Small business Maternity dilema

Castiel · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:18

Morbius said:
I've also heard of several cases were they take the maximum paid leave before immediately resigning.

In which case they have to repay the occupational (the employers contribution) part of their maternity pay. I think that you have to return to work for at least 3 or 6 months.

wnb · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:20

Castiel said:
Your companies staffing costs should have been costed before you hired them, within this you should have included potential costs such as maternity and parental leave.

While I sympathise with your dilemma (having almost 20% of your workforce out on maternity is excessive) you only have yourself to blame.

Myself to blame? I do not know what planet you are on.

Aero · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:21

wnb said:
The industry I am in is mainly women. I do however employe one man.

Premium rates phone line business found in the back of magazines? :cool:

Metalface Mark · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:22

hurfdurf said:
I know plenty of people who run small businesses who will say behind closed doors that they would never ever employ a young woman because of this, the trick is never getting caught saying it and it being your reason for selecting who you select for who you want to work for you.

Women have really shot themselves in the foot in some ways when it comes to this kind of thing.

With what sort of thing? Being women? What a ludicrous statement!

Efour · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:23

Higher some discreet Muscle to do some Falcon punching?

Castiel · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:23

wnb said:
Myself to blame? I do not know what planet you are on.

If you are the owner of the business then the full costs potential and statutory should have been considered for each employee, this includes maternity pay and the associated costs.

Like I said you are unlucky that you have such a large proportion of your workforce out at the same time, however the ultimate responsibility is yours.

Mr-White · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:25

Surely it's something to do with washing, cooking and cleaning ?

MW

Metalface Mark · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:26

Castiel said:
If you are the owner of the business then the full costs potential and statutory should have been considered for each employee, this includes maternity pay and the associated costs.

Like I said you are unlucky that you have such a large proportion of your workforce out at the same time, however the ultimate responsibility is yours.

I dont think the money is his main gripe, its the situation that he has to train replacements and then fire them if the woman chooses to come back to work.

Sp00n · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:29

Efour2 said:
Higher some discreet Muscle to do some Falcon punching?

lower?

Castiel · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:30

wnb said:
To top it off I have to keep the job open untill the employee decided weather or not they want to come back to work. And they dont have to give any notice on returning to work! Then I will have to get rid of the temporary staff that I have employed and trained.

You should always assume that the employee is going to take the full 52 week entitlement, in which case you need no notice as you will already have a return to work date.

If the employee wishes to return earlier then she must give you 8 weeks notice of her intention to do so.

If she decides that she will not be returning to work then she must give you the required amount of notice as per her contractual obligations to the company.

So notice has to be given and the minimum you will receive is no different whether they are working or on maternity. In fact an employee on maternity is easier to cover as you should already have someone in their position who may wish to stay on.

Also if your gross Class 1 NI Liability is below a certain level then you can reclaim all or some of the costs of Statutory Maternity Pay from the HMRC.

Castiel · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:32

Metalface Mark said:
I dont think the money is his main gripe, its the situation that he has to train replacements and then fire them if the woman chooses to come back to work.

Indeed, costs which should have been considered in the overall cost of employing someone. Also maternity staff are routinely hired for short periods and as they are on fixed term contracts you are not technically 'firing them'

Maternity is no different from any other statutory requirement of a business, if the employer has not considered the full costs of running their business then they are to blame.

platinum87 · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:35

What industry are you in?

mmj_uk · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:36

Don't employ women of child bearing age?

It seems a bit ridiculous to me the way it works but the government would obviously rather women be in work than at home bringing up their child, so they make it dead easy for them to return to work.

Efour · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:36

Sp00n said:
lower?

ok im a moron

if the spell checker doesn't have a red line under a word and I'm not paying attention this will happen.

Sp00n · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:38

Sorry, I just couldn't let that one pass

wnb · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:42

Aero said:
Premium rates phone line business found in the back of magazines?

That made me laugh

It is a care industry namely care home and home care. However I could start a new revenue stream for premium rate Sex line

Castiel · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:47

wnb said:
That made me laugh It is a care industry namely care home and home care. However I could start a new revenue stream for premium rate Sex line

Can you not simply hire agency staff, of which there are numerous specialist agencies to cover the maternity periods. Also as I said before if your gross Class 1 NI Liability is beneath a certain level then you may be able to recover the SMP costs from HMRC. Contact them to find out.

rG-tom · 27 Jan 2011 at 12:56

where are you based wnb?