AIBU to ask what you want for a maternity leave package?

[lovelymama]

Posted this in the 'work' section but didn't get a response so trying here instead. I set up a company last year and I'm getting my maternity policy in place but I want to know what people really want from a maternity/parental leave package. I'm keen to recruit more women and part of this is creating an attractive maternity policy. Keen to hear from people what they consider to be important.

We are a small IT company. The roles are skilled - coding. Salaries are in line with industry standard/maybe slightly higher, pension, bonus, health care. We don't have offices so WFH is standard. We're looking at offering between 4-6 months full pay then the remaining time (up to 12 months) statutory maternity pay. We are sorting Child Care vouchers for return to work.

So is there anything else you can think of that you would value as a working parent? Doesn't have to be financial, could be other things that make life easier as a working parent.

Any comments welcome!

[quote TuftyMarmoset]@lovelymama yes obviously don’t bankrupt yourselves but if you’re trying to attract more women you have to make it properly attractive. I was weighing up two jobs earlier this year and one offering an extra month of full pay was a plus for that one although in the end I negotiated a higher overall package with the other one. I don’t think I would consider working somewhere with less than 5 months as I know I would want to take at least 6 months, most likely a full year. As you are a small company you are unlikely to end up with loads of women off at once but it sends a better message about your company culture IMO.[/quote]
Oh yes we would obviously give 12 months leave but only 4-6 months fully pay. The final period of time would be statutory pay so it wouldn't be without pay (although I know SMP isn't very high)

My maternity leaves were 13 years ago and I wish employers had put this much thought into maternity rights when I had my babies! My husband could take 2 weeks leave and even then he was made to feel a little guilty about it. It's amazing that companies are now trying to offer parental leave rather than just maternity

Thanks so much for your reply!

I work for a global technology firm. We offer 6 months full pay, 3 months half. Then phased return to work is permissible, along with flexible working arrangements and job share options.

We also have an emergency childcare provider; each parent at the firm is entitled to 10 days of emergency childcare provided by this firm, paid for by the employer. We actually have a lot of couples working here so a couple could get 20 days of emergency childcare through the scheme.

@ToykotoLosAngeles

You're lucky to get anything in my area, geographically speaking. I have worked in retail buying and financial services and both offered 6 weeks full pay then statutory. Do bear this in mind when asking on here what is "good" - a friend got very generous packages twice but worked for a London bank in HR.

Good point - we have employees all over the UK so what is good in one part of the country might not seem as generous as other parts, but hard to build that in to a policy! we're trying to be generous across the board and we're genuinely keen to provide support, not just financially

@reluctantbrit

As a maternity package (so for the actual time off)

adjusted time for premature babies (for me that means stay in SCBU, not just 3 weeks early but can go home straight away). Not just extra time off for the mother and maybe adding extra time to the paid salary but also allow extra paid time of for the dad if he is your employee. I have seen it with friends how much time and money is involved in the weeks of hospital stay.

Regular updates during maternity leave of company news. Access to training, workshops, meetings with colleagues. Nothing is worse than coming back after a year and you miss out on development and knowledge. Getting a buddy for the first couple of weeks to go back into the job.

Offer to add holiday allowance to the end of the maternity leave if people want to have another couple of weeks but with full pay again.

Depending on your pension: if you allow additional contribution maybe take over a percentage of what the parent pays (esp during the statuary times) or allow them to pay it during leave.

Make crystal clear what you requirements are for paying the exttra salary. Lots of companies will put a time frame in how long an employee needs to stay after returning. Make it realistic.

See if your health insurance covers PND treatment, mine had and it was so worth it not waiting for the NHS to deal with it.

Paternity pay: be a bit generous and offer more than two weeks statuary pay. Maybe allow a certain amount of time to be taken during the first year (we hit rock bottom at 7 months, DH taken time off was a god send). Allow paid time off for partner's scans and if there are medical issues.

Love this. Quite a few things I hadn't considered, really appreciate you mentioning them.

I agree, returning from maternity leave I felt like an alien.

For me flexi working to accomodate for school runs is a must.

Emergency/family leave (not to replace mat leave but along with) - this is used for example when a child is sick/ has an emergency at school. My employer offers 10 days paid leave in these instances and then unlimited but unpaid.

Keep in touch days paid full whilst not impacting mat leave.

6 months full pay then statutory

12 weeks paternity any time in first year.

These are all things my employer offer and it is fab.

Also agree on longer leave for pre term babies and of course ALL of the same rules should apply for adoption leave.

I work for a large organisation which gives me 50% of my wage plus they also pay me statutory. This means I get around 75% of my wage for 9 months. After that it’s nothing. I feel really lucky to get that but it would be excellent if it was for one year

@Youdonthavetobegood

Proper paid, non transferable paternity pay so that fathers can take proper time off (and not just in the first couple of weeks)

I second this!! Paternity leave makes a huge difference to equal distribution of labour at home. Companies that have use it or lose it policies demonstrate they are forward thinking on equality.

Yes - SMP is very low and assuming as you are in IT your roles pay quite well it could be a big drop down to that. I would get less a week on SMP than I take home a day normally!

KIT days are a good suggestion from a PP, also keeping employees up to date with anything important during their time off so eg they don’t come back and find everyone they know left 3 months ago!

We get 6 months full pay. 13 weeks statutory. 13 weeks unpaid. Separately, partners get 4 weeks full pay after birth.

Paid paternity leave for a month (doesnt have to be full salary but something). I think things will only get better for women when men are encouraged to share all things child related so I think if you want a true family culture you need to be promoting men going part time etc as well, and that only happens when senior manager walk the walk as well as talk the talk

For me the return to work was tricky.

Some companies have a return to work (external) coach for all returners. Some kind of phased return or a few weeks to get up to speed again before being thrown in at the deep end. An understanding that when babies are put in nursery for the first few months they will be constantly sent home sick. I know some companies offer up to a week paid carers leave specifically for dependents who are sick and need emergency care (so doesnt come out of holiday or have to be unpaid if someone takes emergency time off if their kid is sick and can't go to nursery). An understanding that people might be breastfeeding still when they return to work (on my return I was expected to go straight out after work to events and it was very uncomfortable after a few hours and also I was sent on a course for a few days a few hours away from home). Flexibility that includes things like condensed hours, different hours in term time and school time, condensed hours, making up hours if you have ti take an afternoon off for something child related etc rather than just part time

Not sure if anyone has already said this, but childcare vouchers aren't able to be claimed by new applicants and businesses without a voucher scheme already in place can't set one up either. Its all been replaced by the tax free childcare scheme which parents sort/apply for themselves.

A procedure for welcoming the new mum back to work. I felt very nervous after 9 months off and although my maternity package was very good my welcome back was non existant! It left me feeling insecure, unwelcome and angry

just to clarify I wasn't expecting a party/ any particular mention but a 1-2-1 with my manager, time to get back into the swing of things and sitting near familiar faces / intro to new starters would have been nice. Oh and sorting expressing milk before I returned would have prevented me being forced to use a toilet

Can I ask that whatever you do for maternity pay you also offer for adoption leave, adoption is often an after thought for many organisations which is difficult if you’re in the early stages of the process and maybe don’t yet want to tell anyone but can’t find a leave policy, or the leave policy is much less than adoption leave. Also if thinking about adoption factor in flexibility for attending meetings - there are a huge number of meetings before placement, and then introductions which can be unpredictable in terms of timing - having a clear policy of time off for X number of meetings pre/post approval would save a lot of stress.

6 months full pay, 6 months statutory would be great, although compared to most companies 4 months is not 'stingy'.
12 weeks paternity at full pay unless primary carer.
Full maternity leave for stillborn and leave starting from EDD for any premature babies.
KIT (keeping in touch days) are especially useful at easing parents back in to work.

My work only pay SMP but are continuing to fund my pension contributions (both ER +EE elements) at my normal rate.
The actual cost to them is relatively small compared to enhanced maternity pay, but it’s really appreciated as a point of principle.

The company I work for offers 8 weeks paternity leave on full pay, to be taken in minimum 4 week chunks in order to make a decent impact.

It's great that you're trying to think wider than just money. Whilst that is super important, there are some non financial things that are hugely valuable.

We lost our daughter at 22 weeks last year and my DH's company were incredible, they gave him as long as he needed in the run up with scans/appointments and afterwards. I have no idea what the legal requirement is, but there was never a question of him being pushed back to work earlier than he felt able.

I'm pregnant again now and am being scanned every two minutes - he's given every one off without a blink. I have massive Scanxiety, and freak out hugely in the lead up/afterwards they've said unquestioningly to take the day if he needs it, no questions asked (so far, only needed once!). Things like that make a HUGE difference, and I'm not sure they are immediately considered, especially for partners.

I’m surprised to see PP say 4 months is stingy. I actually got 6 but mine was by far the best package amongst my NCT group with lots of them having stat only. That said, the longer you can pay in full the better and agree extending a good offer to dads too is great for showing support to all employees and helping to reduce the perception that it just mums who should be sorting childcare.

I also agree that flexibility post return and really good support for parents of pre-term babies would be amazing.

I’d also suggest offering a couple of coaching sessions or a short-term mentor on return to the office. It can feel hard to readjust and return and this could make a difference for not much cost.

Yes, I think not offering at least some enhanced shared parental is a mistake and seen as increasingly discriminatory. And of course your adoption policies need to be as generous as your maternity policies.

The other one I’d say would make a HUGE difference is an approach to time off for sick kids in the first year or two after maternity leave when kids will be at nursery. Obviously an overall family-friendly policy with time off/wfh for sick kids is great but that first year back from my first maternity leave when we were ALL sick as dogs thanks to nursery germs - I was constantly anxious every time DH or I had to rush to collect from nursery, and dragged myself to work way too often when I was really unwell.

@MotherOfCrocodiles

My employer offers nursery paid by salary sacrifice which is a huge plus if you can do it.

Mine too, and it’s amazing. And the only reason DC2 exists.

We had 19 weeks full, 20 stat and 3 months nothing. It’s now increased to 26.

I managed to take 11 months off work both mine using holiday.

Oh and in the event of a still birth/ miscarriage over a certain amount of weed we are still entitled to the full maternity package.

We have ‘family days’ you can use for emergency childcare. Unusually 5 days, but this year they increased it to 10 with Covid. Touch Wood I’ve only used one so far.

Offer to add holiday allowance to the end of the maternity leave if people want to have another couple of weeks but with full pay again

I thought it was the law that you accumulated holiday time during maternity leave.

Depending on your pension: if you allow additional contribution maybe take over a percentage of what the parent pays (esp during the statuary times) or allow them to pay it during leave.

This too, any pensions have to continue being paid into during maternity leave because it's a benefit not salary (same as childcare vouchers still had to be paid during maternity and employers hated that).

There was a thread on here a while ago about what maternity pay people received and the vast majority just got statutory and very very few got 6 months. I was surprised, I got 4 month full pay and had assumed that wasn't very generous (which surprised me, I work in Pharna and generally our perks are pretty good) but actually it is.

As to what I'd like in an ideal world? Generous paternity pay (equal to maternity is the ideal and would put you ahead of the curve), generous annual leave (I get 6 weeks plus bank holidays, think that's more flexible than having 5 weeks plus days to have off to look after sick kids, and avoids the childless getting annoyed at having less annual leave), the ability to buy more annual leave if needed, the option to carry leave over to the next year (I always hold back a week of annual leave in case the DC are sick that then gets used at the beginning of the next year), a commitment to make it possible for employees to make use of their unpaid parental leave (govt allows 18 weeks per child over their childhood for 'emergencies' - must be prebooked in 1 week blocks), flexibility on the kind of PT working asked for with the ability to change regularly (gov says can't change more than once a year), a clear policy on when WFH with DC is OK and when it's not (if you have generous annual leave should not be a problem), flexible working hours, family health care, family dental care, free flu vaccinations. Oh, and proper health and safety considerations of maternity and BFing (that may be niche).

For a BFing room ideally there needs to be a sink, a microwave (to sterilize the equipment), a fridge to store the milk, a comfy chair, curtains, a lock on the door. Oh, and maybe a longer lunchbreak to allow the time to express, some people take longer to express than others.

Love the emergency childcare provider, that would be awesome!

If you can’t do six months full pay could you do four months full pay and the next two months at less than full pay but more than statutory? 75% or 50% or something. I’ve had that kind of staggered pay before, where you either got statutory or a percentage depending on which was higher. I’ve also worked places where you got an enhanced package if you’d been there for a certain length of time.

You can require people to pay it back if they don’t come back to work. That’s been standard at a few places I’ve worked. My favourite place went for carrot rather than stick though, they gave us a bonus if we came back to work once we’d been back for 3 months.