You’re a doctor 😱surely you of all people know that maternity leave is as much about mothers recovery as babies care. Ok, post 6 months then it’s more about babies
BUT when I had my dcs in 1990s, we got 29 weeks (I think but roughly 6 months) by law. Nhs policy was unpaid after that but eqllyan exception. In my private company it was this 6 months max, and no parent wrap leave at all
the law was changed to give rights to mothers to up to 12 months to encourage breastfeeding and dealing with many mothers (1 in10) with PND (including myself) who were still trying to deal with mental health issues- I went back to work with barely treated pnd as had only just been finally diagnosed at 4 months post partum
fathers leave should include an element of 2 things imho
- caring for baby once 6 months maternity period needed for mother ends- up to 6 months at SMP
- up to 3-4 emergency leave during first 6 months at request to deal with care for family and mother in emergency situations like PND, prem babies, birth injuries etc . This should’ve paid at same level as maternity leave pay for mothers in same company
it might feel “unfair”. Seems to me you’re pissed off and disappointed that you’re assumption your dh would be paid same as mothers in his company is incorrect and you’ve realised too late you’re financially buggered
o agree with other, DH has nothing to loose to ask about a policy change , but company can ignore. Remember this, most maternity rights were achieved by mothers fighting for them, putting heads on line - but in most cases they had nothing to loose- quite literally if they failed in the objective they’d have to give up work anyway . This was case when me and 3 other mums took on rights to work part time with my company ate d of 6 month maternity - id have had to quit if we’d failed. We won and I’m incredibly proud that I helped path the way for future generations of women in my company. But me and 3 other mums were “high fliers” and valuable assets so we had influence
I think father leave is lagging behind because most men will not stick their necks on line all the way to risk loosing their job , because they don’t have same stakes. They’re not breastfeeding, suffering with birth injuries or PND etc
your argument solution lies with your dh actions- how far and willing is he to push this and how much leveredge has he . He may not succeed for this child . But a small stone rolling can gain momentum to make a change for your next child or other fathers