Wimmin'

[evansk7]

"No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age," said Godfrey Bloom, a UK Independence Party MEP.

Oooh. Step back in horror that someone would decry women in the workplace so. Especially a member of the Women's Rights Committee.

And yet, he's kinda right. I'm (hopefully) about to be a small businessman, running my own company. And if someone leaves to go off and have a kid, I'm supposed to pay her for not being there. In a small company, that pretty much means I'm supposed to either get by on less staff or miraculously find the money to (temporarily) replace her.

So whaddya do? You can't fire women for getting pregnant - clearly, that'd be unfair. And yet, there's a very real number of businesses that simply couldn't afford to support a mother on long-term maternity leave (my current, large, employer has 2 people who're both off for 10 months based on length of service). There's no way I could afford to pay someone else aswell for 10 months, and if I could do without the employee for 10 months then I probably wouldn't hire them in the first place.

Quite the conundrum.

[Cyber Wolf]

Is it law that a company, despite its size, provide maternity leave pay or is it a benefit decided on by the company, like the number of paid vacations/year? I'd imagine it's not a federal law, or even a state law anywhere, because I just can't imagine a place like McDonalds providing maternity leave pay for the cashier, for example. If it's not law, it can be explained to any women looking for employment with you that you don't provide maternity leave pay if they should happen to be with child. Or perhaps the position you have open doesn't receive that benefit? Or you can say you don't have that yet if you want to sound proactive Maybe they can come back to the job when they're ready? That way they have job security (such as it is) and you can funnel the money for her into a temp or something.

[Griff]

Do you know what the law is in GB? Do they maybe have a small business exemption?

[evansk7]

From the 6th of April 2003, the following apply:

Length of maternity leave

The length of ordinary maternity leave is increased and pregnant employees are entitled to 26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave, regardless of how long they have worked for their employer.

Ordinary maternity leave is normally paid leave.

Women who have completed 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer by the beginning of the 14th week before their EWC can take additional maternity leave. Additional maternity leave starts immediately after ordinary maternity leave and continues for a further 26 weeks.

Additional maternity leave is usually unpaid although a woman may have contractual rights to pay during her period of additional maternity leave.

(from the Department of Trade & Industry website - http://www.dti.gov.uk/er/matleafr.htm)

No small business exemptions that I can find, and the pay is to be 90% of salary for 6 weeks, followed by £100/week for the remaining 20 weeks.

[Griff]

In the States, after years of progress toward pay equity, womens compensation has started to fall off. I would think that knowing you'd have to pay someone not to work would reduce your willingness to invest in them.

[Troubleshooter]

As a former small business owner, I have no desire at all to hire anyone I would have to pay for not being there.

That being said, sick leave is one thing, but being pregnant isn't an illness.

From the FMLA website

SEC. 102. LEAVE REQUIREMENT.
o (a) IN GENERAL.--
+ (1) ENTITLEMENT TO LEAVE.--Subject to section 103, an eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following:
# (A) Because of the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and in order to care for such son or daughter.
# (B) Because of the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care.
# (C) In order to care for the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent, of the employee, if such spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a serious health condition.
# (D) Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of such employee.
+ (2) EXPIRATION OF ENTITLEMENT.--The entitlement to leave under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) for a birth or placement of a son or daughter shall expire at the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date of such birth or placement.
o (b) LEAVE TAKEN INTERMITTENTLY OR ON A REDUCED LEAVE SCHEDULE.
+ (1) IN GENERAL.--Leave under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1) shall not be taken by an employee intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule unless the employee and the employer of the employee agree otherwise. Subject to paragraph (2), subsection (e)(2), and section 103(b)(5), leave under subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection (a)(1) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary. The taking of leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule pursuant to this paragraph shall not result in a reduction in the total amount of leave to which the employee is entitled under subsection (a) beyond the amount of leave actually taken.
+ (2) ALTERNATIVE POSITION.-- If an employee requests intermittent leave, or leave on a reduced leave schedule, under subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection (a)(1), that is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the employer may require such employee to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position offered by the employer for which the employee is qualified and that--
# (A) has equivalent pay and benefits; and
# (B) better accommodates recurring periods of leave than the regular employment position of the employee.
o (c) UNPAID LEAVE PERMITTED. -- Except as provided in subsection (d), leave granted under subsection (a) may consist of unpaid leave. Where an employee is otherwise exempt under regulations issued by the Secretary pursuant to section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1)), the compliance of an employer with this title by providing unpaid leave shall not affect the exempt status of the employee under such section.
o (d) RELATIONSHIP TO PAID LEAVE.--
+ (1) UNPAID LEAVE.--If an employer provides paid leave for fewer than 12 workweeks, the additional weeks of leave necessary to attain the 12 workweeks of leave required under this title may be provided without compensation.
+ (2) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.--
# (A) IN GENERAL.--An eligible employee may elect, or an employer may require the employee, to substitute any of the accrued paid vacation leave, personal leave, or family leave of the employee for leave provided under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (a)(1) for any part of the 12-week period of such leave under such subsection.
# (B) SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION.--An eligible employee may elect, or an employer may require the employee, to substitute any of the accrued paid vacation leave, personal leave, or medical or sick leave of the employee for leave provided under subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection (a)(1) for any part of the 12-week period of such leave under such subsection, except that nothing in this title shall require an employer to provide paid sick leave or paid medical leave in any situation in which such employer would not normally provide any such paid leave.
o (e) FORESEEABLE LEAVE.--
+ (1) REQUIREMENT OF NOTICE.--In any case in which the necessity for leave under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1) is foreseeable based on an expected birth or placement, the employee shall provide the employer with not less than 30 days' notice, before the date the leave is to begin, of the employee's intention to take leave under such subparagraph, except that if the date of the birth or placement requires leave to begin in less than 30 days, the employee shall provide such notice as is practicable.
+ (2) DUTIES OF EMPLOYEE.--In any case in which the necessity for leave under subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection (a)(1) is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the employee--
# (A) shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to disrupt unduly the operations of the employer, subject to the approval of the health care provider of the employee or the health care provider of the son, daughter, spouse, or parent of the employee, as appropriate; and
# (B) shall provide the employer with not less than 30 days' notice, before the date the leave is to begin, of the employee's intention to take leave under such subparagraph, except that if the date of the treatment requires leave to begin in less than 30 days, the employee shall provide such notice as is practicable.
o (f) SPOUSES EMPLOYED BY THE SAME EMPLOYER.--In any case in which a husband and wife entitled to leave under subsection (a) are employed by the same employer, the aggregate number of workweeks of leave to which both may be entitled may be limited to 12 workweeks during any 12-month period, if such leave is taken--
+ (1) under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1); or
+ (2) to care for a sick parent under subparagraph (C) of such subsection.

[Pie]

How about me? I get tarred with the same "female = unreliable" brush even though I intend never to reproduce. I've actually found a way to casually drop that information in most of the job intereviews I've had; I figure it can't hurt my chances.
- Pie

[Cyber Wolf]

How did you go about doing that? I also have no plans to have no buns in my oven and if that kind of info helps with the job hunting process, I'd like to glean from it.

[Troubleshooter]

Originally Posted by Cyber Wolf

How did you go about doing that? I also have no plans to have no buns in my oven and if that kind of info helps with the job hunting process, I'd like to glean from it.

Maybe you could list one of your qualifications as having had tubal ligation?

[Cyber Wolf]

Sure sure, I can see it now:

HR:"What makes you feel you're qualified for this job?"

Woman:"I graduated from one of the top universities with honors, I'm familiar with all of the programming languages you use and I've got an excellent work ethic."

HR:"Hmm, well..I'm not sure we have a position open..."

Woman:"AND I've had a hysterectomy."

HR:"You're HIRED."

[jaguar]

'I'm dedicated, experienced and totally infertile'

[Pie]

Originally Posted by Cyber Wolf

How did you go about doing that? I also have no plans to have no buns in my oven and if that kind of info helps with the job hunting process, I'd like to glean from it.

When they ask you what town you live in and about the commute, I say something like "I'd like to move to a town where the taxes are low, since we're not planning on having any kids and so I don't really care about the school district..."
Or something coversational about how my cat is a handful of trouble, I don't know how parents cope with kids...

Speaking of cats, anyone know a good way to keep a 16-week old kitten from jumping off a second-floor balcony over the dining room? I can't block off the whole area, since the older cat has her litterbox and food in the loft.

- Pie

[Happy Monkey]

If you let enough kittens leap off of the balcony, eventually they'll evolve to either
a) not do it anymore, or
b) take no harm doing it!

That may be more of a long-term solution than you're looking for, though.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Pie

Speaking of cats, anyone know a good way to keep a 16-week old kitten from jumping off a second-floor balcony over the dining room? I can't block off the whole area, since the older cat has her litterbox and food in the loft.

- Pie

nails, or at least really long thumbtacks... superglue might work too.

[jaguar]

If you're worried about the cat hurting her/himself, don't. If you want to keep him indoors, well that's a bit harder. Try CatForum, they tend to have an answer for all this stuff.