of poverty and reliance on benefits in some families and some areas. But current government cuts mean that is less likely to happen. Cutting benefits as well would just make the problem worse.

Welcome to being a single parent sourcers. But I expect you're of the mind that couples should get bigger tax breaks for simply staying in relationships

dont sweat it about someone else missing their precious moments in the vulgar pursuit of money. stat mat pay is 6wk, so your provision is generous.you have ability to return to work,so plan your childcare now.yes having children you haemorrhage money,esp in the nursery years

sourcers - you could both work part time, then you would both benefit from being able to use all of your personal tax allowance.

But honestly, can you explain why you think other people should subsidise your choice to have children any more than they already do? (As it would be if your DH's tax liability was cut.)

But honestly, can you explain why you think other people should subsidise your choice to have children any more than they already do? (As it would be if your DH's tax liability was cut.)

Becauseif it's good enough for someone without skills or a work ethic, it good enough for someone with!

TheSecondComing - I would suggest greater tax breaks for families like yours if we weren't supporting people who make the conscious decision to never work.
Rosie1979 - I have a very good understanding of what happens when industry is ripped out of towns. My dad worked as an engineer in the steel industry until the steelsworks was closed by good old Mrs Thatcher. So don't assume I don't understand as it affected our families and those of my 2 uncles and thousands other in our local area. My dad suffered as a result of the complete destruction of our manufacturing industry and found work miles away from home. At the end of his working life he ended up working in much poorer paid employment after previously being a senior manager as he could not face the indignity of not having a job. So I was bought up with a very sound work ethic as were many of those people I grew up with.

I have worked hard to establish a career for myself before I even considered having children. I have met people in the course of my job who have the dependence and entitlement mentality so I know it exists.

Sorry but YABU. I saved for unpaid maternity leave from the second we started trying for a baby.
1st baby (1997) I had 6 months almost full pay, then 9 months unpaid

2nd baby (2002) 12 weeks almost full pay, 17 weeks unpaid

Bet your colleagues who are childfree are on the net bitching about your 9 months off for your 'lifestyle choice', subsidised by them . . .

'I have met people in the course of my job who have the dependence and entitlement mentality so I know it exists.'

Yet you think you're entitled to 9 months paid time off, generous tax breaks for two-parent families and complain about getting nothing from the government . . .

I don't have disdain for anyone who finds themselves in those circumstances - that's what the welfare state was established for and provision should be greater for people in genuine need. I've said again and again that some people make a decision to live on benefits - that's wrong, end of.
And shesparkles - I have saved whilst I was pregnant for my unpaid leave - I've already said I was lucky to be in that position but your provision was good also.
I'm not from a privileged background - what we have has been and is worked for. My husband works overtime to ensure we maintain our standard of living. I love the daily challenge of my job (which I hope to return to part time) and I'm proud that my children will see the rewards that work provides.

expatinscotland - I'm lucky that all my colleagues have children so I have 'subsidised' them in the past. They celebrate new life so I can't see that your assumption of their bitching being accurate.

I'm actually not expecting anything from the Government and 9 months paid maternity leave (which I am well aware varies between employers) is what is provided irrespective of income etc. I've never mentioned tax breaks for two parent families. We work - we made plans to have a child knowing the financial implications - I'm just saying that many don't hold that as a consideration before having children.

'I'm just saying that many don't hold that as a consideration before having children.'

You're just spraffing an assumption about people on benefits and lone parents. I'm neither one of those, thankfully.

But you know, it's a good thing you're having to go back to work, you obviously have too much time on your hands when it gets to the point where you spend time obsessing about other peoples' business and lives.

It's poisonous and pointless.

And yeah, you do mention greater tax breaks for two-parent families.

Right here. 'TheSecondComing - I would suggest greater tax breaks for families like yours if we weren't supporting people who make the conscious decision to never work.'

Here, have a shovel for free.

I can see OPs point here, I know a couple, both of whom have criminal records, both of whom have never worked, yet they have a 5bed house, 2cars, at least 4widescreen fancy TVs, BOTH have iPhones and have just had their 7th child! how is this fair? They obviously get more benefits than they require???

as soon as i hear /see the i know someone on benefits who has a yacht,big hoose,12 cars and dancing minstrels,fancy life- i involuntarily snort

yes because for everyone of them there are countless more living the daily grind of scrape by.

but it is an oft touted well aye i know someone who....and it gets repeated as if this is how all claimants live

They have criminal records, is it really that hard to suss out how they afford all that? There's about a 90% likelihood they 'benefit' themselves in other ways.

I think all working families, be it one or two parent, should have greater tax breaks in order to further incentivise work. I couldn't care less whether families have one or two parents so don't put words in my mouth.

It's not just the Daily Mail that points out that many people are better off claiming benefits than working - successive governments have talked about this but failed to tackle it. Surely people can't believe that you should be worse off in paid employment than on benefits?

Oh, yy, SM. It's like a template straight out of DM comments section. 'I know someone/a couple/a single mum, etc.' or 'My friend/SIL/neighbour, etc.'

Yawn.