Posted February 10, 200817 yr Maternity laws in the UK have gone too far and may prevent women from being hired, according to businessman Sir Alan Sugar. In an interview with the Telegraph, Sir Alan warned that employers may start to discriminate against women because they're unable to broach the subject of motherhood in interviews. "They (the interviewers) would like to ask the question, 'are you planning to get married and to have any children?'," the self-made millionaire said. "These laws are counter-productive for women, that's the bottom line. You're not allowed to ask so it's easy - just don't employ them." Do you think Sir Alan's comments are accurate? Are maternity laws counterproductive for women or are they are a necessary safeguard against discrimination? Do you think an employer should be able to ask a woman about her plans for motherhood? Is this relevant to her ability as an employee? Should our laws focus on the needs of entrepreneurs or should we put family before business? If you live outside of the UK, what is your country's approach to working mothers? Source: Sunday Telegraph
February 10, 200817 yr I don't think it is right to ask a woman during a job interview whether she intends to have a family. Suppose at the time of the interview the woman is adamant that she doesn't want children, then changes her mind a few years down the line and becomes pregnant. What is the employer going to do? Sack her ???
February 11, 200817 yr depends upon the job really....as its alan sugar though i suppose hes on about 'proffessional' women. the point is.... where is the money coming from?... maternity leave costs the employer with nothing in return. this is possibly why women are on a lower wage then men, the money doesnt appear by magic! there was a case a few years ago where a small thriving business went bust as most of their workforce got pregnant at the same time, they had to employ temps to cover AND pay the mothers.. tbh, i wouldnt employ a female, my business couldnt afford it.
February 11, 200817 yr Do you think an employer should be able to ask a woman about her plans for motherhood? Is this relevant to her ability as an employee? Sure.. So long as the same question is asked to a man about fatherhood....
February 11, 200817 yr Sure.. So long as the same question is asked to a man about fatherhood.... why?... a man doesnt get months off paid leave.
February 13, 200817 yr why?... A, Because it is bloody sexist to ask a woman different interview questions than you would a man.... B, you aint heard of "paternity" leave then I take it.....? I really have little sympathy for big companies who b**ch and moan about this issue, maybe small companies have a right, but the large ones should be a lot more accommodating....
February 13, 200817 yr A, Because it is bloody sexist to ask a woman different interview questions than you would a man.... B, you aint heard of "paternity" leave then I take it.....? I really have little sympathy for big companies who b**ch and moan about this issue, maybe small companies have a right, but the large ones should be a lot more accommodating.... paternity leave = 7 (?) days maternity = 6 (?) months! hardly the same thing is it! hence why the manager would ask a woman the question and not the man. i agree, size of business does count, its much easier for say sainsburys to accomodate maternity then a small business with a much smaller turnover. THATS where i have a problem with maternity rights...
February 13, 200817 yr paternity leave = 7 (?) days maternity = 6 (?) months! hardly the same thing is it! hence why the manager would ask a woman the question and not the man. i agree, size of business does count, its much easier for say sainsburys to accomodate maternity then a small business with a much smaller turnover. THATS where i have a problem with maternity rights... I still say it's sexist to ask a woman a question you wouldn't ask a man, surely blokes should be sharing the family responsibilities..... And it's easy for a younger woman to fall into a trap by saying at an interview, "well, I've definitely no plans to do that.." (because, well, what young career-minded woman in her early 20s is seriously thinking about getting married/having kids at that point...?) , and then maybe a few years down the line when circumstances may change the employer could use that as a stick to beat someone over the head with. I DONT approve of that one iota, so it's really on those grounds that I object to the question being asked.... Alan Sugar is an example of someone who is a big businessman, he can afford to take a relatively small hit without things affecting his business too much... I have sympathy with the small businessman/woman on this issue (who perhaps could ask the question), but not with the likes of Sugar....
February 13, 200817 yr paternity leave = 7 (?) days maternity = 6 (?) months! hardly the same thing is it! hence why the manager would ask a woman the question and not the man. i agree, size of business does count, its much easier for say sainsburys to accomodate maternity then a small business with a much smaller turnover. THATS where i have a problem with maternity rights... You have the fukking kids then!! I completely agree with Scott on this one, you can not ask a woman that question what if one day they change their mind like I might? Or even if they can't have kids? Either way it's going to cause upset! It's a two way street having a kid as you know. I want to be a business woman who has a good income and job, but with us getting engaged I suppose I've ruined my chances.
February 13, 200817 yr Author paternity leave = 7 (?) days maternity = 6 (?) months! Its now 9 months paid, and another 3 months unpaid, but this will increase to 12 months paid soon. Paternity time is 2 weeks paid, but only about £100pw. I think the point he is making is that employers will deliberately not employ women aged 18 to 45'ish if they can employ a man instead,or possibly an older woman which goes against the equal employment rights. Its not fair and its not right, but in a way I can see where he is coming from. If you have a lot of women in that age group and they all left on maternity leave at the same time, they have to be paid, you cannot sack them and must keep their job open, but you will probably have to hire temps to cover. But new employment laws give temps the same rights in most cases to permanent employees. It is also difficult to get rid of temps you hire for more than 6 months.You might need to give them a permanent job too, even if there isn't one.The costs to the company can be huge, and that's the point he's making. In other words the very law to help woman is actually working against them. The worst culprits are female bosses, a survey said they were less likely to employ female staff than a male boss. For this very same reason, maternity rights. :unsure:
February 14, 200817 yr Its now 9 months paid, and another 3 months unpaid, but this will increase to 12 months paid soon. Paternity time is 2 weeks paid, but only about £100pw. I think the point he is making is that employers will deliberately not employ women aged 18 to 45'ish if they can employ a man instead,or possibly an older woman which goes against the equal employment rights. Its not fair and its not right, but in a way I can see where he is coming from. If you have a lot of women in that age group and they all left on maternity leave at the same time, they have to be paid, you cannot sack them and must keep their job open, but you will probably have to hire temps to cover. But new employment laws give temps the same rights in most cases to permanent employees. It is also difficult to get rid of temps you hire for more than 6 months.You might need to give them a permanent job too, even if there isn't one.The costs to the company can be huge, and that's the point he's making. In other words the very law to help woman is actually working against them. The worst culprits are female bosses, a survey said they were less likely to employ female staff than a male boss. For this very same reason, maternity rights. :unsure: 12 months paid at an employers expense for a small business is just untennable. hence why one went belly up. can small business claim anything back off the government?... i wonder...
February 14, 200817 yr can small business claim anything back off the government?... i wonder... I would certainly support that.... Seeing as how Govts are always crowing on about "family values" and "supporting the small businessman" and the likes, surely it should be part of their social duty to do this.. If they hand out dosh willy-nilly to feckless fukkin' teenagers who get themselves up the duff, they should certainly be helping small businesses cope with Maternity cover....
February 14, 200817 yr What happend to Equal Pay Act 1979? Edited February 14, 200817 yr by Daylight Dancer
February 15, 200817 yr What happend to Equal Pay Act 1979? Very good question Clare.... I wonder that myself sometimes..
February 15, 200817 yr Very good question Clare.... I wonder that myself sometimes.. is it 'equal' for a women to get 9 months paid leave?.... (im NOT saying its wrong)
February 15, 200817 yr is it 'equal' for a women to get 9 months paid leave?.... (im NOT saying its wrong) Actually yes cos we are paying for it out of our wages, by being on a low wage compaired to a male that you'd hire your already saving money, with the money that you have saved by hiring us it pays for our 9 months easy plus more months by how much we're being robbed of in the first place! An easy way to sort this is to put money into it over say 2 years and if we don't claim it back for the 9 months pay leave we should automatically get it paid back to us! I don't see why working woman should suffer this when none working teenage girls get money for doing nothing, at least we are working to start with.
February 16, 200817 yr An easy way to sort this is to put money into it over say 2 years and if we don't claim it back for the 9 months pay leave we should automatically get it paid back to us! I don't see why working woman should suffer this when none working teenage girls get money for doing nothing, at least we are working to start with. actually yes! thats a very good idea. woman should get the same pay, for the same job, that a male would do... fair enough, so by employers holding back a percentage of the womans pay, that would then be paid upon either maternity leave, or termination of employment. i do believe women should get equal pay for the same job, i do believe they should get maternity allowence, however i dont think that small businesses should shoulder the cost of this over 9 months.
February 16, 200817 yr is it 'equal' for a women to get 9 months paid leave?.... Women get NINE MONTHS over there?!?! Women in America don't stop working until a week before they are due, and only have about a month off afterwards :o And that is if you're lucky.
February 17, 200817 yr Its now 9 months paid, and another 3 months unpaid, but this will increase to 12 months paid soon. Paternity time is 2 weeks paid, but only about £100pw. Statutory Maternity Pay is: 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings with no upper limit for the first six weeks of your maternity leave for the remaining 33 weeks either £112.75 or 90 per cent of your average earnings, if this 90 per cent rate is less than £112.75 This is paid by the employer but claimed back. Not full pay - if you have a half decent paid job not much at all - but a damn sight more than I got 15 years ago ;) Some companies choose to offer better maternity pay in order to retain staff. To be honest I think it is too much - if you intend to return to work it is deemed best to do so at approx 3 months, due to child's attatchment etc. I think if a mother takes a year off will be hard to return and in some jobs retraining will be needed and 12 months later she could be off again. If you choose to have a child then you should make sure you can afford to - not (again) expect the taxpayer to support your decision. So yes I think he sort of has a point - but I also think more mothers should stay at home and look after their children. But that would assume they chose to have a child in order to love and care for it - not as a cash cow or a 'fashion accessory' (I saw many of these poor creatures last week - dressed in designer ski stuff and playing in the snow with nanny :( )
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