Mat. leave

When will you start your maternity leave? and how long are you planning to be home?

 

I got made redundant so my leave already started! :woohoo: Sweet!!! I wont go back until my twins are a year old.

 

QUOTE(sparkle77 @ Apr 12 2009, 07:17 AM) [snapback]1269584[/snapback]
I got made redundant so my leave already started! :woohoo: Sweet!!! I wont go back until my twins are a year old.


That's great!

 

at work I can start maternity leave 2 weeks before giving birth and get back to work after 12 weeks after having kids.

If I go to maternity leave before then I need to get back to work earlier too.

 

QUOTE(arkie @ Apr 12 2009, 01:53 PM) [snapback]1269611[/snapback]
That's great!


I do love European employment laws. Sweden is meant to have awesome maternity laws, right? The maternity laws here in England are not nearly as good as the rest of Europe, but they are still a thousand times better than the States. We really need to improve that back home. I hate to see how many women have to leave their babies after only a couple of months to rush back to work because there is no long term maternity pay. We need a revolution!

 

I went on maternity leave at 37 weeks although spring break was the week before so technically I was off at 36 weeks. I don't get paid maternity leave. I have to use my sick leave and when that is gone I don't get paid. I plan on going back to work the last 5 days of school in June and then I have the summer off until early September (although I will really be working in August getting ready for the new school year).

So I'm curious...what exactly do you get for maternity leave in other countries? What does "redundant" mean for maternity leave?

 

QUOTE(monkeymamma @ Apr 12 2009, 11:35 AM) [snapback]1269851[/snapback]
I went on maternity leave at 37 weeks although spring break was the week before so technically I was off at 36 weeks. I don't get paid maternity leave. I have to use my sick leave and when that is gone I don't get paid. I plan on going back to work the last 5 days of school in June and then I have the summer off until early September (although I will really be working in August getting ready for the new school year).

So I'm curious...what exactly do you get for maternity leave in other countries? What does "redundant" mean for maternity leave?



up here in Canada its great! If you qualify for sick leave, (basically, your doc just needs to write a note stating "complicated pregnancy" ) you get a total of 15 paid weeks of sick time before you go on Mat leave, then you can take I believe 16 weeks of Maternity leave beginning upto 8 weeks before your due date, followed by 36 weeks of Parental leave. You and your partner can choose whether to share the parental leave, so you stay home for 18 weeks, and then go back to work, and DH or your S/O stays home for the last 18 weeks, or you can just use it all yourself. DH and I don't plan on sharing my parental leave, as he is the breadwinner and his income is MUCH higher than mine.
I believe you have to have atleast 600 paid working hours in the previous 12 months ( it could be 24 months.. not sure) in order to qualify, and you end up getting 55% of your earnings during that time. I belong to the Hospital Employees Union so I get whats called Maternity top up, where if you have a permanent position, they top your pay up to 85% of what you were making when not on Maternity leave. I know there are a few other unions that do the same thing, although the levels of top up may be more or less.

What are the maternity benefits in the states anyhow?

 

QUOTE(monkeymamma @ Apr 12 2009, 07:35 PM) [snapback]1269851[/snapback]
I went on maternity leave at 37 weeks although spring break was the week before so technically I was off at 36 weeks. I don't get paid maternity leave. I have to use my sick leave and when that is gone I don't get paid. I plan on going back to work the last 5 days of school in June and then I have the summer off until early September (although I will really be working in August getting ready for the new school year).

So I'm curious...what exactly do you get for maternity leave in other countries? What does "redundant" mean for maternity leave?


Ugh. Thats rough. This is exactly what I'm talking about . . . its seems crappy that you dont get any paid maternity leave at all!! How do they even justify that? Maternity leave here in England is pretty good. I think that employers are required to give 40 weeks leave and there's a combination of full pay and statutory pay during that time. I'm not sure the details generally, but I know that my firm gave a total of 40 weeks (4.5 months full pay and 5.5 months half pay). Having said that, I think its MUCH better in countries like France. Apparently France has some amazing maternity laws and based on what the other poster says, Canada also sounds pretty sweet!

Redundant doesnt really mean anything for maternity leave, but coincidentally I got laid off after I had already noticed that I was pregnant so my job ended up giving me the full severance package plus my full maternity pay plus benefits. It was just lucky timing on my part!!! I call the twins mama's little recession babies.

 

In Sweden they have come so far when it comes to mat. and pat. leave but not as far as Norway that's the place to be when you have kids.
Here in Sweden you have together 450 days to stay home with your kids, and you can use or save these days until they are 7 years old. The first year you get 80% of your salary, and those after are reduced to 60% and so on. Fathers have to stay home at least 10 days in the baby's first month which is 2 weeks, with twins the father can take up to 60 days, with 80% of his pay.
What mostly happens in Sweden is that the mother stays home for one year, and then the father takes 3-6 months at home. Kids are not aloud to start day care until they are at least one. If you have to go back or want to go back to work before that you have to apply for permission, since all day care is subsidized by the government. Of course there is nothing stopping you from hiring someone privately and going back to work if you want.

I am a high school teacher so I was lucky to have my son in the summer, I stayed home for one year and then went back to work the first semester 40% and my husband stayed at home with my son 2 days a week. This time with the twins I'm not sure if my husband will be up for the challenge of 3 kids in that case he can sign his 220 days over to me and I can stay at home with them.
I'm Canadian and my husband is Swedish, we have had many a discussion of where we should live but I have to admit as long as we have small children the maternity and paternity and childcare options are the most advantages here at the moment so I think it will be awhile before I push for us to move back across the Alantic again.

Just a quick note about Norway, which the whole world should be striving towards is both the mother and father are given over two years of mat and pat leave.

 

QUOTE(arkie @ Apr 13 2009, 08:58 AM) [snapback]1270313[/snapback]
In Sweden they have come so far when it comes to mat. and pat. leave but not as far as Norway that's the place to be when you have kids.
Here in Sweden you have together 450 days to stay home with your kids, and you can use or save these days until they are 7 years old. The first year you get 80% of your salary, and those after are reduced to 60% and so on. Fathers have to stay home at least 10 days in the baby's first month which is 2 weeks, with twins the father can take up to 60 days, with 80% of his pay.
What mostly happens in Sweden is that the mother stays home for one year, and then the father takes 3-6 months at home. Kids are not aloud to start day care until they are at least one. If you have to go back or want to go back to work before that you have to apply for permission, since all day care is subsidized by the government. Of course there is nothing stopping you from hiring someone privately and going back to work if you want.

I am a high school teacher so I was lucky to have my son in the summer, I stayed home for one year and then went back to work the first semester 40% and my husband stayed at home with my son 2 days a week. This time with the twins I'm not sure if my husband will be up for the challenge of 3 kids in that case he can sign his 220 days over to me and I can stay at home with them.
I'm Canadian and my husband is Swedish, we have had many a discussion of where we should live but I have to admit as long as we have small children the maternity and paternity and childcare options are the most advantages here at the moment so I think it will be awhile before I push for us to move back across the Alantic again.

Just a quick note about Norway, which the whole world should be striving towards is both the mother and father are given over two years of mat and pat leave.


Wow! Amazing!! Scandinavia rocks!!! I think in England that you are entitled to a full year off but they only have to pay you for forty weeks.

 

Girls. I am ready to cry about my maternity leave after reading about yours......
but I have only option to quit my job to sit more with babies. But still not sure that I am rady to do that.

 

QUOTE(scorpion509 @ Apr 13 2009, 09:30 AM) [snapback]1270532[/snapback]
Girls. I am ready to cry about my maternity leave after reading about yours......
but I have only option to quit my job to sit more with babies. But still not sure that I am rady to do that.


You will get the 6 or 8 weeks at home with the babies won't you?

 

6 if I give birth vaginaly and 8 if it is c-section

but if i will not take my FMLA I would have 12 weeks after birth.

 

Wow, this all sounds great. My maternity leave is nothing! I work for a small company and it's not in their benefits at all. They don't even have to give FMLA cause we have under 50 employees. Ikes, we're saving up now.

 

QUOTE(angieb1979 @ Apr 13 2009, 04:08 PM) [snapback]1271345[/snapback]
Wow, this all sounds great. My maternity leave is nothing! I work for a small company and it's not in their benefits at all. They don't even have to give FMLA cause we have under 50 employees. Ikes, we're saving up now.


I also don't get maternity leave! My company has over 400 people and still does not have maternity leave! It's not fair! They told me all they will do is hold my job for 6 weeks after the babies are born.

 

QUOTE(lorin @ Apr 14 2009, 08:07 PM) [snapback]1272763[/snapback]
I also don't get maternity leave! My company has over 400 people and still does not have maternity leave! It's not fair! They told me all they will do is hold my job for 6 weeks after the babies are born.


WOW!! I didnt know that companies could offer NO leave. Thats pretty depressing. Only six weeks??? What happens if you have a c section or complications or the babies arent healthy? What are you meant to do then?

 

If your employer doesn't offer maternity leave, you can go on disability if your Dr. writes it off.

I'm a teacher, and I won't be back until the new school year. I took off at spring break and I won't return until Aug.