Here in Canada (Ontario specifically) we have 15 weeks "maternity leave" & 35 weeks of "parental leave". We are paid the rates of unemployment (EI) during that time which is 55% of our income. So essentially we get ~half our income and a year of leave from work.
Some employers have a program where they top up your EI to increase the percent you take home. Mine doesn't have this program.
What I am doing to boost my EI is working a second job before I was pregnant and while pregnant. This give me extra money to save AND it bumps my income so I will get 55% of my increased income. Working full time and part time while being pregnant has its challenges though...
I work for a small company in the US, we have no maternity leave policy. Most of the 35 people who work for us are young. I'm upper management. This is my 2nd baby, 1st time was years ago. Same company. I took 6 weeks off, 2 were paid. Saved for the rest. This round I'm hoping for closer to 8 weeks, have 2 of paid vacation I can use and maybe I can talk the owner into another two. Nice to be able to negotiate for what I want, but also awkward. Have to factor in who will do my work while I am gone and how the leave I take will set a precedent for other future mothers. We aren't required to follow Fmla, because we only have 35 employees and in CA as the highest paid salaried employee at my company, I'm not legally guaranteed maternity leave or the security of my job being mine when I return. I will be OK, but a lot of women in the US have to go into debt just to have a family. It's very sad.
Lol what did you fenales think, that just because you are pregnant you should receive maternity leave 100percent of no taxes or full pay. No. You will not be working just be thankful they will pay at least a portion and not nothig at all. Ungrateful.
I'm a snorkel/tour guide so don't get paid if I'm not in the water. Not sure what I'm going to do when I can't zip up my wetsuit anymore besides looking for a new job!
Lol what did you fenales think, that just because you are pregnant you should receive maternity leave 100percent of no taxes or full pay. No. You will not be working just be thankful they will pay at least a portion and not nothig at all. Ungrateful.
Umm, in some of countries, this is what they receive, because as a society, they recognize it is important for young children to have time with their mothers. Giving birth is also considered a medical event, and medical leave is also common.
If you're not pregnant or have a partner who is pregnant, this place is not for you.
However, so don't see why you would have to experience it yourself to have some compassion for the struggle it is to have a baby and make choice about being able to afford to live comfortably and leave your baby with someone else to work.
Lol what did you fenales think, that just because you are pregnant you should receive maternity leave 100percent of no taxes or full pay. No. You will not be working just be thankful they will pay at least a portion and not nothig at all. Ungrateful.
You are clearly a male troll, because women rarely refer to themselves or others as females. Female what? We are female humans, aka women.
Lol what did you fenales think, that just because you are pregnant you should receive maternity leave 100percent of no taxes or full pay. No. You will not be working just be thankful they will pay at least a portion and not nothig at all. Ungrateful.
You are clearly a male troll, because women rarely refer to themselves or others as females. Female what? We are female humans, aka women.
I think this might be Donald Trump punking us! Fwiw, I have a hard time taking anyone serious that had that many typos in two sentences
I'm a snorkel/tour guide so don't get paid if I'm not in the water. Not sure what I'm going to do when I can't zip up my wetsuit anymore besides looking for a new job!
Do you live someplace warm and tropical? If so I am so incredibly jealous.
on the bright side, many of you are very blessed. I got diagnosed with a chronic illness (I feel fabulous now that I am pregnant, but my symptoms will come back full on once hormones stabilize). When I flare, which is at least once a month and my flares last anywhere from 1 to 30 days, I cannot walk, barely can talk, and have a hard time taking care of myself. On the days I'm not flaring, I experience total body aches that feel like flu aches and get severe migraines that I've learned to live with. The government, because my illness cannot be proven or disproven by medical testing, doesn't give disability pay or benefits to myself or others with my disability without a HUGE fight so I cannot work and I cannot receive any benefits to make up for my not being able to work. My husband is military and gets a whopping 10 days paternity leave and deploys in June after the baby is born. Living on a military income with a whole 10 days of help before doing it all on my own, but we will make due, no doubt about that! Just count your blessings, it could always be worse right?! Hang in there.
This has been a very insightful thread. I'm very fortunate that my company just changed our policy so I will get 4 months paid leave. Used to be 2. We also have some other emerging benefits like 12 months of local work / minimal travel (I work in consulting and am often on the road) and shipping breastmilk if you do have to travel. I think the recent change is due to more women in senior leadership positions. We need more women at the top to improve leave and other family benefits!
I'm definitely content with what I have, I don't know how anyone can survive on anything less :-(. Never mind that 6 weeks isn't nearly enough time to spend with a newborn and your body is barely getting back to normal!
My plan has you use 1 week PTO, then 100% pay to week 6 (vaginal delivery). Weeks 6-12 is 80% of pay, anything after that is 60%.
I still haven't told my boss at 12 weeks because he got so upset that I took extra time off to be with my daughter last time. I'm a teacher with 6 weeks on short term disability (that I pay for). My husband had two weeks paid paternity but his employer said the account was too busy and the company needed him. He was working on his computer IN MY HOSPITAL ROOM after she was born. Our lawyer said what they did is wrong, but the cost of going to court isn't worth the return. Needless to say, he no longer works there.
Apparently having a family is a huge inconvenience to employers....
A friend of mine started a company/website to help parents raise money to help defray the cost of unpaid leave. It's intended to be in lieu of a traditional baby shower. However, people have been really reluctant to sign up because of the perception that it's in poor taste to ask your family and friends for cash instead of gifts. So great, we're in this catch-22 where employers don't help, society frowns upon people asking for help, and the cost of raising a baby on top of the cost of unpaid leave is prohibitive for many. I know it took me a year to dig myself out of the financial hole maternity leave put me in (I'm paid by commission).
I work for a university and I get 6-8 weeks (depending on delivery) paid in full. I'm very thankful for our maternity leave plan, plus I get two weeks off paid in full prior to my due date for the "normal discomforts of pregnancy" and that two weeks doen't cut into my 6-8 weeks after baby is born.
- Married 5/2011 | Big Sister 8/2012 |Little One 5/2016 -
I honestly can't believe how awful that is!! I've just been through all the information on what I will receive once I finish work for maternity leave and am pleasantly surprised.. I have been told that I qualify for SMP to get 90% of my earnings (I have a well paid job) for 39 weeks! And also my partner gets good paternity leave too which will be a massive help. Also considering I will not be returning to work either as I work 60+ hours currently and I am already dying at almost 10 weeks pregnant
I just talked to someone who just got back from maternity leave. I can take up to 12 weeks unpaid because of FMLA. The company pays for our short term disability so depending on the delivery I get the first 6-8 weeks paid at 70%. However the first week is a "waiting period" so I have to use PTO so really it's 5-7 weeks paid by STD. If I still have PTO and take more than the 6-8 weeks I have to use my PTO. Our PTO resets every year so it's lame. Also I do not earn PTO while out. So basically I will come back to work with no PTO saved up.
I just talked to someone who just got back from maternity leave. I can take up to 12 weeks unpaid because of FMLA. The company pays for our short term disability so depending on the delivery I get the first 6-8 weeks paid at 70%. However the first week is a "waiting period" so I have to use PTO so really it's 5-7 weeks paid by STD. If I still have PTO and take more than the 6-8 weeks I have to use my PTO. Our PTO resets every year so it's lame. Also I do not earn PTO while out. So basically I will come back to work with no PTO saved up.
Do we work at the same company?? Mine is exactly the same. Thankfully, next year is my 5th year, and I get an extra week of PTO, so I wont feel too horrible taking it for the 1st week.
I work as a fee for service therapist so no benefits at all. My plan is to save, save, save so I can have some decent time off to take care of my baby. So awful!!!
I filed a short term disability claim a few weeks ago. Since I've been working for the company for only a year, I receive 4 weeks 100% paid. I have to leave work for one week before the claim kicks in, but can use PTO days during that week if I want (I have three). I also filed for FMLA. I can get 8 weeks unpaid, however. Since my baby is due on Decmeber 30th, I'll have two weeks of PTO and one week of sick leave for the 2016 year, which need to be used during the 8 weeks I'm away.
A co-worker who recently had a baby told me our VP Manager insisted she bring her baby to work, so that she had more time to bond (since the first three months is mainly full of sleeping anyways and we work in an office). I don't know how my husband or I would feel about bringing my baby to work lol, but it's great to know that I work for a very supportive company.
I am very sorry most of you ladies are having such a hard time with this. I sure hope someone is doing something to resolve this issue, because it is ridiculous.
I just talked to someone who just got back from maternity leave. I can take up to 12 weeks unpaid because of FMLA. The company pays for our short term disability so depending on the delivery I get the first 6-8 weeks paid at 70%. However the first week is a "waiting period" so I have to use PTO so really it's 5-7 weeks paid by STD. If I still have PTO and take more than the 6-8 weeks I have to use my PTO. Our PTO resets every year so it's lame. Also I do not earn PTO while out. So basically I will come back to work with no PTO saved up.
Coming back with no PTO/sick days was really hard for me. I came back in January and DS started daycare, and even with breastfeeding, we had a lot of illness last winter. I'm definitely not going into this maternity leave with much accrued at all...I have had to use it as I get it for the most part!
I'm finding that the work place is very unfriendly place for a pregnant woman! Which makes working suck more than it already does when you feel sick and have no end in sight. As said maternity leave benefits leave a lot to be desired, and I'm also finding that there are no allowances for severe morning sickness and others things. Pretty much you must be so ill you are eligible for disability benefits or they don't understand why you can't give your normal 110%. And if your performance drops at all you are in trouble (read- probation, which leads to termination of you don't 'improve') etc. I feel like I've done something seriously wrong and I'm being punished!!! Not at all what I expected after 8 loyal years ( I work for a very corporate and well rated company that constantly brags about work/life/family balance and employee benefits) what a crock!!!!
I came out of lurker status on another post that spoke to my heart so here goes another. I know PPD is real & I'm not down playing it or suggesting you "fake it" & I'll probably get flamed big time for this BUT if it gets you more bonding time (which is what I needed as *see below* & breastfeeding came not so easy for me the first go around) then so be it. *I really did feel "different" after DD was born as I lost a family member in a very traumatic way 2 weeks after she was born so at my 6 week check-up when I said I was depressed it wasn't a lie b/c I really was but my Doc chalked it up as PPD. I got an extra 6 weeks at home which I so needed due to both being a new Mom & the loss.
In other words PPD is a valid medical reason for your STD claim to continue after giving birth with no reason to have to file a new claim & go through the week waiting period with no pay as it is directly related to what the initial STD claim was of giving birth.
I have no idea what my company offers. I'm just saving up and, if I do end up getting some pay, great! I have personally never felt that I'm entitled to be paid for NOT working, by my employer or the government. So I save to support myself and if my company decides to be gracious and gift me some paid leave, even better!
I have no idea what my company offers. I'm just saving up and, if I do end up getting some pay, great! I have personally never felt that I'm entitled to be paid for NOT working, by my employer or the government. So I save to support myself and if my company decides to be gracious and gift me some paid leave, even better!
Parental leave is a benefit, like any other. It shows that your employer values you as a productive employee whom they want to reward for good work and loyalty, whose life they want to enrich just as you have enriched their company. If you accept healthcare through your employer, if you accept 401k contributions, if you accept employee discounts and any paid time off (including sick leave and vacation days), you are being paid for things other than your immediate productivity at work.
The reason that most employers in the US do not offer parental leave with the regularity that they offer all those other benefits is sexism, pure and simple. Because caregiving is feminized and seen as antithetical to workplace culture (and because the system was instituted at a time when women were actively discouraged from joining the workforce), parental leave (as well as family and medical leave) is not regarded as on par with other benefits.
So--good for you for saving, but a) there's a systemic issue here that still needs to be addressed, and b) not all of us (by a long shot) can afford to do the same.
Im a Veterinarian. Thats 8 years of post high school education and training. Its basically standard in our field to not get ANY paid leave. If you happen to work for a big corporate venture like Banfield, that may be different but the vast majority of us get nothing
Even if women can do the same, they should not be forced to. With companies giving cell phones so that employees feel as if they have to be connected all the time, the least they can do is support their employees during this huge life change.
Calling people you do not know ungrateful when many are likely consistently working evenings, weekends, and traveling for business away from their families (WITHOUT extra pay) and because they expect a company to honor a time when they can't be accessible is a unjustified blanket statement.
Also, I realized I do not know how to respond to one comment and it puts it at the end so sorry everyone for my confusing posts that do not seem to relate.
The slow clap was for dshannah and the blanket statement was for the one the group deduced was a male troll calling 'fenales' ungrateful.
I work as a CNA in a nursing home. Their policy is for anyone working in nursing is... you need light duty? Youre fired.. you need maternity leave after the baby comes? Youre fired. Its awful. Ive seen it happen to serveral ladies i worked with.
Re: Maternity Leave is a JOKE
If you're not pregnant or have a partner who is pregnant, this place is not for you.
However, so don't see why you would have to experience it yourself to have some compassion for the struggle it is to have a baby and make choice about being able to afford to live comfortably and leave your baby with someone else to work.
My plan has you use 1 week PTO, then 100% pay to week 6 (vaginal delivery). Weeks 6-12 is 80% of pay, anything after that is 60%.
Apparently having a family is a huge inconvenience to employers....
I've just been through all the information on what I will receive once I finish work for maternity leave and am pleasantly surprised..
I have been told that I qualify for SMP to get 90% of my earnings (I have a well paid job) for 39 weeks!
And also my partner gets good paternity leave too which will be a massive help. Also considering I will not be returning to work either as I work 60+ hours currently and I am already dying at almost 10 weeks pregnant
- BFP: 3/10/16 — Baby Girl born 11/20/16
TTC#2 April 2019I know PPD is real & I'm not down playing it or suggesting you "fake it" & I'll probably get flamed big time for this BUT if it gets you more bonding time (which is what I needed as *see below* & breastfeeding came not so easy for me the first go around) then so be it.
*I really did feel "different" after DD was born as I lost a family member in a very traumatic way 2 weeks after she was born so at my 6 week check-up when I said I was depressed it wasn't a lie b/c I really was but my Doc chalked it up as PPD. I got an extra 6 weeks at home which I so needed due to both being a new Mom & the loss.
In other words PPD is a valid medical reason for your STD claim to continue after giving birth with no reason to have to file a new claim & go through the week waiting period with no pay as it is directly related to what the initial STD claim was of giving birth.
Even if women can do the same, they should not be forced to. With companies giving cell phones so that employees feel as if they have to be connected all the time, the least they can do is support their employees during this huge life change.
The slow clap was for dshannah and the blanket statement was for the one the group deduced was a male troll calling 'fenales' ungrateful.