5 Women On How Maternity Pay Has Affected Their Career

Job hunting while trying to figure out maternity pay packages isn’t easy. Whether you’re trying to have a baby, want to try in the near future or simply want reassurance that you can afford to take maternity leave one day, getting the facts on benefits entitlement while interviewing for roles is tricky. You may be choosing to stay in a job that no longer aligns with your goals in order to access maternity benefits and that means putting off applying for new jobs — jobs that could be vital to your career growth. 

Maternity pay varies from company to company but it starts with statutory pay in the UK, which allows eligible employees to take up to 52 weeks of leave, although only 39 are paid. The first six weeks are paid at 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings (before tax) and the remaining 33 weeks are currently paid at £184.03 or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). It’s not much to live on, which is why benefits packages that offer more are so important. 

Natalie Whitcombe, an HR specialist and founder of Whitcombe HR, says, “Some companies offer enhanced maternity pay, which can range from companies paying six weeks full pay, six months full pay to even one year full pay”. This can make all the difference when financially planning around children.

In the UK, a person usually has to have worked at a company for a certain length of time before becoming eligible for the maternity package. Companies decide this for themselves and determine their own timeline. This may be a number of months but is commonly a year and may be as long as two years. Some companies offering enhanced maternity pay require a person to stay in a job for a minimum amount of time after returning to work, otherwise they may need to pay some of their enhanced benefits back.

Many people don’t know what they’re entitled to until after being offered a role. It can feel risky to ask these questions in a job interview. “Discrimination shouldn't happen — it is illegal — [but] some women might worry about asking questions about maternity benefits during the interview process out of fear it'll jeopardise their application,” says Whitcombe. She recommends asking to see a company benefits package after an offer has been made — that way you can find out the details without having to ask directly. Even then, maternity benefits won’t always be specified. 

Having a child is life-altering. And in this financial climate, where declining birth rates are being put down to would-be parents being unable to afford children, the decision to grow a family often ends up being inextricably intertwined with work. Yet it’s still taboo to mention children while job hunting. While fathers and non-carrying mothers have to consider this too, we still live in a society that typically places more parental responsibility on birth mothers. 

From January to March, we typically see the job market pick up as many people consider making a job switch. With this in mind, Refinery29 spoke to five women about how maternity pay has affected their career choices at different stages of the journey into parenthood.

*All names have been changed to protect identities.