EU debate on maternity laws changing- your views

[katzen]

Hi

What are everyones' views on this week's EU debate on bringing maternity laws together that could see a woman paid at 20 weeks full pay (instead of 6 weeks at 90% then the remainder at £123)?

Article here on debate and views on how it says it could affect economy and future employment of women...

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8069687/Britain-attempts-to-block-Europes-maternity-rights-plans.html

I am going to really struggle on stat maternity leave next year. I have to save every penny I can now so I can have 6 months at home - as I exclusively BF, it's really important to have at least 6 months at home. I am the main breadwinner but it's very hard to save anything at all at the moment as I'm paying £10,500 per year for childcare for DD.

Any changes like this would be most welcome. I don't by the 'making women unemployable' arguments at all - the world will adapt & move on.

me too. I find it hard to grasp that we should care about a concept called the economy above something as real as mother and her baby's wellbeing.

I would love it if it would change, as it would benefit me enormously, however, as I run a business I think it's a crazy amount of money for a business to find to support someone who is away from work for an extended period of time.

the link is broken - is this the article you meant?

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8069687/Britain-attempts-to-block-Europes-maternity-rights-plans.html

Hi

Done some research and ALL businesses can claim back every penny of an employees maternity leave... on BBC news.

So the real driver to keep the status quo is from the government who would have to foot the bill

I find the maternity pay structure as a teacher fairly generous (think we get 12 weeks extra on half pay + SMP after the 6 weeks on full pay that standard maternity pay doesn't get). I would say that 20 weeks on full pay would be fantastic and really show that the job of looking after a newborn is valued. I can see the govt opposing that with all their strength though!

DP's brother lives in America and his wife works full time. I have felt very sorry for her having to go back at 12 weeks with both her babies (this is actually quite generous there), and I think it must be impossible for someone in that situation to breastfeed for long knowing they are going back to work . She FF her two by choice but if she'd wanted to bf it wouldn't have been easy going back at 12 weeks when the baby is having so many feeds. I wonder at a civilised country that doesn't support mothers and young babies to be together for any longer than the bare minimum.

I'd be interested to know whether it woudl be the government (as currently with SMP) or employers picking up the tab for this.

Currently the real cost to employers from maternity leave is the woman's absence. SMP is almost entirely covered by the Government, entirely for small employers.

If employers have to pick up the tab, women will lose out. For example, my nanny is the age where she might have children. If I knew I had to pay 20 weeks of full pay, I quite literally could not risk taking someone on who might do that. Childcare already takes in excess of 50% of my salary (won't say exactly), so once I'd paid that and a replacement I would be working for severely minus figures.

The same effect would be felt in lots of small employers.

I also think it's hard to do this when most EU countries have far shorter mat leave than we do. UK employers would be getting the double whammy of time and cost.

It worries me that it could be a negative step for women unless the government is paying. And can they afford to?

I think the estimated cost to the government is £2.4 billion for the 20 weeks' full pay.

That's the same as what the banks paid back to the government so far...

I don't think it's too much to ask for them to pay it.

After all, it's the long term view - protect and support children, as they are the future.

Actually, thinking about it I also have a problem with who this would benefit the most.

Surely a huge percentage of the cost of this (assuming the Gov would pay) would go towards the very highest earning women in society. Paying the full pay for a woman earning £120k a year is a big bill, and not actually I think the best use of the Government's money. I think I would want to see some form of cap on the salary that would be taken into account.

Of course, it's all a bit academic because if the EU pass it we'll have to do it.