Maternity Pay - what does your employers offer?

[Vallmo]

Hi ladies,

I am trying to benchmark my company's maternity policy when it comes to "topping up" statutory maternity pay and am wondering if you don't mind telling me who you work for and what enhanced maternity pay your employer currently offers. All answers will be very much appreciated!

Thanks a lot!

[Boleh]

International oil and gas company.
For UK staff in the UK, 6 months full pay, 6 months half pay - excellent. For expat staff abroad 16 weeks full pay then you must come back to work.
For local staff in other countries it varies wildly, if I recall correctly where I am now it's 6 weeks full pay and I think that might be it, in contrast in Norway it's better than the UK.

[Boleh]

Oh, but you have to stay on I think 2 years afterwards or you repay a certain amount pro-rata depending on how soon you leave in the UK.

[williaminajetfighter]

University. 6 months full pay. 3 months Smp then 3 months nothing. Very good package but it does mean you have to work at a University! (Sigh!)

[BigHairyLeggedSpider]

6 weeks at 90% then smp.

Very ungenerous charity. They can afford better. Just my luck to get pregnant whilst working somewhere with shit maternity!

[TinyMonkey]

I work for a large national charity and get 18 weeks leave on full pay, followed by 21 weeks SMP.

Fortunately because I'm due this December and our holiday year runs Jan-Dec I will also have 30 days accrued annual leave plus bank holidays to use at the end of 2015 when I'm not receiving any pay, so I'm off from mid Nov 2014 to early Jan 2016.

[DanyStormborn]

I work for a civil aviation company with about 750 staff. We only get SMP.

[Jenijena]

Another RG university.

If you've worked there long enough, 26 wks full pay, then onto statutory (ie 13 wks smp, 13 wks unpaid). But you have to work for a year afterwards, otherwise they want the extra back.

One if the side affects is lots of women hang on through their 30s, then seem to get stuck there.

[OublietteBravo]

Large multi-national company. 39 weeks full pay (but you have to have worked here for 5 years to qualify). You also have to work the same hours for 6 months afterwards to avoid paying any of it back (so if you drop to PT after maternity leave, you would only be eligible for PT pay for your maternity leave and have to pay the rest back). Still a pretty good deal (shame I didn't work here when I had DD and DS).

[tiggy2610]

Another RG university here.

8 weeks full pay, 16 weeks 50% + SMP, 15 weeks SMP. All employees on maternity leave also accrue annual leave so if you use it well thats another 6 weeks full pay which I plan on tagging onto my leave to get a bit of money back in the bank.

Not a bad deal really!

[MrsW27]

Yet another university worker here: 6months full pay, 3 months smp then 3 months unpaid if you want to. You have to go back to work for at least 12 weeks afterwards but I am very grateful at how good a deal we have

[ToniWol]

Not for Profit Care Home Organisation

Statutory Minimum (6 wks at 90%, 33 wks SMP).
They encourage you to take leave before going off, but as no-one confirmed to me that my Bank Holiday days also needed to be taken (as my Contract states 20 days + BHs) until a couple of weeks before I left they've agreed to let me carry those days over.

[weeblueberry]

Advertising sales for a very small company and get statutory minimum. They're basically not making any money from me while I'm away and it's virtually impossible to get a mat cover sales person so they're basically starving you out til you can't afford to stay away any longer.

I had to 'fight' to get holidays I'd accrued too but that's a whole other issue...

[nathancoleman]

I am looking for help from everyone on this thread. I am actually the head of a small social enterprise. We are about 20 people. One of my most senior people, effectively at Director level, is going on maternity leave and we do not yet have a policy.

The question comes down to fairness. What is the appropriate amount of pay. Clearly its above the base and below the level of large corporations of the civil service insofar as we cant afford that level. She intends to take 6 months of leave which we can manage somehow.

Anyone's thoughts on how we figure this out would be deeply appreciated

[karenukusa]

I work for a big American oil company in the UK (largest in world). The UK policy is very different from the US policy (I had a child in both countries while working for this employer). In the US I got six weeks paid then nothing. In the UK I get 3 months full pay, then 6 months half pay, then 3 months SMP. I see now that it's pretty great after reading this thread.

[Galderine]

Continuing on this very informative thread... thank you all for your posts!
Do you know any company who provide enhanced company maternity pay regardless of how long you have been working with them?
I only know of one.

[GoooRooo]

I get nada. Statutory maternity allowance and that's it - I'm self employed.

Totally jealous of anyone who gets anything!

[Gillian1980]

I get SMP and that's it. It isn't effected by how long I've worked for the company, that's all anyone gets.

I'm a social worker and work for a private company. Our whole ethos is based around child attachment yet their crap policy makes it really difficult financially to take a full year off.

[WasWebb81]

Trying to work mine out how long can afford to be off for so timely!

I work for large, global resourcing company.

Standard is 6 weeks 90%, 33 weeks SMP. I've been there long enough to qualify for enhanced so 100% for 8 weeks, 50% for 8 weeks and 23 weeks SMP. You have to go back for three months or pay back.

We also get our accrued holiday paid. One thing I can't quite work out is when hol can be taken, does mat leave kick in as soon as baby is born? Was hoping to tag some of this year's hol onto the beginning (and next year's on the end, due Sept). Not helping my frazzled brain that holiday year runs April-March!

[cjm10979]

I work for a major UK based Insurance Company and with 1 years service it is 100% pay for 18 weeks then SMP.

All annual leave owning (+ bank holidays) in the current leave year have to be taken before your maternity leave. Therefore, if you have lots of annual leave left you could be on annual leave when the baby arrives and when that runs out you start your maternity leave.

[beth1987]

Stat. maternity here. I work for a small business (who are generally very anti-pregnancy!). Can understand that small businesses can't afford anymore but am well jealous of anyone that gets anything more.
I thought the stat. pay wasn't too bad!

[misssmilla1]

In the US; we get 6 weeks full pay as it's classed as short term disability then 3 weeks full pay from work as a new parent, and I can then take any accrued holiday days (which tbh, I'll take beforehand as I'm not working and doing the commute at 40W) and another 9 weeks of unpaid leave and then we have to either a) go back to work or b) leave.

Tbh, I think the provision is shite, especially after being in Europe.

[MsDeedles]

Ireland here. Largish insurance company. 18 weeks full pay. 6 weeks statutory. Up to 16 weeks unpaid. Have to stay 6 months after or the difference between statutory and full for the first 18 weeks is repayable.

[MissTwister]

Marketing - I get 18 weeks full pay then SMP plus all holidays owed paid (hoping for 20 days) and bank holidays paid. Plus they pay pension and health care still.

[rosedavo]

I only get statutory pay, work for bp and pretty crap!

[knittingirl]

Small UK private firm, I get SMP (ie 90% for six weeks, followed by smp up to 39 weeks).

If I'm honest, I think it's pretty great I get paid anything to sit at home for a year and cuddle my baby.