Posted April 27, 200916 yr a new law came into play today making it a rerquirement for larger firms to make public the difference between pay for men and woman. apparently men are paid on average 20% more then women for comparable jobs. alls well and good...isnt it? my problem with this is maternity pay.... and the cost to businesses. its not uncommon for small businesses to go bust owing to them having to fork out for maternity pay if several women are off at the same time. i dont really know the answer here, equality yes, but whats equal about a position held by women costing more to secure then if the position was held in male hands.... then again of course theres the fact that not every female wants/can have any more kids..
April 27, 200916 yr a new law came into play today making it a rerquirement for larger firms to make public the difference between pay for men and woman. apparently men are paid on average 20% more then women for comparable jobs. alls well and good...isnt it? my problem with this is maternity pay.... and the cost to businesses. its not uncommon for small businesses to go bust owing to them having to fork out for maternity pay if several women are off at the same time. i dont really know the answer here, equality yes, but whats equal about a position held by women costing more to secure then if the position was held in male hands.... then again of course theres the fact that not every female wants/can have any more kids.. Depends on the job really I don't think a female tennis player should be paid as much as a male tennis player as they only play 3 sets whereas men play 5 but I do think for example in offices or retail that the woman should get the same amount of money as the man Men are entittled to male maternity leave now too so it equals out the time the woman has off
April 27, 200916 yr Depends on the job really I don't think a female tennis player should be paid as much as a male tennis player as they only play 3 sets whereas men play 5 but I do think for example in offices or retail that the woman should get the same amount of money as the man Men are entittled to male maternity leave now too so it equals out the time the woman has off Male maternity leave? Is that the same as paternity leave? :lol:
April 27, 200916 yr Male maternity leave? Is that the same as paternity leave? :lol: LOL aah that's the name :rofl: :blush: couldn't remember it, total brainfade I had :o
April 27, 200916 yr a new law came into play today making it a rerquirement for larger firms to make public the difference between pay for men and woman. apparently men are paid on average 20% more then women for comparable jobs. alls well and good...isnt it? my problem with this is maternity pay.... and the cost to businesses. its not uncommon for small businesses to go bust owing to them having to fork out for maternity pay if several women are off at the same time. i dont really know the answer here, equality yes, but whats equal about a position held by women costing more to secure then if the position was held in male hands.... then again of course theres the fact that not every female wants/can have any more kids.. It's a good question... I think it's just a compromise society has to make. If a woman ends up costing more because of maternity leave, so be it. While it isn't quantifiable, the burden of pregnancy/birth/early childcare falls on women. That's certainly worth something.
April 28, 200916 yr Equal pay for equal work, that's the only just system, imo.... And, I think it ought to be worth something, as Consie says, to appreciate the fact that the burden of child care/birth does tend to fall upon the woman far moreso than the man in any relationship.... Perhaps the Govt could actually help with the costs to business of maternity leave..... In many European countries, the system actually aids families/businesses in this manner..... What a concept eh....? A Govt actually helping people.... :rolleyes:
April 28, 200916 yr Author Men are entittled to male maternity leave now too so it equals out the time the woman has off men dont get the same time off as women (understandably) Equal pay for equal work, that's the only just system, imo.... And, I think it ought to be worth something, as Consie says, to appreciate the fact that the burden of child care/birth does tend to fall upon the woman far moreso than the man in any relationship.... Perhaps the Govt could actually help with the costs to business of maternity leave..... In many European countries, the system actually aids families/businesses in this manner..... What a concept eh....? A Govt actually helping people.... :rolleyes: tbh i think that the government paying maternity leave would be the only fair outcome, paid for by workers taxes... as it stands it isnt fair... say an employer employs 10 women and on average 1 is always off on maternity...he would then have to employ an extra to cover... 11 women to do the work of 10, or about 10k extra a year! that a huge cost for a small business to bare. in this sort of scenario i can fully understand why women should be paid less.
April 28, 200916 yr Perhaps the Govt could actually help with the costs to business of maternity leave..... In many European countries, the system actually aids families/businesses in this manner..... What a concept eh....? A Govt actually helping people.... :rolleyes: The old Soviet countries were the most generous - and some of the policies remain in former socialist countries. Women are legally guaranteed a huge maternity leave for something like 18 months, and tons of social privileges that increase with number of children. Of course, while that sounds nice and good, now that those countries are capitalist, it effectively keeps women out of the workforce (businesses claim they can't afford to hire them) and furthers the idea that women should stay home and care for the children dutifully. The Soviets were decades ahead of their time in terms of gender equality, but since the breakup in the late 80s, gender equality has fallen dramatically.
April 28, 200916 yr Atm women get 9 months off maternity leave, men get 2 weeks. First 6 weeks at 90% of wages followed by 33 weeks at £123, men only get £123 for the 2 weeks. The 9 months is going up to 12 months next year I think. Of course men and women doing exactly the same job should be paid the same and in a perfect world they would be. However we are coming from a background of discrimination in the workplace which is not as bad as it was but still a long way to go. In principal I agree with the changes, however why did they not introduce it a few years back when we could afford it, instead of bringing it in during the worst recession in living memory. This could bankrupt small firms, large companies will only put up their prices to cover it, and councils will only put up their council tax so we will all pay for it in the end through higher prices in the shops or higher taxes.
April 29, 200916 yr say an employer employs 10 women and on average 1 is always off on maternity...he would then have to employ an extra to cover... 11 women to do the work of 10, or about 10k extra a year! that a huge cost for a small business to bare. in this sort of scenario i can fully understand why women should be paid less. That rather assumes that every single one of the 10 women would actually opt, or be biologically capable, of having children though Rob... And the reality is, that this is simply not the case.... You simply cannot pay 50% of the country less than the other 50% just by making assumptions that every single woman in the land will want/be able to have a kid... THAT is a totally unfair and unjust system, end of.... I'd say that small or medium sized firms should get Govt aid, definitely, but the large ones who make huge profits can easily eat the costs, and it seems to be the larger firms that are playing this system of unequal pay more than the smaller ones.....
April 29, 200916 yr Author That rather assumes that every single one of the 10 women would actually opt, or be biologically capable, of having children though Rob... And the reality is, that this is simply not the case.... You simply cannot pay 50% of the country less than the other 50% just by making assumptions that every single woman in the land will want/be able to have a kid... THAT is a totally unfair and unjust system, end of.... I'd say that small or medium sized firms should get Govt aid, definitely, but the large ones who make huge profits can easily eat the costs, and it seems to be the larger firms that are playing this system of unequal pay more than the smaller ones..... i was using that as an example to highlight the potential cost to small firms that in theory maternity pay could inflict, just go with it.
April 30, 200916 yr if women had the same education and same amount of experience they should get the same pay.
May 1, 200916 yr Author if women had the same education and same amount of experience they should get the same pay. thats not the point in question, as everyone agrees with that bit.
May 6, 200916 yr Of course anyone doing exactly the same job, be they male or female, should get the same rates of pay. I think most do these days actually!
May 6, 200916 yr Of course anyone doing exactly the same job, be they male or female, should get the same rates of pay. I think most do these days actually! I agree darlin lynda. :heart:
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