Maternity pay bullsh*t for teachers

[Teacherprebaby]

My school (state/academy), offers 6 weeks at 90% and the remaining at SMP so £185 a week. This is discrimination against women who want to have children. Am I being unreasonable to bring this up with my school?

That's not the point.

@Teacherprebaby surely it’s about mat pay for women, not mat pay for teachers?

I'm a teacher! That's why it's in the title. Point out where I said we should get more, ffs people love assuming the worst 🙄

I'm not entitled!!! ALL WOMEN SHOULD BE ENTITLED!

It seems that now you're suddenly aware, and it affects you, you want the system to change. Women have been only offered these conditions in the UK for years. It's worse in America.

It's very unusual for an academy not to offer a package at least as good as the occupational maternity pay laid out in the Burgundy Book for teachers who have worked there for long enough - ie 4 weeks 100%, 2 weeks 90%, 11 weeks 50% plus SMP and then the remaining 21 weeks at SMP.

OP whilst I agree the SMP rate is pretty poor and stuck in the days when the second income was a nice bonus rather than a vital part of household finances I would say that as a teacher you can work the timings a bit if you are lucky / plan it (I do appreciate this is not always possible before everyone jumps on me). I had my DS in August and had a year off. I went back to work for the last week of the summer term following so I then got the 6 week summer hols on full pay, even though I was still off. Again - I know most of schools hols is technically unpaid but what I mean is that you get to be at home whilst receiving what is your normal monthly pay, not SMP. It is low and frustrating when you know some people get more but in the end it IS a choice and no I don't think it is up to the state to fund all of our choices in their entirety.

Yes, well that's how it should work. Presumably the child is half your partners so he should pay you for being on leave. It's not all up to you to finance your mat leave.

I never said you did say teachers should get more, but singling them out in your thread title implies you think they should, or that they are on a significantly worse deal than everyone else.

No point getting angry with me or the other posters who've pointed out it's clumsily worded and detracts from your point.

NO ITS LITERALLY NOT. Otherwise your work would be paying you wouldn't they 🤣

As everyone else has said, it's like that for a hell of a lot of women. I had the same with my first, I saved for a year before TTC. It sucks, it does, but I Googled and prepared myself. Luckily with the 2nd the maternity pay at my employer improved a bit. Still had to save though! But I did want a year off with both.

Wouldn't call it discrimination personally. There a lot of women who opt to not have children and get no extended paid leave as you do with mat leave is there - yes, people choose to have babies, but it's not a given right to get XXX to fund it (hence why I saved)

Like others have said that is the legal minimum maternity pay.
I actually do think it’s fair, you are getting paid a little while your job is kept open for you - allowing you to take an entire year off without losing your position is a fantastic benefit.
As it goes, I did get offered 1/2 for 12 weeks in line with burgundy book but didn’t take it as I knew I wouldn’t be returning to work.
It was very easy to walk back into a teaching job after 8 years at home, and I still have the holidays with my children.
I actually think work places should be more open to term time only contracts as this would benefit parents more in the long run that enhanced maternity pay.

OP you are right to point to teachers in particular imo. Not many people realise that we get a raw deal, particularly because we lose any holiday accrued- another benefit many get on mat leave.

I agree that there is no discrimination here but it’s nevertheless the case that teachers usually have a more generous package than OP is going to get. Her school is unusual.

You might be better off posting in the Staffroom if you want to discuss teachers’ mat pay specifically, OP.

@MightWusk I mean that sounds great but you would have a lot of people not having kids (in the context where the birth rate is falling through the floor). For context, we are both teachers and no we couldn't save. We still can't.

You can blame the gov for suppressing our wages for 14 years. There's no way I'm not going to have a family just because my pay is piss poor.

Op. Stop being so rude to people offering advice or clarifying something you have asked/said. Honestly you sound like you are having a tantrum

@Teacherprebaby burgundy book terms

You don’t really come across as mature enough to be having a child.

I work in a local authority (not a school), but I only got 12 weeks half pay OMP on top of statutory. I knew this taking the job, and chose to give up the 6 months full pay I would have got in my previous civil service job as I just needed out. I had to go back to work after 26 weeks.

However, it is absolutely shocking and unacceptable the vast differences in maternity pay across the country, and compared to other European countries the UK lags so far behind. We should be angry and shouting from the rooftops, but like a lot things there is so little real oomp for change in the UK.

So how are you going to manage that if you can't save? And if you can't save now how are you going to afford a child? How are you going to fund childcare for example as that's a crazy amount per month, much more than saving some money.

Or to be a teacher!

It is far too low, however its a shame when people don’t care about others on SMP until they have to be on it themselves, clearly the rate was okay for other women for years and years.

I’m judging by your silence to my question asking if the maternity policy had recently changed means no, it hasn’t. If this was the policy when you started the job can I ask why you didn’t question it then? Or was it because it didn’t affect you then?

They are not cutting costs, they are adhering to the statutory guidance