Jul 15 2008
Maternity Leave Advancements: Is discrimination being fuelled?
By the end of the year the UK will be extending maternity leave to 12 months (statutory maternity pay will extended to 39 wks) from the current 9months. Expecting mums get 90% usual salary for 6 weeks & then on a reduced rate for another 33 weeks at max of £112.75/week. Flexible working hours will be extended till the youngest offspring has reached 16.
Essentially with these incredible victories of Maternity rights in the workplace - the head of Equalities and Human Rights Commission, Nicola Brewer, feels that recent and impending upgrades in maternity pay are ironically going to backfire on woman UK wide. She feels employers are going to be averse to employing and even promoting woman in their workplaces.
The controversial (”neanderthal” some have reported to say) Sir Alan Sugar had taken a piss on the fire by proclaiming recently that employers are “binning” female CV’s of a child bearing age. Essentially without being emotional about it - these are the facts as far as I can ascertain: 12 months maternity pay is an offputting figure for any employer considering a woman of childbearing age over a man (2 weeks maternity if wife gives birth).
Increasing numbers of women have been calling the helpline of the Equalities Commission asking for advice on what to do after being sacked while on maternity leave and the new changes haven’t even been enforced yet! What do you think ladies - Yay or Nay on this one?
As a recently returned to work mum - I’m extremely grateful for the amenities that allowed me the time off to have my beautiful baby boy.
I work for a fairly new company tho and must say that I can already see how the discrimination has taken hold since my maternity leave requirements were enforced (I was the first woman in the company to require time off with pay in order to give birth).
Of all the newly recruited workers in the 6 months I’ve been back - only 1 out of 9 is a woman, and she already has a family and is passed a child bearing age. Seems a bit odd.