To ask you to help me be smart about this mat leave issue?

[ConkerGame]

Struggling with this mat leave issue and hoping the viper hivemind can help me work out how to deal with it! Apologies for the length but didn't want to leave out any relevant factors!

I started a new job 18 months ago. I took it in a bit of a hurry as I wasn't planning to leave my old job, which I loved, but found I was completely side-lined (to the point of not being given any work) after returning from my first mat leave, despite things going really well before I took the leave. I had to get out relatively quickly as I knew I wanted a second DC and would need to be in any new job for a year before qualifying for enhanced mat leave.

I told the recruiter from the very start (and kept repeating) that I needed to see the mat leave policy ASAP as I'm the main breadwinner but he kept fobbing me off and in the end I didn't get to see it until after they had offered me the role (after a gruelling 4 round process, which included me staying up until 1am the night before having all of our family round for DC1's first birthday, preparing a presentation), so obviously I was already quite invested by that point.

The policy is terrible. I was really upset with the recruiter and made it clear to him I would never have even interviewed for the role if I'd seen the policy first, as we need the money, but by this point I was very invested and felt rushed as I had interviewed for a couple of other roles which didn't feel right at all. Despite the policy, I really got on with my now boss, the work was a step up and there was a small pay increase. I even raised my concern with my new boss before accepting the role and he told me that the company realised the policy was terrible and were in the process of updating it, so it should be fine by the time I would need to qualify for it.

Fast forward 18 months, the job has been good but I'm now pregnant and of course the policy has not been updated, leaving DH and I in a very stressful situation. It was true that HR were updating it and I was following its progress as part of the Women's Network, so I was as sure as possible it would be updated this summer, but the Board just hasn't approved the new version and it won't be done in time for me, if at all in the near future. We are talking about a big, successful FTSE 100 company here, not some small, struggling start-up or similar, so there is no excuse for it, it's just not a priority so not being done. I know I took a risk when taking on the role but am honestly just so, so disappointed that nothing has improved in 18 months. I also couldn't time my pregnancy perfectly - if it had taken us 6 months or longer to conceive then we would have been ok financially as they have a 2 year enhanced policy which, while not great, is acceptable. However we were lucky to fall pregnant first time, which of course you can't count on so need to leave a bit of wiggle room and age is not on my side.

My heart says to just completely check out of the company now - they've really screwed us over as a family so why should I care about them? Just work to rule until I go on leave, then go part time and work to rule when I return until I feel ready to apply to move somewhere new. My head says: the job is otherwise good, working to rule would mainly punish my boss and my team, who are in no way to blame for this, I should play the long game as this will be my last mat leave so I won't be affected by the policy after this. Yet another part of me thinks I should fight for an improvement for the next couple of months - speak to anyone I can on the Board and make it clear I'm unhappy, in the hope this will spur them to approve the new policy in time for it to benefit me? But I'm not very senior in the corporate hierarchy (have only spoken to one person on the Board previously) and worried that this could go wrong for me and I'll be frozen out before I'm ready to leave, which would create a bad atmosphere and cause stress around my mat leave, which would be horrible.

Don't really know where to go from here :-( Please nobody respond telling me I'm lucky to get mat leave at all, lucky to have a job at all, etc. that's all the bare minimum we should be expecting - I'm a highly skilled professional and know my worth to the company (as does my boss and his boss). Just looking for a fair package for women in 2024 from a large, successful company, but apparently that's still too much to ask for...

It was a big risk going ahead and getting pregnant again just on the hearsay that 'oh yes it's crap we will update it'. They are under no obligation to follow through.

You mention childcare fees but you'd have the option of not using childcare for your other child while on leave, if you need a money saver

YABU. I absolutely think maternity pay should be better, but you saw their policy before you took the job and accepted anyway without anything confirmed in writing that you would get better pay. There is also a better enhanced policy that you knew about that kicks in at 2 years and you decided to TTC before that knowing that you could get pregnant on the first try. You either knew the policy hadn't been updated before you TTC or didn't check. All those decisions are on you.

You can try and negotiate a better policy now, but they may not agree and you'll have to accept their decision. You can also do shared parental leave to mitigate the pay loss as your DH earns less. You could also take a shorter maternity leave if you can't afford the full 9 or 12 months off.

You saw the policy before you took the role.

There was no guarantee the policy would change

You accepted the policy as it was, and signed on the dotted line.

It’s unfair to be angry at the business because you made a bad choice.

Can you find out why the board failed to approve it?

Do you definitely have to have worked there for two years before becoming pregnant? I'm sure you've read it properly I'm just suggesting to check because it might be that you work there for two years before the baby is born, or you're 25 weeks pregnant etc and given you've been there 18 months already you might end up qualifying x

They are updating it though it just won't be ready in the timeframe that you need it to be. It's not a personal insult to you. You knew that it hadn't been done when you took the job and then decided to TTC.

@ConkerGame How many weeks pregnant are you and how sure are you that you won't qualify for the two years' enhanced mat pay?

I'm not sure what all of the people sticking the boot in are hoping to achieve with their "helpful" comments.

Well you’ve taken a lot of risks, and they haven’t paid off. It’s all down to you though, and it’s your responsibility/mistake.

You do have options, that don’t need to involve sabotaging your job/relationship with your boss and team.

Negotiate.
Start saving now to cover the 8 weeks pay gap
Share parental leave
Don’t take the full 12 months
Borrow the money to afford full maternity leave, and pay it back when you’re working full time again.

They're not updating it. They've been saying they are updating it but they are not actually doing that. It doesn't take years to do these things if you are actually committed to doing them.

Does your DH work FT but earn a lot less than you, or is he a SAHP? If the latter, can he get some work for the period you want to be on mat leave? If it’s the former, what can you do to reduce outgoings during leave, e.g. taking your eldest out of childcare, asking for interest only on the mortgage? Sounds like you must live in London or another big city if you work for a FTSE 100, so can you get rid of car?

If you can’t negotiate your package, it’s either increase income from your DH, or make sacrifices to seriously cut your outgoings. If neither are possible, you’ll need to start facing up to going back much sooner than you’d like - whilst having contingency plans in case you’re not physically able.

Nugget have a masterclass on how to negotiate better parental leave you might find useful https://www.nuggetsavings.com/category/all-products

Your chances of getting pregnant don’t increase every month you try. So saying you started trying as time wasn’t on your side is just nonsensical.

I think the point is that a woman's chances of pregnancy decrease with time, therefore starting earlier makes sense if you're at or heading towards an age where you're past peak fertility.

Does DH have a better policy at his work? Look at shared parental leave?

Agree with this.

It's not just women. It's leave for baby care (and adoption). They will all be aligned. So, whilst you are main breadwinner, and will be giving birth, the benefit of the mat policy will also be applied to fathers. Whether they opt to take it not is another thing....

So, that means the people impacted is not just the women's network... So use other means to lobby too

And, the 'cost' to the business will not just be female staff- but to any staff that have a new baby or adopted child. For women, that will generally end when they can't pop out a kid anymore , and for men it could be well into their 80's.

So, if men were sensible and actually thought about it, they have more of an interest to lobby for it as the benefit applies to them for more years.

You have only been there 18 months, insisting on 2 years service before enhanced maternity kicks in seems fair enough to me. Many employers only offer statutory, it's hardly rare.

Maybe a wake up call to the OP who needs to start taking responsibility for her own choices before she inflicts a work to rule on her manager and team members.

She was the one who kept on interviewing despite not seeing the policy. She was the one who agreed to the contract terms that were given. She is the one who got pregnant too early to benefit from enhanced maternity pay.

I understand why you are frustrated but you have to go about this in the right way.

I agree with others that for 8 weeks pay, it isn't worth ruining your long term prospects there.

All you can do is push via the women's network for the policy to be reconsidered. Are there any minor changes that might help it get through? Is it better to settle for a lower level of improvement to benefit women now and then to continue to push for more later.

Could the carry over of annual leave be improved to allow it to be put on the end of mat leave (if not in place already).

I don't see how any arrangements can be made for you individually without it landing them in hot water elsewhere.

Are there any other policies you can take advantage of? We can purchase two weeks additional annual leave. Could you do something like this and take it in the run up to mat leave so you save all your paid period for after the birth?

You won't need childcare if on mat leave so that's a cost you can change. Otherwise it's cutting right back and taking a shorter time off or shared paternity leave. Sorry

Our policy changed while I was on mat leave - I had the equivalent of 9 weeks full and then down to stat. What I also got though was a return to work bonus which is repayable if you leave within a year. I would try to find out more about the new policy that's pending implementation and if there's any way you can benefit from that, if not maybe try and get a return to work bonus with conditions attached as it shows you're genuine about staying there. It will be easier for the company to approve that as a one off payment rather than give you special maternity pay out of policy. I realise there could be a cash flow impact of that coming at the end of mat leave but could you make that work.

Any business the size of OPs employer has no doubt been very sensibly awaiting sight of the new employment bill and the autumn statement before they make any decision on improvements to benefits.

There is very likely to be a significant rise in employer NICs which will need to be factored into overall remuneration strategy

It won’t drop in 3-6 months that significantly!

I would ask for enhanced - if you don't ask you don't get. And it doesn't sound like you want to be around much longer anyway.

All you can do is push via the women's network for the policy to be reconsidered

In any large corporate, however good or bad the pay and conditions are, there is always scope for the right individuals to negotiate themselves an even better deal.

IMO the first place to start is to see how supportive your boss is prepared to be. Establishing their position active supporter, passive supporter or blocker lets you know where you are starting from.

Then start reaching out for other contacts, of course include the women's network, try every single other contact you can find. Ideally you want someone with no add to grind to desperately want to keep you and prepared to make that happen

Position it however you like, negotiate yourself a better deal and/or bring about approval for the enhance policy sooner. If approval has been blocked, find out why and have a go at converting the blocker. Whatever the result, if you go about it in a business like way, you are demonstrating your competence at business.

This is what you do, you have got it.

I don't know any corporate with a really good policy that didn't have someone who was key in bringing it about. The more junior you are the better. People will remember and it can really help your career to be known for getting seemingly unpopular policies adopted.

Good luck

You have got this.