Maternity leave/Vodafone

[anonymouseliza]

It's a great step forward. I hope it works well enough to convince others to consider similar plans.

[Deleted]

That's pretty awesome. I've had so many friends stress about coming back too early. Most dont have a choice because of finances.

[Deleted]

Mar 10, 2015 22:36:28 GMT -5 @sluttybigb00bz said:

Mar 10, 2015 22:26:56 GMT -5 anonymouseliza said:

It's a great step forward. I hope it works well enough to convince others to consider similar plans.

Realistically, a 30 work week won't decrease daycare costs (unless it can be worked out with a SO to stagger shift times), but I think 10 less hours of work without an income decrease might help new parents adjust. 

Plus 16 weeks maternity at full pay....my company seems to give 6 weeks at 60% and I still don't totally understand the terms. 

That's standard under FMLA. Most companies do not go above and beyond.

[Deleted]

That's awesome!

[anonymouseliza]

Mar 10, 2015 22:36:28 GMT -5 @sluttybigb00bz said:

Mar 10, 2015 22:26:56 GMT -5 anonymouseliza said:

It's a great step forward. I hope it works well enough to convince others to consider similar plans.

Realistically, a 30 work week won't decrease daycare costs (unless it can be worked out with a SO to stagger shift times), but I think 10 less hours of work without an income decrease might help new parents adjust. 

Plus 16 weeks maternity at full pay....my company seems to give 6 weeks at 60% and I still don't totally understand the terms. 

30 hours would have been huge for me, if only for pumping purposes.  As it was, I had to work at least 45 hours per week because I had to pump at least 2x a day (three was preferable, but very rare).  I worked in open/shared offices and so I had to go to a lactation room to pump.  While there were several on campus, there were none in my building, which meant hauling my pump around with me - seven minutes to get there, five to set-up, pump for 30, five to clean-up, seven minutes back . . . well, there went my lunch hour.  And I still needed to pump again.  It also wouldn't have changed my daycare situation, but it would have made the transition so much easier, knowing I could either be home and spend more time with DD or take two half-days or extend the weekend . . .  I'm jealous thinking about it.  Hell, just the opportunity to leave DD in daycare one afternoon and just catch up on sleep . . .

I got whatever time I accrued.  Dh and I work for the same company, so we have to split FML if we need unpaid leave (paid leave is concurrent with FML, but we individual.  FML really didn't matter much the first time, because we both had enough paid leave to cover what we took).  I took 10 weeks and hope to again, though 12-16 would have been better.  There is still so much sleeplessness and adjustment happening at that point.

I really appreciate their approach being categorized as talent management and employee retention.  I know it's not easy from the HR side to cover big gaps like that, and I hope that the gaps are further reduced by parental leave and moving away from maternity leave with more fathers taking leave as well.  I know there are HR managers who try  not to hire married women of a certain age, even though they'd never phrase it that way, ever.  If more men take leave, it becomes a different issue and not just a women's issue.  Sad, but necessary, I think.

[Deleted]

Mar 10, 2015 22:43:47 GMT -5 @sluttybigb00bz said:

Mar 10, 2015 22:40:25 GMT -5 @wallflwr926 said:

That's standard under FMLA. Most companies do not go above and beyond.

Somehow we don't get sick time (and we don't have the 20 something pto days a lot of places are leaning towards). We are a small subsidiary of a larger company in another state, I don't really get clear answers on things. I was looking at our temporary disability plan today and coverage starts on the 29th consecutive day of absence. Our handbook says maternity leave is treated as a "sickness".

Yep, Maternity is considered an illness. Isnt that great? I think companies with under x amount of employees are exempt from certain PTO practices.

[anonymouseliza]

Fewer than 50 or less than 100 in 75 miles? Maybe? I'm too lazy to look it up.

Part of the problem is that maternity leave for the mother is also about recovery time. It's not solely about recovery - which is why parental leave is gaining in popularity and is extended to adoption and foster care placement. Newborns can't be in daycare before 6-8 weeks, and require constant care. But yeah, illness.

Which is how one of my employees was able to take FML when his wife was a surrogate - she was recovering from birth. What happened with the baby was a separate issue. I have mixed feelings about that - I think she needed help and support and he certainly had the time to cover it. I'd have killed anyone who suggested that I needed less time since my baby died and it was a premature birth, and would say that birth parents who place their child for adoption likewise need physical and emotional recovery time. But I do think he deliberately gamed the system and I don't think that helps anything in terms of advancement. But hey, it is what it is.

[britts22]

Very nice Vodafone! The U.S. is so ridiculously behind many other countries with its maternity leave policies. My company doesn't offer any paid leave but I am happy that they have an "infant at work" program where you are encouraged to bring your baby in to work with you until they are 5 months old. At first blush, it seems great and helps you spend more time with baby before daycare (and I fully intend to take advantage of it) but I've also heard that it's incredibly difficult to balance work and childcare simultaneously.

[swivelchair5]

I will just have to use my earned sick leave at my job. I have been hoarding sick leave for 4 years. I am at 5 weeks, 38 hours right now. Almost to that magical 6 weeks!

I wonder if Vodafone is hiring....

[anonymouseliza]

Mar 10, 2015 23:36:08 GMT -5 britts22 said:

Very nice Vodafone! The U.S. is so ridiculously behind many other countries with its maternity leave policies. My company doesn't offer any paid leave but I am happy that they have an "infant at work" program where you are encouraged to bring your baby in to work with you until they are 5 months old. At first blush, it seems great and helps you spend more time with baby before daycare (and I fully intend to take advantage of it) but I've also heard that it's incredibly difficult to balance work and childcare simultaneously.

The US is behind in every major social safety net arena because of a ridiculous belief in pulling yourself up and standing on your own two feet. The fact we allow corporations greater rights and considerations than individual humans doesn't help much. From a bottom line dollar standpoint, this is not a good policy, nor is hiring women of child-bearing age, really. From the broader perspective that is ridiculous and it is fantastic to see a company figure that out and acknowledge it so openly. If this reframes the discussion it is hugely important.

[LadyNymeria]

3 days after I gave my notice at my last job they revised their maternity leave policy to be 18 weeks at 100% pay. I almost retracted my resignation but decided the 18 weeks wasn't worth being miserable at my last job.

My new job has no sick time, general PTO pool only, and you lose any accrued time at the end of the year. No carryover. And they only allow leave as given by FMLA. I didn't know any of that when I came here, otherwise I really would have thought twice about leaving the last company.

I would love to go back to my old company, I just don't want to be doing what I was doing before.

[SheilaTheTank]

What no one talks about is that small businesses, those with less than 50 employees, do not have to honor FMLA or any PTO. Seeing that the majority of employers out there are small business there needs to be something in place for those employees who fall into this category. I'm a huge advocate for employee funded family leave such as they have in Rhode Island, California, and New Jersey. It works, is not an employer or tax payer burden, paid out similar to social security/disability, and can make a huge difference for families. Other states NEED to get on this stat!

[risscaboobs]

I work for State government. Sure, I can take the 12 weeks, but I will have to use my earned leave to do it. At this point, if I were to get lucky enough to get a BFP this cycle, I'd only have 10 weeks of leave at the due date, leaving me to either come back at that time, or take 2 weeks of unpaid leave. Then, my leave will be depleted. It's a fucked up system. Oh, and since my husband works for the state too, he is entitled to take paternity leave, but if he does, it reduces the amount of time I can take.

[MrsRC88]

I believe my company gives 12 weeks per FMLA, but only 6 weeks 75% paid (or 8 if a c-section). I've banked some sick time to cover any gaps, but I lost about 10 days of banked time when I went from full time to part time back to full time. I never left the company, but I lost all my time.

Thankfully my boss is very lenient and understanding... I have a feeling he will let me work a reduced schedule (when the time comes) and still get paid my full 40 hours, as long as it doesn't interfere with regular day to day activities and production. He has already has let me take time off for doctors appointments for my diabetes without having to use time.

I hope more companies get onboard with this!

[♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪]

Mar 11, 2015 8:55:14 GMT -5 risscaboobs said:

I work for State government. Sure, I can take the 12 weeks, but I will have to use my earned leave to do it. At this point, if I were to get lucky enough to get a BFP this cycle, I'd only have 10 weeks of leave at the due date, leaving me to either come back at that time, or take 2 weeks of unpaid leave. Then, my leave will be depleted. It's a fucked up system. Oh, and since my husband works for the state too, he is entitled to take paternity leave, but if he does, it reduces the amount of time I can take. <---

Fucking horseshit.

[piccyami]

I'm lucky enough to work for a company where we're hourly. If I don't want to, I don't have to use sick leave to cover doctor's visits. I can just work the hours on my schedule. I also don't have a set amount of hours I need to work in a week beyond being available during normal work hours. We do have a disability policy (6-8 weeks at 60% of wages averaged over the last year) and I have built up slightly over 3 weeks of sick leave so far.

ETA: I know of one person in my workgroup that works 30 hours a week because she has small children.

[LadyNymeria]

Mar 11, 2015 8:55:14 GMT -5 risscaboobs said:

I work for State government. Sure, I can take the 12 weeks, but I will have to use my earned leave to do it. At this point, if I were to get lucky enough to get a BFP this cycle, I'd only have 10 weeks of leave at the due date, leaving me to either come back at that time, or take 2 weeks of unpaid leave. Then, my leave will be depleted. It's a fucked up system. Oh, and since my husband works for the state too, he is entitled to take paternity leave, but if he does, it reduces the amount of time I can take.

That last sentence has to be one of the most absurd things I've ever heard. That's ridiculous that they do that.

[risscaboobs]

Mar 11, 2015 9:03:21 GMT -5 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

Mar 11, 2015 8:55:14 GMT -5 risscaboobs said:

I work for State government. Sure, I can take the 12 weeks, but I will have to use my earned leave to do it. At this point, if I were to get lucky enough to get a BFP this cycle, I'd only have 10 weeks of leave at the due date, leaving me to either come back at that time, or take 2 weeks of unpaid leave. Then, my leave will be depleted. It's a fucked up system. Oh, and since my husband works for the state too, he is entitled to take paternity leave, but if he does, it reduces the amount of time I can take. <---

Fucking horseshit.

RIGHT? We can only take a COLLECTIVE 12 weeks.

[daisy818]

I get no paid maternity leave (thanks federal government for whom I work!) and we just got a STD program that I've signed up for. Obama did just sign an order that fed agencies MUST permit us to get 6 weeks of advance sick leave for maternity leave if we so choose, so that at least helps with the getting paid part (at this point I should have built up close to 6 weeks of sick leave anyways by the time I'd be taking leave, plus six weeks of personal leave). My old job at a law firm gave people 6 months of paid maternity leave (and gave 3 months paid paternity leave). Too bad I was single during that time!

[daisy818]

Mar 11, 2015 9:14:43 GMT -5 risscaboobs said:

Mar 11, 2015 9:03:21 GMT -5 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

Fucking horseshit.

RIGHT? We can only take a COLLECTIVE 12 weeks.

That's some BS right there.

[piccyami]

Mar 11, 2015 9:14:43 GMT -5 risscaboobs said:

Mar 11, 2015 9:03:21 GMT -5 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

Fucking horseshit.

RIGHT? We can only take a COLLECTIVE 12 weeks.

I'm sorry. That seems ridiculous.

[anonymouseliza]

Mar 11, 2015 9:03:21 GMT -5 ♪♫choppinbroccoli♫♪ said:

Mar 11, 2015 8:55:14 GMT -5 risscaboobs said:

I work for State government. Sure, I can take the 12 weeks, but I will have to use my earned leave to do it. At this point, if I were to get lucky enough to get a BFP this cycle, I'd only have 10 weeks of leave at the due date, leaving me to either come back at that time, or take 2 weeks of unpaid leave. Then, my leave will be depleted. It's a fucked up system. Oh, and since my husband works for the state too, he is entitled to take paternity leave, but if he does, it reduces the amount of time I can take. <---

Fucking horseshit.

Exactly the same here, except I have enough leave accrued for what I want to take off so split FML isn't an issue for us. That said, one thing that delayed ttc was the fact that we couldn't cover the time before because it was wiped by DD.

I also run a risk due to high risk pregnancy. If I go on bed rest I have no paid leave and will be fucked.

[ghostmonkey]

Mar 10, 2015 22:40:25 GMT -5 @wallflwr926 said:

Mar 10, 2015 22:36:28 GMT -5 @sluttybigb00bz said:

Realistically, a 30 work week won't decrease daycare costs (unless it can be worked out with a SO to stagger shift times), but I think 10 less hours of work without an income decrease might help new parents adjust. 

Plus 16 weeks maternity at full pay....my company seems to give 6 weeks at 60% and I still don't totally understand the terms. 

That's standard under FMLA. Most companies do not go above and beyond.

No, FMLA standard is 6-12 weeks with no pay. 6 weeks at 60% is standard for STD.

[LadyNymeria]

Mar 11, 2015 9:54:38 GMT -5 @sluttybigb00bz said:

Mar 11, 2015 8:31:02 GMT -5 LadyNymeria said:

3 days after I gave my notice at my last job they revised their maternity leave policy to be 18 weeks at 100% pay. I almost retracted my resignation but decided the 18 weeks wasn't worth being miserable at my last job.

My new job has no sick time, general PTO pool only, and you lose any accrued time at the end of the year. No carryover. And they only allow leave as given by FMLA. I didn't know any of that when I came here, otherwise I really would have thought twice about leaving the last company.

I would love to go back to my old company, I just don't want to be doing what I was doing before.

Maybe I will go work for your old employer  

Seriously, there is a vodaphone a half hour from us and my husband is encouraging me to update my resume. 

Otherwise when the time comes I might try to take an extended unpaid leave of absence here. 

The closest Vodaphone to me is just over an hour away so that's not going to help me any. The second I heard about the policy I looked.

I also keep checking postings for my old company, but nothing so far in the office location that I would need to be in. :-(

[ghostmonkey]

Mar 11, 2015 8:38:29 GMT -5 12345 said:

I think there is a lot of misunderstanding as to what FMLA requires. FMLA requires that most (not all) organizations to allow employees (male or female) to take 12 weeks after the birth of a child (but it does NOT have to be paid at all). Some organizations have Short Term Disability policies which typically provides some benefits to the mother after birth (many are 6 weeks at 60% if your normal salary). There will be a lot of people that don't receive any type of paid maternity leave. I really wish the US would standardize this. My current employer has no paid maternity leave and no STD policy. We do have an extended illness bank that we can use, but since I'm a relatively new employee, I will have only accrued a week or two before I need to take leave. It's a total bummer.

This. FMLA is NOT maternity leave. It prevents them from firing you because you take time off due to an illness/injury (for you or a family member) or following the birth/adoption of a child. That's it. It does nothing else.


When it was put into place in the early 90's it was intended to be the first step in changing federal laws pertaining to maternity leave. 20 years later there have been no additional changes on the federal level.

[ghostmonkey]

You lose 40% of your check to taxes? I'm so sorry for you.

[calico]

How wonderful would that be?! I wonder what my company does? **heads to HR**

[anonymouseliza]

The other thing that companies don't pay attention to with shortened leaves is that you force yourself into a temp situation or straining existing workforce.

If you planned on employees being out 3-6 months, you could hire for a longer period and job-train so that there was no disruption of service or strain on other employees. There are even people in other countries whose entire job-training and learning is based on filling in for employees on parental leave. They get excellent trainings, jobs are filled and available but held for the employee and it's a better system all around.

Part of the reason mat leave is looked down on by coworkers is they get dumped on with no additional pay. It sucks when you are in that situation, and it sucks for the person returning from leave as well because stuff wasn't done correctly or was half-assed. I came back to find that while all monthly processes were up to date before my departure, no one had bothered with them while I was gone. So suddenly, I was behind by 3 months in reconciliations alone.

[ghostmonkey]

Mar 11, 2015 12:31:39 GMT -5 @emilie818 said:

Mar 11, 2015 12:26:46 GMT -5 ghostmonkey said:

You lose 40% of your check to taxes? I'm so sorry for you.

Yup, pretty much.  Welcome to the People's Republic of California.  A good chunk of that is still fed/SS/medicare, though.

SS and medicare combined is 7.65%.

I just ran my paycheck on your rates. Your state rate is half of ours and even with SDI added to that is less than our state tax rate. Which means your income is much, much higher to push you up to that federal tax bracket.

ETA: I bumped my rate up to $60/hour. Still only at 29% total for taxes. Are you sure you aren't including retirement and any other deductions in that 40%?

[piccyami]

Mar 11, 2015 13:14:09 GMT -5 ghostmonkey said:

Mar 11, 2015 12:31:39 GMT -5 @emilie818 said:

Yup, pretty much.  Welcome to the People's Republic of California.  A good chunk of that is still fed/SS/medicare, though.

SS and medicare combined is 7.65%.

I just ran my paycheck on your rates. Your state rate is half of ours and even with SDI added to that is less than our state tax rate. Which means your income is much, much higher to push you up to that federal tax bracket.

ETA: I bumped my rate up to $60/hour. Still only at 29% total for taxes. Are you sure you aren't including retirement and any other deductions in that 40%?

If I include my retirement in mine, I get like 35% and I live nowhere near CA.