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Aussies recommend 18 weeks paid maternity leave
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The Australian government may allow new mothers 18 weeks paid maternity leave so they can spend more time with their newborns. Under the same plan, dads would be allowed two weeks of paid leave, as well. The scheme (and I love how they call it a scheme) would let parents and babies be together during those critical first months without worrying about their jobs or their financial situation. The plan would help every parent, but is specifically designed to ease pressures on mothers who work in low-income jobs that don't offer maternity leave.
Aussie moms who stay at home already receive some benefits from the government, and would not be adversely affected by the $450 million plan.
Can you imagine? Eighteen whole weeks of paid maternity leave? Granted, the government only intends to pay out the equivalent of minimum wage, but most U.S. corporations only offer four to six weeks of fully paid maternity leave, and after that you're on your own.
I had a c-section with my first baby, and because of that I had an extra two weeks off, for a grand total of eight weeks. That sounds like a lot of time, but in reality it is the blink of an eye. I personally couldn't bear to leave my daughter, and so I decided to quit my job. Making such a serious financial decision wasn't easy, but it was easier than trying to let go of those fleeting newborn weeks.
I'm not sure 18 weeks of paid maternity leave would have led me to a different path, but I never had the chance to find out because we Americans haven't yet realized how important it is to allow moms the time to be with their babies. On the other hand, I know plenty of women who couldn't wait to get back to work.
How about you? Would you want 18 weeks off after the baby, or were you itching to get back to work?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
10-31-2008 @ 9:20AM
Jennypen said...I feel a bit sorry for you guys... it's 9 months paid leave, and if your company doesn't cover it, the government does, over here in the UK. Although we're all jealous of Sweden, where rumour abounds that it is up to 2 years.
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10-31-2008 @ 9:25AM
CLM said..."...most U.S. corporations only offer four to six weeks of fully paid maternity leave..." Is that correct? My understanding is that maternity leave in this country is unpaid. I and my coworkers all had to use up our vacation and sick leave and then go on disability if we ran out of leave. FMLA, to my knowledge, does not provide that leave will be paid.
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10-31-2008 @ 3:47PM
dee said...If you have short term disability through your company, it tends to cover 6 weeks of salary for vaginal birth and 8 weeks for c-section.
How much of salary--that differs. At one company I worked at, it was full salary for the number of weeks = to the number of years you worked (so, if you'd been there 5 years, 5 weeks of full salary) and 75% for the remainder.
At my current company, it's 66% after 2 weeks qualifiying. Which basically means that if you're 'getting' 6 weeks of paid short term disability, you get 66% of 4 weeks salary.
10-31-2008 @ 9:28AM
khrystena said...I happened to have given birth the exact day as my cousin. The only difference she lives in a subburb of NYC and I live in a subburb of Toronto. I got 52 weeks paid leave. I don't think she got any at all.
I don't know how you manage, it seems so hard to go back after a year, I can not imagine after 3 months.
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10-31-2008 @ 9:39AM
mamaloo said...Another Canadian w/ 52 weeks of paid leave.
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10-31-2008 @ 10:11AM
ninainindia said...Wow 52 weeks is crazy! Does the government pay that, because on a small company that would be too hard, right? To be honest I think that is too much because that money has to come from somewhere, if the government pays that means from taxes and if the company pays the collegues probably have to work harder because the company can't afford to hire a substitute because they are still paying the mother.
In the Netherlands it's 6 weeks pregnancy leave or longer if your baby is born too late and than after giving birth minimal of 10 weeks maternity leave.If the pregnancy leave was shorter than six weeks you get the weeks added to your maternity leave. But your pregnancy leave cannot be shorter than 4 weeks by choice.
In reality also woman who plan to stop working after having childrens still take the paid leave and quit the job after their leave is over, which seems morally wrong to me.
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10-31-2008 @ 10:14AM
Lisa said...The direct result of these policies that people prefer not to discuss is that employers prefer to not hire women, or at least women of childbearing age. Who wants to hire someone who will then take that much time off each time they have a child?
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10-31-2008 @ 10:17AM
Emily said...One more way to discriminate against infertile people. Infertiles pay taxes to support these people taking so much time off and pick up their slack at work. Nice.
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10-31-2008 @ 12:56PM
khrystena said...Ours comes from the gov't which we pay them from each cheque. the money comes from the employment insurance which also helps if you are laid off from your job you get the same salary as mat leave to find another job to help you stay on your feet while looking.
I also know that it is easier to find a replacement for 1 year vs 3 months. People are more willing to take a 1 year contract than a 3 month contract, if employers even fill a 3 month leave which means more work on other employees.
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10-31-2008 @ 12:35PM
christine said...To clarify, in Canada the "pay" part of the leave is covered by the government, and it is not your full salary. The basic benefit rate is 55% of the average salary (with a salary cap of $41,100). This means a Canadian can receive a maximum payment of $435 per week of taxable income.
Some companies "top-up" the 55%, others do not. But you are guaranteed your job back (or an equal replacement) once you return.
And yes, this money comes from "somewhere" -- we pay income tax to the government which partially acts as "insurance" to cover these kinds of leave. But that is just part of the Canadian social structure.
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11-01-2008 @ 7:45PM
Jill said...Wow...I was put on medical leave at 31 weeks pregnant, and was forced to take my remaining vacation time (less than a week) and then start my FMLA. Because I actually went full-term (thank goodness) my FMLA ran out before I was medically cleared to work. I had a C-section and some bleeding issues, so I wasn't cleared to work until my daughter was almost 10 weeks old. I was forced to use my Leave of Absence after my FMLA ran out (all of this, both FMLA and LoA were unpaid.) Because a Leave of Absence is what my company calls "unprotected leave" I actually ended up losing my job before I could go back to work because I was no longer needed. And while all this has been a blessing in disguise (I absolutely wouldn't give up this time I've had with my daughter for anything) it also has been a huge financial setback. 52 weeks sounds like a dream :-).
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11-02-2008 @ 10:05AM
Heather said...I can't imagine only 18 weeks never mind what American's get. I loved my 52 weeks. It was hard finacially but hee government does give employment insuranse ( use to be called Unemplyoyment insurance) of 55% of your last 6 weeks of work ( so do that Overtime). Some companies top it up with 10% -45% some do nothing.
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