Anyone negotiated their maternity leave pay?

[katep1982]

Hi,

Hope everyone's well. I'm a new and expectant mother, due late June/early July.

My question is about maternity leave pay.
I'm part of a small company. I've been there since the beginning, around 4 years, and believe I’m the first person to ever take maternity leave.

As such, I don't believe my company has developed a maternity pay package, or anything of the sort.
I guess, if I don't say anything, they'd likely offer me the basic maternity pay.

However, having been a loyal and devoted employee since the beginning, I'd like to think I'm entitled to a bit more.

Has anyone been in a similar position, if so, I'd like to hear your experiences with negotiating maternity leave pay?
Thanks,

Following with interest as i would like to know the same !

If no one has taken it before you probably stand a better chance than most at negotiating- if people had then they would be worried about claims for backpayments etc! However you know the company best, might be worth an ask, but wouldn’t be surprised if they just stick with the minimum.

I'd find out what maternity pay deals are in different sectors to make sure what they

I tried it. Big company. Got told under no circumstances would they do it. No matter what contract I agreed to sign regarding payback. As no deals can be done on company policy etc.

Same company seem to have a superb package for "garden leave" when caught shagging your PA. They get a good couple of months off on full pay and then come back to the business as if nothing has happened.

Offer/ you suggest is reasonable

Also you may have been a "loyal and devoted employee" but if you are the first to take maternity leave then you are setting thre bar for every pregnant woman after you so that would also affect what they might be willing to offer

I would possibly see if you can find out what the packages are like in similar businesses, there's usually data available online through sites like glassdoor.

There's also a possibility they haven't even considered it yet! So they may well just say yes to anything if you put your point across well enough! If it were me I'd definitely emphasise how valuable you are and have been to the company and maybe even bring up something like 'stay in touch days' so that they know you're seriously committed to mking a full return.
Let us know how you get on! You could make a real difference for any employee who needs in in the future :)

Good maternity pay is basically the only good thing about my DH being my boss!

Worth a shot. Depending how replaceable you are it could be very worthwhile indeed.