Is it fair that new pregnant employees currently don't get a penny in maternity pay from their employers? And what we can do to change it.

[clarabridgetta]

Currently employers do not have to pay a penny in maternity pay for women who are pregnant when they start a job, women must be with an employer prior to getting pregnant to be eligible.

I was in this position and so are countless other women.

This amounts to gender discrimination as it often prevents women who are pregnant from taking new career opportunities. This feels like a financial penalisation for women because they are pregnant.

Statistics show women face the most discrimination in the workplace once they become mothers.

So I wanted to do something to change this so I started a petition to call on the Women's minister to force employers to pay women maternity pay regardless of when they start working for them.

Can you help?

As I am struggling to get many signatures from my non parent friends and colleagues and getting them to forward it onwards.

secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Minister_for_Women_and_Equalities_Nicky_Morgan_Call_on_Morgan_to_end_maternity_pay_inequality/?preview=live

Please sign and share with your friends and family.

Thank you.

Clare (mum to Iliya 10 months old).

Totally agree.

I was entitled to maternity allowance in your situation. Is that not an option?

Are you saying they should be forced to pay statutory maternity pay only? Or pay as per the maternity policy which maybe full pay for a period of weeks? How would this work?

Isn't SMP only claimed back against other NI/tax contributions? So anything above this sees the employer out of pocket. Is that realistic for SMEs who are good enough to reward and retain women in their business with additional maternity pay? They are potentially disadvantaged within the first year of hiring someone.

Would we start seeing more closet discrimination of women being refused jobs 'in case' they are pregnant?

not gender discrimination at all. Would you expect to employ someone knowing that they were going to leave on a career break in six months time, for up to a year, and you were going to have to pay them and recruit again to fill the position while they were away, and hope they would want to come back?

It's one thing to have the law protect women in existing jobs, of course that is right, but quite another to expect employers to pay maternity costs to women who go into a new job when pregnant, knowing that they will be shafting that employer in three-six months time. And yes, if you're going off on mat leave so soon after starting a job then you are shafting your employer.

I thought maternity allowance filled this gap

What wannabe said.

Sorry I don't agree with the petition and I say that as someone who started a new job whilst pregnant. I think it would lead to more discrimination of women in the work place not less.

I don't agree with the petition either.

I don't agree either, Wannabe is spot on.

hmm, I'd be more inclined to petition against dads to be not getting paternity pay if they aren't in the job when the mother falls pregnant.

they can take 2 weeks unpaid leave, but if not employed by the employer at pretty much the date of conception then they are not entitled to any pay - statutory or not.

Sometimes you don't have a choice but to change jobs while pregnant though. Pretty harsh to then be shafted on maternity benefits that you could be relying on. Women are often the main wage earner these days. The current system does not reflect that and assumes there's a partner earning more who can make up the shortfall.

Wouldn't it be more appropriate to look at extending or adjusting the rules around Maternity Allowance to cover this situation? That would avoid any tacit discrimination against women who might be pregnant, and it would avoid extra financial burdens on SME.

Not strictly true. I moved jobs when 30 weeks pregnant - my old employer was liable for SMP. As others have said, you will be entitled to MA if you have worked enough in the past 2 years, and if you haven't worked, why do you get an in work benefit?

Here's an explanation of Maternity Allowance from www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk :

^What is Maternity Allowance?

Maternity Allowance is a benefit paid to pregnant women by the government. You can claim it as soon as you have been pregnant for 26 weeks. If you’re registered as self-employed, you’re probably eligible.

You’ll also be able to claim Maternity Allowance if:

you haven’t been in a new job long enough to qualitfy for Statutory Maternity Pay
have only just left a job
your average pay is less than £112 a week (in the tax year 2015-16)

However, you won’t get it if:

you’re unemployed
you haven’t been working
earn less than £30 a week^

I agree with wannabe, too.

Hi all - we're going to pop this over to Petitions.

Thank you for your responses.

I was entitled to statutory maternity allowance, as are mothers who are not entitled to SMP and have been employment long enough to qualify. However, they lose the six weeks full pay that women you have been employment longer.

Wannbe, I do believe this to be a discrimination as I feel women may not make advances in their careers as they will fear changing jobs because they are pregnant. I think we need to make a fairer playing field for women.

Also I would not consider having maternity leave a 'career break' it is part of being a woman and a mother. Moreover, it is absolutely discriminatory that an employer would exclude a woman for a job because she is pregnant and against the law. So yes, I would absolutely expect an employer to employ a woman who is pregnant based on her skills and ability!

The employers existing obligation to pregnant employees is not that large; of paying 90% of wages for the first 6 weeks of maternity leave, and I would propose that this should be extended to all women regardless of their length of service.

The law states that an employer: 'can usually reclaim 92% of employees’ Statutory Maternity (SMP), Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Pay.'

And for small businesses they 'can reclaim 103% if your business qualifies for Small Employers’ Relief.'(GOV.UK)

There already appears to be enough protection for small business so I think a change in this legislation would not effect them detrimentally.

I'm an employment lawyer.

If your petition succeeded it would without a doubt result in more discrimination. Pregnant women would simply never be offered the jobs in the first place.

You need to be realistic and balance the needs of the business with the needs of the individual.

You're entitled to your opinion. I agree with wannabe. You're entitled to MA. You knew the score when you took a job already pregnant. You didn't 'lose six weeks full pay', the employer isn't, and shouldn't be, compelled to pay a person that if they haven't done the required length of service beforehand. Take some responsibility for yourself rather than play the gender discrimination card.

I don't agree with the petition either, sorry.

Thank you BeccaMumsNet.

What you have to realise is that you're not being discriminated against. You're not at work therefore you're not getting paid (other than maternity allowance which is actually identical to SMP after the first 6 weeks). You are therefore being treated in exactly the same way as a man who wasn't at work for a year.

SMP is an example of positive discrimination as is SMA - you get treated more favourably due to the fact that you've just had a baby.

I think it could end up in more discrimination. After all, women don't always return to work, do they? So your employer could be really out of pocket, unfairly so.

River tam- one of the conditions of occupational maternity pay is normally that you have to return to work for at least 3 months or you have to pay it back.

I'm confused though- do ALL employers offer 6 weeks full pay? Some don't offer that even if you've worked there for years do they?

Atticuslaw what are you on about "positive discrimination"?! Of course I'm in work- my role still exists and I will return to it when my maternity leave is over, I am still an employee.