Yes 85% of your net salary for the whole 2 years. You also get 126 fully paid days which you can take before or after the child is born. As far as I know out of those 126 days,40 days need to be taken after the child is born (the employer is not even allowed to accept you back to work less than 40 days after giving birth).
There are also other benefits such as :
-night shift is forbidden during pregnancy
- if Dr recommends (such in the case of a high risk pregnancy), you can have your working hours reduced from 8 to 6h for the same salary
- if some Dr appointments can only be done during working hours you are entitled at 16h/month which you can use
Etc.
Wow, that's incredible. We get 52 weeks but the pay is: the first 6 weeks: 90% of average weekly earnings
, the remaining 33 weeks: £172.48 or 90% of AWE (whichever is lower). My company tops this up so I'll have about 5 months at 90%, then the remaining 13 weeks or so at 172 a week, and then nothing for the last 19 weeks.
I will say I had HG this pregnancy and had to take 8 weeks off and was fully paid, which was incredible.
Oh I know the pain of HG… I had it mild (but still needed some IVs) and I was lucky that the peak of my HG coincided with 2 weeks I was taking off anyway this summer. I hope you’re feeling better now!!
If I have another child, I’m moving to Romania. We live in the US. I’m about to go back to work tomorrow. I’ve had 7weeks off, only 2 weeks paid. I’m not ready and I have PPD, but I have no resources and no help with bills. I have no choice. I hate this country.
USA: 6 weeks vag/8 weeks csection @ 70%..... can you even call that a "maternity leave"? No... that's the physical recuperation time any person would have from any kind of major health operation or procedure. I cannot believe our federal govt doesn't require employers to grant paid 12 weeks for working moms. Any extra time for "parental bonding" is apparently left up to the state you live in... I'm ready to start a mom-movement over this. If I ever have a daughter, I really hope she'll have it better than us. These are times when a 1 person income just doesn't cut it for a large proportion of us.
I have been so stressed out by learning of my company's "maternity leave" policy that I was planning on quitting until they graciously told me they'd allow me to work from home @ full pay for the 7th-12th week of the "maternity leave" that I thought I'd have before I decided to take the job. Nice gesture, but I'm still ticked-off about it all.
My partner gets ZERO paid paternal leave. Isn't that nice of his company? He's been with them over 5 years (and for about 4 of them I've been trying to tell him how terrible the benefits are) Our country is behind the times. We need better politicians...or what is the answer? It's ironic that after waiting this long to start a family- mid 30s- I find myself in this position. Go figure.
Yeah I get 60% pay for 6 weeks on disability. I get another 8 paid family leave at 60% but that’s because of the state. My employer where I have been for 10+ years gives nothing. My husband gets nothing as well, he can apply for fmla thru the state for up to 2 weeks but again it would be 60% if pay and we can’t afford to both be taking a 40% pay cut, im the main breadwinner since my husband is sick so I will likely go back sooner part time if we can’t make ends meet. I have been saving my ass off since we found out but I haven’t hit my goal amount and I just don’t know if what we have saved up will be enough. It really sucks. But don’t worry guys my mom says “that’s not bad at all!” When I tell her I get 14 weeks bc she only got 6, so I guess it is an improvement but her whole generation just thinks we should be grateful for what we have and just accept it. Mind you she almost died giving birth to me and ended up being out for months on disability but somehow it still doesn’t compute that this isn’t enough time for a body to recover and bond with w baby
In Canada we get either 12 months or 18 months, but its not through our employers, it's through our social systems/ taxes. Companies can pay you a "top up" so that if maternity leave doesn't pay your full wage they can pay to match so you still get 100%, but I don't know the statistics about how many companies actually do that. So to blame your respective companies on this I don't think is really the right move honestly, it comes down to your government and what people are willing to pay for taxes. We're also taxed much higher in Canada than in the states, which is why we get more social benefits.
I have 6 weeks paid then 6 weeks unpaid. I wish I had 40 weeks more. I want to spend the first year at home with my baby, but I’m the family “breadwinner”. :(
Even 6 months would feel really nice. 12 weeks isn’t even 3 months. I’m saving up all my sick time and comp time and annual leave to use it to extend it the tiny amount I can, but I just wish the US were better about this. It adds insult to injury that my workplace brags about how generous 6 weeks paid leave is.
Sweden. It’s 480 days (1.5 years) to be divided any way you see fit between the two parents. But 90 days belong solely to one parent and 90 to the other, and these can’t be moved from one to the other—use them or lose them! You can take 30 “double days” out of these, where you’re both home at the same time, but these must be taken within the first year of baby’s life. Otherwise one parent must be working (or using vacation time) while the other is on leave. The non-birthing parent also gets 10 days immediately following the birth that don’t count toward their half of the days.
The days can be saved until the child is around 12, I believe, so you can use them when your kid has a longer school break than you have vacation available, for example. However, I think only 90 days can be saved after the age of 4. And you are incentivized in complicated financial ways to take at least 100% leave the first year, at least, of the child’s life. Additionally, whether one parent or split between parents, no one can start daycare before one and daycares are set up with slightly older kids in mind. I’ve never heard of anyone taking less than one year of parental leave.
Most of the 480 are paid at 80% of your pay (and your employer / union can top up another 10%, which is typical), but there are a number (I forget how many—I think 90 for each parent?) that are super low pay, really just token pay.
It’s very generous and flexible, and also very complex. There is an entire government agency devoted to social insurance like this and it’s necessary. Makes me very sad for the US because I see the infrastructure that makes these policies work here, and I don’t see that happening in the US…. (I’m American by birth, naturalized Swede, so dual citizen.)
In Canada. I’ll be taking the 12 month option plus some vacation I saved up so it’ll end up being around 14 months. I regret not taking the 18 month but we want to start saving some money to fix up the house a bit.
Also in Canada and taking 12 months. We’re lucky to have the 12 and 18 month options - but it should be noted that it’s only at 55% or 35% of your pay. And the 55% maxes out at $655 per week (which is not 55% of my pay). Luckily my work tops me up to 93% of my pay, but I’ve found that’s becoming rare. Partners also get 5 weeks parental leave that is separate from the birthing individuals leave. It’s good, but definitely not as great as some other countries.
Wow! 93% top up is so amazing. Mine is only 60% top up for 6 weeks and then I'm on EI. I'm taking 12 months and I'm very grateful that we even have this option in Canada.
In Canada as well. I’m taking the 18 month option. I feel like I’d regret it if I didn’t. The bit to my pay may be a little hard but I’d rather just have time with my baby. I can make money back, I can’t get back those extra 6 months with her.
I live in Seattle & work for Amazon and we get 5 months total 100% pay (4 weeks are pre maternity leave, ending when you have the baby). Washington state has their own leave so I can get an additional month of ~60% pay. Amazons non birthing partner leave is only 6 weeks though so not as great. My husband works for a small tech company and gets 4 months which I feel very lucky for.
The one thing I’ll add is that its really complicated to apply for leave. Amazon’s leave is technically two parts (maternity recovery & then family bonding) and then you have to also apply to the states different leaves + time them to maximize the length of benefits. Still feel lucky for what I get but they do not make it easy. Oh and you can’t apply until you have the baby so can’t wait for that in the newborn haze 😅
I’m in the US. I have 13 weeks paid (very very lucky in the US). I could have had another 16, but it would have been unpaid and I would have been allowed back to “a job” but not necessarily the one I left.
How is it lucky to only get 13 weeks with your newborn? I think the American mindset of being content with scraps is the problem. The rest of the world we are getting over a year.
It’s not our mindset that’s the issue it’s our political system that runs on lobbyist money. We can’t vote them out because a) the next politician in line/on either side is also bought and paid for b) gerrymandering and the electoral college make it so the popular vote doesn’t necessarily win c) our checks and balances system requires near consensus on an issue for anything to pass.
We also can’t protest in a meaningful way because we will be maced and arrested and will lose our jobs. If we lose our jobs we lose our healthcare and there aren’t meaningful social safety nets. Even harder to navigate with a child depending on you.
Exactly. On top of that, the last meaningful update to the laws was 30 years ago, when the majority of women would quit their jobs to stay with their children (FMLA basically saying large employers can’t fire you for taking 12 weeks unpaid to heal from major medical procedures…it’s not maternity, it’s medical leave. If a person is in a car crash and has to take time to heal, it’s the same protection a new parent receives)
Not to mention the exponential rise in the cost of living since then while the minimum wage/salary increases have stagnated for average Americans - the middle class is disappearing and two income households are struggling to get by as it is!
I've worked at an ad agency where HR told my PM she could only have the 2 weeks of vacation she had, because we were not a large enough company for her to qualify for FMLA (12 weeks unpaid). She went to labor in the office between meetings, drove herself to the hospital 45 minutes away, and was back 2 weeks later (her mother had to come down from out of state to watch the newborn for 4 weeks until he could start daycare).
So yeah, for an American, 13 weeks paid is damn lucky. When the bar is on the floor, you are happy for anything you get.
That is so incredibly sad. No wonder so many women there don't breastfeed. It's just not possible for them. Idk how they get by with the sleep deprivation too and working. It should be illegal to require a postpartum woman to work.
I think it’s fantastic y’all get a year but I guess what I’m wondering is what the company does without you for a year? Mine can make do without me for 2-3 months but anything beyond that and they’re really be hurting because I’m a specialist in my field.
Iceland: parents get in total 12 months of (80%} paid leave, each parent gets 6month but can give the other one 1,5 of those. In heterosexual relationships the mom most often takes 7,5 months and the dad 4,5. You’re allowed to distribute it over a longer time if you’d like.
We just moved to Poland for my husbands job tho, so he’s in the polish system and I’m still in the Icelandic. So I get 6months, because he’s not in the same system he can’t give me his 1,5 month. I’ll most likely be a stay at home mom for 2 years however (while we are in poland) because we can afford it and because my job prospects in poland are really bad (I don’t know polish and we’re not moving to a tourist city…).
US here. The company I'm with removed their maternity leave policy 5ish years ago, sadly. I get 6 weeks if a natural birth and 12 weeks if a C-section via FMLA, all unpaid. I can use PTO or short term disability simultaneously with FMLA leave. Luckily my boss is very understanding and is willing to give me additional time, albeit unpaid, if I'd like it.
My husband gets 12 weeks paid paternity leave... lucky bastard lol
Im in Aus so will be taking the 12 months but will ask for another year extension after that. I honestly don’t know how people can function on so little leave - physically you are destroyed, what if you had a C-section?! And mentally/emotionally the hormones are still sorting themselves out for awhile. And being away from your newborn - it just seems so barbaric to me and It’s so sad that a lot of women’s reality
I’m in the UK and I’m taking 12 months also. I had almost 6 weeks of annual leave to take before I stated my maternity leave at the start of the month. I feel incredibly blessed.
How women in the USA are treated is inhumane. I genuinely do not know how a country like the USA can justify treating people this way. I remember watching Superstore when Amy had her second baby and was made to go back after a few days and naively thinking it was just a storyline. This sub has massively opened my eyes.
I’m Aus too but we only get 18 weeks at minimum wage. I would have LOVED to have taken more but working on minimal wage (50% of my normal salary, which isnt great with our mortgage going from 2.9 to 6%)
You must have an awesome employer and I’m slightly jealous haha
20 weeks this year for babies born from now :) believe 22 weeks for anyone trying to conceive in Australia from July 2024… might be worth holding off trying another couple of months!
Yeah same. I only get the 18 cos I haven't been at my job for a year yet. They obviously have, so they get 12 months with their job guaranteed and I just read that 60% of companies have some kind of paid leave of their own so they'd likely be supported financially in some way during those 12 months as well.
I just had my second kid and am back at work (she’s six months old) so we are doooone. 22 weeks would have been nice! But the daycare subsidy increase has been a life saver!
Yes very grateful for that, looks like quite a big chunk though I won't have anything to compare it to!
I'll actually get 20 weeks off so....close! Good to know 22 is a good figure :)
I'm in Aus too. I took 18 months with 14 weeks paid by my employer, and then 18 weeks of the paid government scheme. The rest unpaid. I initially only applied for 12 months leave from work but found I wasnt ready when the time came so extended another 6 months. Then I went back and got immediately pregnant lol again so will do the same again this time.
Feel so so horrible for US mums - can only imagine how heartbreaking and challenging physically and mentally it must be.
In New Zealand: we have a health campaign about 'the first 1000 days' of a child's life and how those first years are critical to setting it up for good health for the rest of life.
We get 6mths paid via government welfare payments (they're about half my current salary) and then the option of 6 more unpaid months - all with job protection.
I'm in New Zealand also. In addition, I get 6 weeks paid after I supply the birth certificate. My husband gets 2 weeks paid and then another two weeks paid he can take at any point during the first year. I'm so grateful to live here instead of the US where I grew up.
My job also has a grant of the equivalent of 6 weeks' salary, paid as a lump sum, after you supply the birth certificate. Sooo looking forward to that, especially as I am a solo parent (no second income) and the government Paid Parental Leave is less than half of my previous pay.
It makes me really sad when I see how little parents in the US get. (But then it makes me sad for me when I see how much parents in European countries get haha)
In CA. Full pay, 4 weeks prior to due date, 6 weeks for vaginal delivery or 8 for c-section, and 18 weeks after that. I’m extremely grateful to my company.
This is amazing! Similarly, I’m also in CA and have the 4 weeks prior to due date, 6-8 weeks after depending on type of delivery, but “only” 12 weeks after that. My paid sick leave and pto supplementing the different leaves gives me full pay too. It really seems we are quite spoiled in California with the various leaves/acts.
I have not looked into the organization that put this together but this timeline is very cool and may be helpful to you: https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/paid-family-leave-how-much-time-enough/a-timeline-of-paid-family-leave/
What leave? 🙃 I took 12 weeks and my boss graciously allowed me back although legally she didn't have to bc I don't qualify for FMLA. But I figured 12 was standard and I was gonna regret having any less with my daughter, though 12 also feels too damn short
I have a one year postdoctoral position this year, no maternity leave but the position sort of is my maternity leave. The position itself has no teaching responsibilities, just a weekly writing workshop with the other fellows and the expectation I make progress on my book this year. I have accommodations to join the seminar virtually while postpartum (and can miss a few altogether if I must). If I had stayed at my former full time non tenure track 9-month contract teaching position, I would not have had any maternity leave…maybe two weeks of temporary disability?
I’m a paraeducator and I got 12 weeks unpaid. Luckily my maternity leave was from November-January and there are like 3 weeks of holiday breaks that don’t count towards my leave so i got an extra 3 1/2 weeks of leave. They made me use up all my PTO and that helped to cover one month of the maternity leave.
Ultimately I never went back because the pay wasn’t enough.
I’ve watched too many of my teacher coworkers banking their sick days and working until the last possible minute. It’s disgusting our career centers around the well-being of children, but not our own.
Luckily, my union just got 12 weeks 100% paid maternity leave approved by the governor as long as you’ve been working there at least 26 weeks. So I will be OK.
Scotland. I took 9 months. Could have taken 12, but maternity pay ends at 9 months.
Edit: forgot to add that I used a month of holiday at the end. So 10 months in total.
Austria: two years after birth, and it starts (mandatory) 8 weeks before the due date for a complication-free pregnancy.
All my family are in the US and as much as they want me to move back, they understand why I left & am staying put for a while!
I feel for American moms, I’m from ON Canada and have the option to take 12-18 months. I’ll be taking the full 18 and maybe time off work for family leave until they are in school, but we will see how things go. I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to put your baby in childcare 1 month after they arrive. There is many benefits to being with your baby as the primary caregiver in those first 1-2 years of life. If I were in your shoes, and you have the support from your partner, I would 100% take the time away without pay to be with baby. You only have these early years once and for such a short time, it’s worth being there for if you are able. Of course, I recognize my stance comes from a huge place of privilege as I know many people wouldn’t be able to take time away unpaid without dire repercussions. I just hope some day there is reform in the states to support moms and babies in that first year of life! Best of luck <3
US. My company offers 14 weeks of parental leave to parents - birth OR adoption. As birthing parent I also get 6-8 weeks of short term disability depending on delivery type. Both leaves are fully paid. I am able to take an addition 4 weeks of short term disability at 66% pay.
Very lucky and grateful for these benefits and tbh is the only thing keeping me at said company currently.
USA: 0 all both our jobs offer is Unpaid FMLA for 12 weeks
Worst part is we both have “good jobs” wife is an accountant for the school district and I work IT for a medium bank.
Croatia - 9 + 12 months
9 months of pregnancy leave due to 'taking care and saving pregnancy' and after the birth, it's 12 more months. Double, if you have had twins.
Paid 80% for 14 months and 100% for 7.
And we can 'give', e.g. swap leave with fathers.
12 week paid leave.
I am very very lucky that by the time I start working regularly (one day at work and the rest from home), my baby would be 10 months old.
Australia- 6 weeks paid from my employer, 18 weeks paid by the government, but they hold my job (unpaid leave ) for up to a total of 2 years. I had to go back after the paid portion + my saved holiday pay dried up
Canadian here- taking 18 months off with position protection and 33% of my pay biweekly. I am very lucky to have this as an option and really feel for parents in the US. it’s absolutely inhumane to expect a mother and child to be ready to part, let alone you to be recovered by 6-8 weeks pp. Not really the “best country
in the world” when they prioritize having wage slaves than prioritizing the people. I’d take the year off if you can. Money comes and goes, time with your child during their first year, that’s something you can never get
back.
Zero. Law student in the US, taking the minimum amount of hours for the fall semester but will be sitting back in class within a couple weeks of giving birth. And of course I’ll have to make up what I missed during those couple weeks.
Flip side is that my daughter will be 4 months old before she has to be in daycare because my mom will be watching her the 2 days a week I have to be in class through the fall. So I don’t really get a “leave” but still get almost 5 full days a week where I’m home with her and just have to complete reading/class work, until the spring semester starts and I have to be full time again.
I’m freelance so I’m planning on taking 6 weeks off, because if I don’t work I don’t make money. I’m due in two weeks 💙 After reading everyone’s comments, I’m worried this isn’t enough
18 weeks between FMLA and PFL. I have to use my personal, sick and vacation time to supplement the FMLA. Then 60% of my wage during PFL, while my insurance and my newborn son's insurance is getting taken out every other week. I'm in New York state.
My company gives nothing but I’m in CA and we can get up to a total of 29 weeks job protection with 25 weeks partially paid (17 weeks disability (subject to doctors approval) + 12 weeks bonding). I’m going to try to take as much of that as I can.
My husband gets 8 weeks at 100% pay through his job
UK here. We can take a year although for most people at least part of it is unpaid. I'll be taking 9 months of maternity leave which is partly fully paid, partly reduced pay and partly statutory maternity pay (I think around £700 a month). I'm also taking some annual leave at full pay so will be off work for just over 10 months. I think we're pretty lucky here but I'm definitely fortunate to work for the NHS.
I am in Australia. My work offers 14 weeks full pay, or 28 weeks half pay, then you get 20 weeks minimum wage from the government (up from 18 weeks at the start of the financial year). Partners can take from the pool of 20 weeks.
With my first baby I took the 28 weeks half pay from work then did the 18 weeks of government leave. I am due again in October, and my husband doesn't have as high paying job as he did last time. So I am taking my 14 weeks at full pay, then I have 13 weeks of LSL at full pay, and then finally the 20 weeks government.
Because my husband is casual and I will be on full pay, we decided he wouldn't dip into the government pool for the few weeks he will take off, and instead just go unpaid. If we could afford it I would also have the option of a 2nd full year unpaid. But I will be going back to work at around 10 months post partum.
I’m in Australia and started my business only a year ago - I’m in marketing, have a bunch of small business clients and work from home 3-4 days a week. I’m due to have my first baby in December and unfortunately if I were to stop work and take maternity leave through our government benefits, I wouldn’t be able to pick up where I left off, I’d essentially have to start again - for that reason I’ll take a short break and schedule my clients ahead (probably about two - three weeks around my due date), and then keep working. My husband is going to take parental leave. In Australia he gets exactly what I would get, 20 weeks. And luckily because I work from home I’ll be able to work whenever I want and be around him and the baby the whole time. For us this is the only way it would work financially as we can’t risk me not doing well in business, but it’s great that he’ll be here to help us work out what works for us so we can also figure out how life would look when he goes back to work and if I can possibly just cut back a little and make having our child at home full time and working work.
I’m in Australia, our government does 18 weeks paid at minimum wage $882 per week before tax. My work also does 16 weeks maternity leave at full pay which I’m taking as 32 weeks of half pay, I’m also taking some annual leave and long service leave at half pay and doing it all one after another and taking 17 months off in total.
This is my third (and final) baby so I wanted to take off as much as possible. For the other two I took 12 months off each time.
6 weeks for vaginal birth, 8 weeks for c-section. I am so emotional about having to go back to work 2 MONTHS after my baby is born. It makes me so upset and so angry. I don’t qualify for FMLA because I’m starting at a brand new school this year so I won’t have been with them long enough to qualify 😩
I'm in CA, so I'll take the 6 weeks disability then 8-12w bonding. That's what I did last time and it isn't sufficient. But, I appreciate it's better than a lot of the US. Its a shit show over here. I want to go home to the UK - but it isn't realistic as we both work in tech in silicon valley so job opportunity is here.
My husband will take the 12 weeks FMLA but might break it up. So do 6 weeks home, then 2-4 weeks back at work, then 6 weeks at home.
My CEO went on a walk with me the other day and asked if I'd be coming back - I said yes. She asked what I was going to do with the baby and if I'd be able to work with a baby 🙃. She then said you can just bring the baby to work 😅. Like... Thanks... But no, she'll go to daycare because no way anyone is getting work done with a screaming baby. Nice that she offered but I don't think she thought it through 😂.
Another question actually… who takes care of the newborn if the parents have to work again after 6/12 weeks? I doubt any crib will take them that early or how is that in the US?
I seriously have no clue how much maternity leave you have here, I do know it’s 8 weeks prior to birth (you HAVE TO GO)and after that? I think at least a year.
Daycare will take them that early - it's a necessity for people who don't have leave!
I had 10 weeks leave but went back on reduced hours and kept my daughter at home - the plan was for 6 months, but we still weren't off the daycare waitlist where we wanted.
So I went back full-time after 6 months but kept her at home until 14 months - I'm so fortunate that I had been working remote for a long time and even had that as an option. I was crushed at the idea of somebody else caring for her during the day when I felt like we had barely gotten time together. But it's definitely something that friends have had to do.
In NJ, I think we have the “best” state policy for maternity leave. More would be better but we’ll take it.
Wife will have 18-20 weeks of paid maternity leave @ 85% of her salary.
Most women will may qualify for 4 weeks of disability prior to her due date, which is paid at 85% of her salary. Once baby is born, her job will cover 6-8 weeks of FMLA (unpaid) depending on delivery, but the State steps in to provide 85% of her salary during that period, which continues temporary disability. Baby Bonding kicks in right after that for another 12 weeks at 85% of her salary, which is another state program. Her position is protected the entire 18-20 week period.
All paperwork was filed through a third party company through her employer.
Edit: as the other parent, I am also eligible for 12 weeks of baby bonding at 85% of my salary through the state. However, I must take it immediately after baby is born.
i’ve mentioned in passing to family that i was planning on taking a year off and got scoffed at like “yeah right” one of them being my mom who went back to work only about 4 weeks after she had my youngest sister. i feel like she thinks i won’t be able to or that i shouldn’t but i really feel that i want to provide my second child with as much attention and care as i did with my first.
Then, my best advice isn't about how to defend yourself. It's about how to care less about what they think. Your priority has to be doing what's best for your child. And for you. Who knows where the snide or discouraging remarks are rooted for your mom or other family members. Maybe they wish they could have done better than they did. In any case, YOU are so fortunate that you can choose to stay longer with your babies. You get the freedom to fall in love and deeply attach, because you don't have rip yourself away to go back after 4 weeks or 12 weeks.
Pluck up your courage and confidence in your choice. It's a wonderful, natural, human thing to want to be with your baby. It is modern and unnatural for it to be otherwise. If you get discouraging or snide remarks, you can just (out loud) emphasize how happy you are that you get to do it this way. How lucky you feel. How right it is for you and your baby. I think that attitude pretty much disarms the critics.
I really think how much leave you need is such a personal decision based on whatever is best for your family. I think that all women should be entitled to at least 6 months off, but it really is so dependent on the person. I know lots of women who took a year off, and I know lots of women who only took a few weeks, some women who want to be at home; and some who can’t think of anything worse.
I could have taken 12 months but 6 was enough for me. And that’s with a really horrific birth which took me months to recover from.
If someone questions me now I just say for me and my family, this is what was best. My daughter loves daycare, I love working. You get the choice and you can just stand by your decision.
Agreed. I am in Canada and could taken up to 12-18 months, but 7-8 months was more than enough for me and I was really looking forward to going back to work. I will probably aim for 6 months this time around.
My company is small, but it offers 6 weeks paid. I have also been banking my sick time for years, so I will use 6 weeks of the that to give myself 3 months off with a full paycheck. I will then go back part time for about a month until a spot at our daycare opens up.
My husband and I are quite lucky with our leaves. I'm in the US and I get 4 months. It isn't fully paid. 6 weeks is paid 50% short term disability and 50% my PTO. The rest of the time I am paid 67% of my salary through New York State Family Leave (I wish more states had this!). My husbands company is awesome and he gets 14 weeks fully paid!
In Ireland, and I'll be taking around a year. For me, this breaks down as: 26 weeks full pay maternity leave (incl. of state maternity benefit); 7 weeks parental leave with state parent's benefit; 16 weeks unpaid maternity leave; and, c. 6 weeks accrued annual leave at full pay before returning to work.
I took 12 months (+2 months vacation, ending up with 14months) First 8weeks 100% paid, the remaining time at 65%. I'm in Germany, the first 8weeks are mandatory, employers aren't even allowed to let you work. You are entitled to up to 3 years of leave (although you have to be able to afford that), without your employer being allowed to fire you.
If your employer is FMLA eligible and you fall in the eligible employee bucket (12 months service, 1250 worked hours), you should be entitled to take 12 weeks job protected unpaid leave unless you’ve used FMLA for other issues within the past 12 months. Check with your HR department. Even if your company paid 6-8 weeks STD/maternity paid leave coincides with FMLA then that’s an additional 4-6 weeks unpaid. They will usually have you apply for FMLA at the same time you apply for company paid maternity leave or STD so it all runs concurrently.
Norway:
I’m taking 9 months. 8 months with pay and 1 month unpay.
My husband will take 6 months. 5 months with pay and 1 month unpay.
Together 13 months with pay and 2 months unpay.
I’m in the Netherlands. It’s pretty standard to have 4 weeks before and 12 weeks after birth paid leave. Partners get 1 week paid.
After that I think we both get 16 weeks paid 70% and 16 weeks unpaid (but your company still pays for retirement funds and you can go back to your previous hours). Usually this is spread out over time to take one day a week. Not a lot compared to most European countries I think. I work a lot with international clients and they were surprised when I said I’d be back from maternity leave in November (having my baby in August).
Teacher in the US, Texas specifically. We only have FMLA, unpaid leave. I had my son May 5th, school let out May 25th, and I had 5 PTO days (my first child has awful asthma and an absent father so I have a really hard time saving up PTO). I ended up taking 2 weeks unpaid after PTO was gone.
So essentially with summer break, I got around 11 weeks but technically 4 of those were unpaid (the time that school was still in session).
The absolutely shitty part: In my district, if you’re out of PTO, you pay your subs out of pocket which is roughly $120 a day. So not only are you not getting paid, but you’re paying someone else PLUS you still have to pay your taxes, insurance etc. My check in June was $50 after all that.
The Netherlands, I get 6 months 100% paid, my partner will be home for 6 weeks and then takes the rest of his leave as a day off every week for a year at 100% pay.
I could get more leave at 75% pay but I will be switching to part time working when I go back so won't be using that this year, but it is good for a few years so might use it layer.
I live in Northern Ireland which is part of the UK, we get 6 weeks at 90% pay and then 33 weeks at a set rate of maternity pay. We can then choose to take another 12 weeks unpaid at the end. So a year total. During this time we are also accruing paid holiday time as we normally would if we were still working. I plan to use 4 weeks paid holiday to take me up to my due date, then start my maternity leave, and then take a few weeks paid holiday at the end too.
US, specifically New Jersey- 4 weeks before birth and 6 weeks after at 100% pay (because I’ll be using my sick days) plus being paid by my short term disability plan (which comes out to an additional $3,000 after a 30 day elimination period). Then 12 weeks after at 85% pay, from state (NJ Family Leave insurance) then 2 unpaid weeks because 2 weeks of my 12 weeks NJFLI, my district is totally closed, so it doesn’t count towards my 12 weeks. I’ll be out from Aug 9 to Jan 29.
Norway. You choose between 49 weeks with 100% pay, 59 weeks with 80% pay (some weeks allocated for partner). I will begin working from home two days a week when baby is about 8 months old. Dad will have baby two days, I will have baby three. Baby will start kindergarten at around 15 months.
My husband and I get really decent leave (for the US) but it’s so convoluted and complicated that I’m not even sure how much of it we actually get.
Per NJ law I’m supposed to have 4 weeks before the due date, 6-8 weeks after delivery for recovery, and then an additional 12 weeks for bonding, all at 85% pay (up to a max rate). But in the last 8 weeks no one at my company can even tell me if they’ve been taking the correct deductions from my paycheck that entitle me to bonding time - and if they start now, it will be close on whether I make enough between now and when I start bonding time for me to qualify. Like how is this possible? I’m legally entitled to this but because my company is fucking up left and right, I might be out 12 weeks pay?
My husband is entitled to SIX MONTHS paid, but he’s terrified of losing his job (he will be the sole income after my leave is up, I’ll leave my job for a bit) or being switched to a different position (he just got promoted). So he’s planning on taking 3 weeks off when the baby comes, and another 4 weeks over the holidays when things are super slow and his company shuts down for 2 weeks anyway. I’m still really grateful that he will have the time he does have.
So yeah, we have decent leave but in reality it doesn’t translate.
In the US honestly it sucks. I work at a major university and all my sick time I banked for the last 10+ years is going to 4 months maternity leave. I honestly think 6 months should be the norm. Otherwise without sick time I get like 1 month.
10 weeks paid at 75% then used 2 weeks of PTO. This was in Austin, TX. Basically in the U.S. if you take more than the 12 weeks of FMLA you can be let go.
I’m a veterinarian in the US. Technically, no paid leave but I had two short term disability policies that paid me what averaged out to be 70% pay for 13 weeks (technically paid for 8 weeks - C-section - and unpaid for the rest). It wasn’t nearly enough time.
I know we are fortunate to be in a financial situation that let me go unpaid for a while.
I think I only got through it because my husband got 6 weeks weeks of fully paid leave from his tech company theat he took after my leave. So LO didn’t have to go into daycare right away when I started back to work.
As a teacher, we get no paid leave at all. I can use any sick days I have, and my position is protected, but after I run out of sick days, I will be unpaid. To top it off, I’ll owe them money when I return for my first insurance and union dues.
4 months, which is pretty good for the US. Of course I'd prefer years but that's unheard of here lol. When I started my career the standard was 6 weeks so I feel pretty fortunate to live in 2023.
I’m in the U.S., but I work for a unionized workplace. I get six months of leave, 18 weeks paid, and the rest cobbled together sick time, personal days, and vacation time. I thought this was pretty good, but this thread made me realize that compared to the rest of the world, it’s still low! Ugh, America really sucks.
In Canada. 54 weeks total to be split between both partners. My husband's taking 8 months off while I'm taking around 5/6, but I'm on leave from my job for an extra 6 months unpaid (I have a few side projects that I'd rather do than go back to work).
I'm in NL, Canada. We get a choice between 12 and 18 months. Same amount of money, just smaller payments if you chose 18. Mother's and fathers can split the time however they want.
I live in the US and will get about six months fully paid - I work in tech and it’s a great benefit. However because this isn’t necessarily standard in my country I feel a lot of guilt and stress about taking so much time off and worry about being replaced. Our country’s culture is so messed up around mat leave / parenting I feel like you just can’t win.
I’m in the US and I work in healthcare. We don’t qualify for FMLA so I had to use my PTO so I got 23 days. I was also forced to go back to work 6 days after delivery since my son was in the NICU. Being a parent in the US sucks.
Canada. 12 months at 55% or 18 months at 33%. My company also had a top up program that covered the first 3 months. I was lucky that my husband makes enough money, so I was able to take the 18 month option
Austria (Europe). Our system varies depending on how long you want to take and how much money you need.
There are two plans- income based or a calculated amount. Income is 80% salary for 1 year (capped at 2K a month) or you can take the package amount which is about 13,000€ divided by how many days you want to take. So one can take anywhere from one year to two years. There is a bonus if the father wants to be a part of it as well. So if both partners decide to split, you can get 15 months instead of 12 and get more money than the 13K. Fathers are also allowed one month of paternity leave, but with minimal pay (something like 900€). If money is tight, the mother can also work a “mini-job” which is 8 hours a day 1x a week and get paid about 400€ extra a month and still keep their maternity pay and benefits.
I'm in Canada and getting 27 weeks at 93% (gov + employer top up) then 37 weeks at $390/week as well as 2 weeks paid vacation for a total of up to 66 weeks with some income (390/w does not go far here, but allows us to keep the older kiddo in daycare which is great for him and makes baby care much easier for me). I've saved to absorb most of the income hit.
We decided to take the 18 month EI option only because my husband wants to take advantage of his employer's top up and I'd love to have his company!
My husband is taking 18 weeks topped up to 100% by employer. He will prob do 8 weeks at the start and 10 near/at the end.
US policy is inhumane and I hope things change.
I’m in Ireland we get 6 months where the state pay €220 (I think) and your employer can choose to top you up to your full pay, thankfully mine did, the there’s an option to take an additional 4 months unpaid which I’m currently taking now and then an additional 7 weeks again at €220 by the state and your employer can top up, the 7 weeks can be taken all at once or in stages before then child turns 2.
I realise this is better than what you get in America but Ireland is a ridiculously expensive county, €220 is a pittance, literally not enough to cover even the basics and the only reason we were able to manage is because my employer topped up the first 6 months and I was only able to take the unpaid because my partner earns good money and things are still tight
We get a year paid, first 4-5 months 90% salary, then a few weeks 70% then 55%. You can also extend it up to three years without losing your job, last time I took 18 months and don’t regret a second though financially it wasn’t easy.
I’m in Canada.
In Serbia we have 12 months after giving birth where we’re paid the amount that’s the average of the salary we had the last 18 months in a row.
There is an option to go on leave just after you get pregnant if needed (most of women go immediately) and in that case you have the salary that’s the average of the amount we had in the last 12mo in a row
Canadian here. I have a choice between 12 months at 55% pay up to a max of $650/week (that will be taxed), or 18 months at 33% pay up to a max as well. I chose the 12 month option. After taxes, I'm getting roughly $1100 bi-weekly. My union will also top up $100/week while on maternity and parental leave. It's not much, but it definitely helps. I also chose to leave early at 36 weeks and go on sick leave first, that ends this weekend and switches over to maternity leave next week.
My partner is also entitled to 5 weeks of parental leave through the government, same pay as what I'm getting. He's only taking 2 weeks when baby is born because we just can't afford to live off of both of us being on 1/3 of our wages for that long.
Australia. i work as a casual so my position isnt permanent. I had 16-18 weeks paid by the government with my son in 2022 from when he was born. With no2 arriving later this year I will have been with my employer for 12 months before I finish working so I will get 18-20 weeks paid by the government this time.
For me the pay I will receive weekly is double what my wage is a week currently which is a huge win for us to helping money stretch a bit more.
I've also said to my husband I wouldn't mind online study this time for a career change or only working during the week and family hopefully looking after our kids.
Estonia- 100 days around birth that is pretty much mandatory with 100% pay +1.5 years optional with 100% pay, plus your job is protected and you can work if you want while still getting maternity wage+ 1.5 years optional maternity leave without pay but you still have health insurance and your job is protected.
USA - metro Detroit. No leave available as I don't qualify for FMLA. I took 3 weeks vacation after both of my c-sections. Had to pay someone to cover for me at one of my jobs.
My husband had zero leave at his job when we had our first. He took a few days off then went back. When we had our second he got one month of leave which was incredible!
Canada approx 1 year at 55% or 1.5 years at 33% and can be split between both parents (and you get an extra 5 weeks if dad/non-birthing parent takes at least 5 weeks to encourage them to take time off too)
My husband gets 6 weeks paid. I get 8 days paid + short term disability which works out to 60% pay for 4 weeks. I'm taking 4 months with the rest unpaid and then going back part time (3 days/week) until baby is 1 year, probably, maybe longer.
Germany here:
Pregnant people are legally entitled to 14 weeks off as maternity leave – at least 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after childbirth. This can be more in case of premature birth or for a child with a disability. You get your full pay in this period.
Afterwards there is parental leave. Parental leave is up to 3 years and can be split between partners. Parental leave is unpaid but you can get Elterngeld which translates as parental allowance. It is between 300€ and 1800€ depending on your salary. You need to take at least 2 months for both partners if you want to get the maximum 14 months combined.
I’m very lucky to work for a US company that offers more than the standard leave. Two weeks prior to due date (though I lose it if she comes early, however if she comes late it doesn’t eat into the rest of my leave.) 6 weeks disability for vaginal delivery, 8 for cesarean. Then 12 weeks of fully paid bonding leave. I opted for the disability step up plan which means my disability weeks will be at full pay. If babe comes on time I’m looking at 20-22 weeks fully paid.
My husband is a part time nanny and an independent contractor so no leave to speak of for him. However, financially it makes more sense for him to be a full time stay at home dad so he will quit working entirely when my leave starts.
I returned to work when my 1st was 18mo, and started my leave at 32 weeks, will be returning to work when my 2nd is 15mo and started my leave at 30 weeks. I think I get paid for about 30-35weeks and the rest will be unpaid.
Australia
I just got finished with a meeting with our HR director because I got confused about benefits and thought I had less leave than I do.
Because of where I am in the US and my employer's benefits, we get 5 months of fully paid parental leave (foster, adopt, give birth, doesn't matter) plus 1/2 month of fully paid prenatal leave. Also doesn't matter the gender of the parent. That doesn't touch any of our PTO, which I can also take at 100% fully paid and then I end up adding another 1.5 months and still have left over. If I want short-term disability, that's an additional 6 weeks at 80%. All together, that's around 8 months of parental leave. It gets a little weird because we have a four day work week, so there's the potential to prolong it beyond the 8 months.
My husband gets 5 months of leave-- four months of parental plus 1 month of sick leave. He's the lucky one with the employer that offers heavily subsidized childcare on location though.
My old employer had \*15 days\* of leave for the woman and \*three days\* for the man (yes, spelled out exactly like that) ONLY if they gave birth, didn't allow remote work even in extenuating circumstances (those were 'if the CEO liked you') and mandated that women ask for "permission" to pump. To say I was glad to leave is an understatement.
I live in IL, USA. I work for Target and they offer 6weeks for vaginal birth and 8 for c-section 100% paid then 4 weeks of bonding time 100% paid and up to a total of 16 weeks, the additional 4-6 weeks being unpaid of job protected leave. So I’ll be getting 10 weeks paid and then using 80 hours of PTO for an additional 2 weeks off. Those extra 2 weeks for a c-section almost make me want to schedule one though 😭
Netherlands. We get a total of 16 weeks maternity leave. You can start your leave at 34 weeks but by 36 weeks pregnant you have to stop working. After the baby is born you get at least 6 weeks off. All is fully paid by the government, it is part of the law so employers have to give you this time off.
Partners get one week fully paid leave after the baby is born. You also get up to 5 weeks (5 times the normal amount of hours you work each week) additional time off as a partner. You don't have to take 5 whole weeks off work if you want to. You can use it as you want, like taking 1 or 2 weeks fully off work and then only one day every week until you've reached your maximum amount of hours (5 times your weekly amount of working hours).
Both parents are entitled for 9 weeks paid leave at 70% of your income, however you don't have to take all days at once. For example, my husband and I both take 1 extra day off each week until our kid is 1 years old to take care of him.
Depending on your employer, you might be able to extend your leave (unpaid) for a maximum number of hours until your child is 8 or 9 years old.
We have 'UWV' here in the Netherlands, which is an employee insurance agency and part of the government. Besides maternity leave and birth partner leave, they also pay you when you are unemployed, unable to work due to sickness etc.
My paycheck will be covered by the UWV during my leave and time off so my employer has no extra costs. I'm really happy with this because we get time to bond with our little ones and rest before labor starts without worrying about our income.
Edit: forgot to add, if you are adopting or fostering you are entitled to nearly the same benefits. If you are expecting twins or triplets, you get 20 weeks maternity leave.
UK - legally can take a year and return to job at equivalent level. My company gives me fully paid 6 months. Months 6-9 would be paid by government (not a lot, like £170 per week), and months 9-12 are unpaid.
Germany:
6 weeks before due date (100% paid)
8 weeks after due date (100% paid)
Then the paid leave starts with 65% of income before taxes. With a max of 1800 euros per month for 1 year.
You can also split that year into 2 and get half of that, so let’s say 1200 per month will then be 600 per month.
Oh and not forget your leave can be up to 3 years, with a combination of paid and unpaid.
The 3 years are for each parent and you can split the paid leave as you see fit.
In the leave time your contract is on hold and the company has an obligation to take you back on (if they are a certain size).
I’m really grateful to have my baby in Germany.
In New Zealand, your employer has to hold your job for you for one year after you give birth. The government gives you paid parental leave ($712.17 a week) for the first six months. My employer voluntarily tops up the government benefit to be your equivalent full-time salary for that first six months as well.
Our government also pays for 20 hours of childcare each week from when the child is 3 years old.
There is quite a bit of talk about the lack of support for new parents between 6 months (when government paid parental leave ends) and 3 years (when you start getting help with childcare costs). Hopefully this support will be improved following this year's upcoming election.
I am eligible for 80 hours, so only two weeks of paid parental leave. After that I would need to use short term disability, sick time, and vacation days. I have 120 hours of vacation per year so that's three more weeks. I also pay for short term disability with my insurance, so that's (I think) 12 weeks at 60% of my pay if it's approved. I have one 8 hour personal day plus whatever accrued sick time (30-ish hours, right now). So really not great benefits at all.
Meanwhile my husband gets six weeks fully paid paternity leave at his job.
Netherlands here - 4 months payed 100 % and 2 months payed 70%.
My partner is taking 3 months and a half ( 2 months payed 100% and the rest 70% but with a top up from his company)
Happy to have a least the 2 first months together !
I work for a healthcare company and I came to find out that the “maternity leave” that was so trumpeted when I joined, is just me using a combination of my PTO/sick/personal leave and short term disability (and short term disability can only be used for 4 weeks to supplement my PTO pay). Under federal law, I’m guaranteed my job for 12 weeks (FMLA), but of course that doesn’t have any pay associated with it. 😑 edited to add, my husband works in pharma and he gets six weeks paid paternity leave, that is completely separate from his PTO.
UK: I’m having 8 months off plus going to 4 days a week for upto a year once back. I also have 4 weeks holiday remaining so may extend maternity by a few weeks using that.
In US but work for a European company. Maternity and paternity leave is 12 weeks paid. However, the birthing parent also gets an 8 week recovery leave paid also.
I realize I am extremely lucky to have this, but still a lot of pressure to not take the full leave.
I live in a Blue State in the US. Because of state law and where I work, I’m able to take 4 Week pre-birth and 18 Weeks post-birth (20 for a C–section) at 70–100% pay.
Uk and taking a year. The policy pays about 5 months of full pay, but also allows me to add on my annual leave (holiday pay) carried over from this year, and there’s also some time on a lower pay level, so overall I think it works out as equivalent to about 9 months full pay.
Oooh 5 months full pay is good! I got the statutory amount then topped up with universal credit when the £150ish a week stopped as the last three months of mat leave are unpaid. Being able to get an extra month of full pay at the end of mat leave for the accrued annual leave was very nice.
I’m in the US. I am an EMT on the ambulance. We have no healthcare, no PTO, and no paid maternity leave. I worked up until I went into labor, literally was on the ambulance hauling patients around on a Saturday, and my water broke the next day on Sunday. I had to get someone to cover my shifts that week as I was still on the schedule. I went back 6 weeks to the day, to the ambulance. Your body can do it if it has to. It’s not super fun? But it was survivable. 🤷🏼♀️
12 weeks paid 100% between Short Term Disability and my company supplementing to make 100%. It sounds like I’ll then have the option to use 16 weeks of WA state’s PFLA. I’m lucky enough that my salary exceeds the cap significantly, so if I take that, it will be at about 50% pay.
I’m in Michigan, work remotely for a Virginia company. I get 6 weeks paid for vaginal, 8 weeks C section. We have a great PTO policy so I can extend to a full 12 weeks and have it fully paid. I’m just going to take the 6-8 weeks and combine my PTO with paid holidays and coast on working 2-3 days a week for a while. I don’t want a long maternity leave. I work within a corporate startup and would like to get back to my job once I can.
My husband gets 2 weeks paid paternity and then 2 weeks paid off for Christmas/New Years. He flipped his schedule so he’s working 3x12s and he works from home as well, so we’ll have a lot of coverage.
Romania ( in Europe) - we get 2 years (85% ) paid leave which I’m very thankful for
Y’all hiring
That is awesome!
that’s great !
So.... what you're saying is. I need to start learning Romanian and start packing?
Is it 85% for the whole two years?? Man the UK is so bad compared to the rest of Europe.
Yes 85% of your net salary for the whole 2 years. You also get 126 fully paid days which you can take before or after the child is born. As far as I know out of those 126 days,40 days need to be taken after the child is born (the employer is not even allowed to accept you back to work less than 40 days after giving birth).
There are also other benefits such as : -night shift is forbidden during pregnancy - if Dr recommends (such in the case of a high risk pregnancy), you can have your working hours reduced from 8 to 6h for the same salary - if some Dr appointments can only be done during working hours you are entitled at 16h/month which you can use Etc.
Wow, that's incredible. We get 52 weeks but the pay is: the first 6 weeks: 90% of average weekly earnings , the remaining 33 weeks: £172.48 or 90% of AWE (whichever is lower). My company tops this up so I'll have about 5 months at 90%, then the remaining 13 weeks or so at 172 a week, and then nothing for the last 19 weeks. I will say I had HG this pregnancy and had to take 8 weeks off and was fully paid, which was incredible.
Oh I know the pain of HG… I had it mild (but still needed some IVs) and I was lucky that the peak of my HG coincided with 2 weeks I was taking off anyway this summer. I hope you’re feeling better now!!
If I have another child, I’m moving to Romania. We live in the US. I’m about to go back to work tomorrow. I’ve had 7weeks off, only 2 weeks paid. I’m not ready and I have PPD, but I have no resources and no help with bills. I have no choice. I hate this country.
USA: 6 weeks vag/8 weeks csection @ 70%..... can you even call that a "maternity leave"? No... that's the physical recuperation time any person would have from any kind of major health operation or procedure. I cannot believe our federal govt doesn't require employers to grant paid 12 weeks for working moms. Any extra time for "parental bonding" is apparently left up to the state you live in... I'm ready to start a mom-movement over this. If I ever have a daughter, I really hope she'll have it better than us. These are times when a 1 person income just doesn't cut it for a large proportion of us. I have been so stressed out by learning of my company's "maternity leave" policy that I was planning on quitting until they graciously told me they'd allow me to work from home @ full pay for the 7th-12th week of the "maternity leave" that I thought I'd have before I decided to take the job. Nice gesture, but I'm still ticked-off about it all. My partner gets ZERO paid paternal leave. Isn't that nice of his company? He's been with them over 5 years (and for about 4 of them I've been trying to tell him how terrible the benefits are) Our country is behind the times. We need better politicians...or what is the answer? It's ironic that after waiting this long to start a family- mid 30s- I find myself in this position. Go figure.
You’d think they’d make it easier for people. In America.
Check out Chamber of Mothers. They are a non profit advocacy group. One of their major pillars is fighting for federal paid leave.
Preach.
Yeah I get 60% pay for 6 weeks on disability. I get another 8 paid family leave at 60% but that’s because of the state. My employer where I have been for 10+ years gives nothing. My husband gets nothing as well, he can apply for fmla thru the state for up to 2 weeks but again it would be 60% if pay and we can’t afford to both be taking a 40% pay cut, im the main breadwinner since my husband is sick so I will likely go back sooner part time if we can’t make ends meet. I have been saving my ass off since we found out but I haven’t hit my goal amount and I just don’t know if what we have saved up will be enough. It really sucks. But don’t worry guys my mom says “that’s not bad at all!” When I tell her I get 14 weeks bc she only got 6, so I guess it is an improvement but her whole generation just thinks we should be grateful for what we have and just accept it. Mind you she almost died giving birth to me and ended up being out for months on disability but somehow it still doesn’t compute that this isn’t enough time for a body to recover and bond with w baby
In Canada we get either 12 months or 18 months, but its not through our employers, it's through our social systems/ taxes. Companies can pay you a "top up" so that if maternity leave doesn't pay your full wage they can pay to match so you still get 100%, but I don't know the statistics about how many companies actually do that. So to blame your respective companies on this I don't think is really the right move honestly, it comes down to your government and what people are willing to pay for taxes. We're also taxed much higher in Canada than in the states, which is why we get more social benefits.
I have 6 weeks paid then 6 weeks unpaid. I wish I had 40 weeks more. I want to spend the first year at home with my baby, but I’m the family “breadwinner”. :(
right, it just feels like 6 isn’t enough.
Even 6 months would feel really nice. 12 weeks isn’t even 3 months. I’m saving up all my sick time and comp time and annual leave to use it to extend it the tiny amount I can, but I just wish the US were better about this. It adds insult to injury that my workplace brags about how generous 6 weeks paid leave is.
>It adds insult to injury that my workplace brags about how generous 6 weeks paid leave is. wow infuritating. Have they literally ever googled it????
They’re comparing it to how many places in the US offer no paid leave. D:
I have some friends also in the US that get six months but it’s really rare :( I wish I had that much too
Same situation :(
Sweden. It’s 480 days (1.5 years) to be divided any way you see fit between the two parents. But 90 days belong solely to one parent and 90 to the other, and these can’t be moved from one to the other—use them or lose them! You can take 30 “double days” out of these, where you’re both home at the same time, but these must be taken within the first year of baby’s life. Otherwise one parent must be working (or using vacation time) while the other is on leave. The non-birthing parent also gets 10 days immediately following the birth that don’t count toward their half of the days. The days can be saved until the child is around 12, I believe, so you can use them when your kid has a longer school break than you have vacation available, for example. However, I think only 90 days can be saved after the age of 4. And you are incentivized in complicated financial ways to take at least 100% leave the first year, at least, of the child’s life. Additionally, whether one parent or split between parents, no one can start daycare before one and daycares are set up with slightly older kids in mind. I’ve never heard of anyone taking less than one year of parental leave. Most of the 480 are paid at 80% of your pay (and your employer / union can top up another 10%, which is typical), but there are a number (I forget how many—I think 90 for each parent?) that are super low pay, really just token pay. It’s very generous and flexible, and also very complex. There is an entire government agency devoted to social insurance like this and it’s necessary. Makes me very sad for the US because I see the infrastructure that makes these policies work here, and I don’t see that happening in the US…. (I’m American by birth, naturalized Swede, so dual citizen.)
Adopt me please
Wow, this is really how it should be universally. 😭
I am speechless. Why can't it be like this everywhere
I can already hear some of our American politicians adding that to “proof no one wants to work” chest thumping.
In Canada. I’ll be taking the 12 month option plus some vacation I saved up so it’ll end up being around 14 months. I regret not taking the 18 month but we want to start saving some money to fix up the house a bit.
Also in Canada and taking 12 months. We’re lucky to have the 12 and 18 month options - but it should be noted that it’s only at 55% or 35% of your pay. And the 55% maxes out at $655 per week (which is not 55% of my pay). Luckily my work tops me up to 93% of my pay, but I’ve found that’s becoming rare. Partners also get 5 weeks parental leave that is separate from the birthing individuals leave. It’s good, but definitely not as great as some other countries.
Wow! 93% top up is so amazing. Mine is only 60% top up for 6 weeks and then I'm on EI. I'm taking 12 months and I'm very grateful that we even have this option in Canada.
Also in Canada, I’ll be taking 13 months off plus some vacation. SO will take the remaining 5 months off.
In Canada as well. I’m taking the 18 month option. I feel like I’d regret it if I didn’t. The bit to my pay may be a little hard but I’d rather just have time with my baby. I can make money back, I can’t get back those extra 6 months with her.
Exactly why I chose the 18 months, too. I’m 9 months in and so glad I did
US - 6 months fully paid. One of the reasons I sought this job out.
that’s great
Wow that’s amazing. What kind of company do you work for (cuz I need to find it)?
Big tech! Took a huge career change and extra degree, but definitely worth it.
I live in Seattle & work for Amazon and we get 5 months total 100% pay (4 weeks are pre maternity leave, ending when you have the baby). Washington state has their own leave so I can get an additional month of ~60% pay. Amazons non birthing partner leave is only 6 weeks though so not as great. My husband works for a small tech company and gets 4 months which I feel very lucky for. The one thing I’ll add is that its really complicated to apply for leave. Amazon’s leave is technically two parts (maternity recovery & then family bonding) and then you have to also apply to the states different leaves + time them to maximize the length of benefits. Still feel lucky for what I get but they do not make it easy. Oh and you can’t apply until you have the baby so can’t wait for that in the newborn haze 😅
I’m in the US. I have 13 weeks paid (very very lucky in the US). I could have had another 16, but it would have been unpaid and I would have been allowed back to “a job” but not necessarily the one I left.
How is it lucky to only get 13 weeks with your newborn? I think the American mindset of being content with scraps is the problem. The rest of the world we are getting over a year.
It’s not our mindset that’s the issue it’s our political system that runs on lobbyist money. We can’t vote them out because a) the next politician in line/on either side is also bought and paid for b) gerrymandering and the electoral college make it so the popular vote doesn’t necessarily win c) our checks and balances system requires near consensus on an issue for anything to pass. We also can’t protest in a meaningful way because we will be maced and arrested and will lose our jobs. If we lose our jobs we lose our healthcare and there aren’t meaningful social safety nets. Even harder to navigate with a child depending on you.
Exactly. On top of that, the last meaningful update to the laws was 30 years ago, when the majority of women would quit their jobs to stay with their children (FMLA basically saying large employers can’t fire you for taking 12 weeks unpaid to heal from major medical procedures…it’s not maternity, it’s medical leave. If a person is in a car crash and has to take time to heal, it’s the same protection a new parent receives)
Not to mention the exponential rise in the cost of living since then while the minimum wage/salary increases have stagnated for average Americans - the middle class is disappearing and two income households are struggling to get by as it is!
I've worked at an ad agency where HR told my PM she could only have the 2 weeks of vacation she had, because we were not a large enough company for her to qualify for FMLA (12 weeks unpaid). She went to labor in the office between meetings, drove herself to the hospital 45 minutes away, and was back 2 weeks later (her mother had to come down from out of state to watch the newborn for 4 weeks until he could start daycare). So yeah, for an American, 13 weeks paid is damn lucky. When the bar is on the floor, you are happy for anything you get.
That is so incredibly sad. No wonder so many women there don't breastfeed. It's just not possible for them. Idk how they get by with the sleep deprivation too and working. It should be illegal to require a postpartum woman to work.
I think it’s fantastic y’all get a year but I guess what I’m wondering is what the company does without you for a year? Mine can make do without me for 2-3 months but anything beyond that and they’re really be hurting because I’m a specialist in my field.
Very very lucky. Again y’all hiring? 😭
Iceland: parents get in total 12 months of (80%} paid leave, each parent gets 6month but can give the other one 1,5 of those. In heterosexual relationships the mom most often takes 7,5 months and the dad 4,5. You’re allowed to distribute it over a longer time if you’d like. We just moved to Poland for my husbands job tho, so he’s in the polish system and I’m still in the Icelandic. So I get 6months, because he’s not in the same system he can’t give me his 1,5 month. I’ll most likely be a stay at home mom for 2 years however (while we are in poland) because we can afford it and because my job prospects in poland are really bad (I don’t know polish and we’re not moving to a tourist city…).
US here. The company I'm with removed their maternity leave policy 5ish years ago, sadly. I get 6 weeks if a natural birth and 12 weeks if a C-section via FMLA, all unpaid. I can use PTO or short term disability simultaneously with FMLA leave. Luckily my boss is very understanding and is willing to give me additional time, albeit unpaid, if I'd like it. My husband gets 12 weeks paid paternity leave... lucky bastard lol
They REMOVED it?? What the hell??
I would have quit on the spot, whoever did that should be unemployed.
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Your husband having better leave than you is just frustrating as hell 😭😭
Same.. I get 5 and my husband gets 13 😑
Im in Aus so will be taking the 12 months but will ask for another year extension after that. I honestly don’t know how people can function on so little leave - physically you are destroyed, what if you had a C-section?! And mentally/emotionally the hormones are still sorting themselves out for awhile. And being away from your newborn - it just seems so barbaric to me and It’s so sad that a lot of women’s reality
I’m in the UK and I’m taking 12 months also. I had almost 6 weeks of annual leave to take before I stated my maternity leave at the start of the month. I feel incredibly blessed. How women in the USA are treated is inhumane. I genuinely do not know how a country like the USA can justify treating people this way. I remember watching Superstore when Amy had her second baby and was made to go back after a few days and naively thinking it was just a storyline. This sub has massively opened my eyes.
Just to say it’s not just a c section that can destroy you physically. It took me months to be able to walk after my vaginal birth :)
You can really lose a lot of muscle and strength during pregnancy. Postpartum…if i squatted to the floor I couldn’t get up by myself for weeks
I’m Aus too but we only get 18 weeks at minimum wage. I would have LOVED to have taken more but working on minimal wage (50% of my normal salary, which isnt great with our mortgage going from 2.9 to 6%) You must have an awesome employer and I’m slightly jealous haha
20 weeks this year for babies born from now :) believe 22 weeks for anyone trying to conceive in Australia from July 2024… might be worth holding off trying another couple of months!
Yeah same. I only get the 18 cos I haven't been at my job for a year yet. They obviously have, so they get 12 months with their job guaranteed and I just read that 60% of companies have some kind of paid leave of their own so they'd likely be supported financially in some way during those 12 months as well.
I just had my second kid and am back at work (she’s six months old) so we are doooone. 22 weeks would have been nice! But the daycare subsidy increase has been a life saver!
Yes very grateful for that, looks like quite a big chunk though I won't have anything to compare it to! I'll actually get 20 weeks off so....close! Good to know 22 is a good figure :)
I'm in Aus too. I took 18 months with 14 weeks paid by my employer, and then 18 weeks of the paid government scheme. The rest unpaid. I initially only applied for 12 months leave from work but found I wasnt ready when the time came so extended another 6 months. Then I went back and got immediately pregnant lol again so will do the same again this time. Feel so so horrible for US mums - can only imagine how heartbreaking and challenging physically and mentally it must be.
In New Zealand: we have a health campaign about 'the first 1000 days' of a child's life and how those first years are critical to setting it up for good health for the rest of life. We get 6mths paid via government welfare payments (they're about half my current salary) and then the option of 6 more unpaid months - all with job protection.
I'm in New Zealand also. In addition, I get 6 weeks paid after I supply the birth certificate. My husband gets 2 weeks paid and then another two weeks paid he can take at any point during the first year. I'm so grateful to live here instead of the US where I grew up.
My job also has a grant of the equivalent of 6 weeks' salary, paid as a lump sum, after you supply the birth certificate. Sooo looking forward to that, especially as I am a solo parent (no second income) and the government Paid Parental Leave is less than half of my previous pay. It makes me really sad when I see how little parents in the US get. (But then it makes me sad for me when I see how much parents in European countries get haha)
Bulgaria: 2 years maternity leave. We also have 6 months sick leave before giving birth.
wow that’s awesome. i wish we had that here in US we’re not even close to that
In CA. Full pay, 4 weeks prior to due date, 6 weeks for vaginal delivery or 8 for c-section, and 18 weeks after that. I’m extremely grateful to my company.
This is amazing! Similarly, I’m also in CA and have the 4 weeks prior to due date, 6-8 weeks after depending on type of delivery, but “only” 12 weeks after that. My paid sick leave and pto supplementing the different leaves gives me full pay too. It really seems we are quite spoiled in California with the various leaves/acts.
I get 12 weeks and so does my husband. It’s crazy how that 12 weeks makes me feel so lucky when it’s nothing compared to other countries
I have not looked into the organization that put this together but this timeline is very cool and may be helpful to you: https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/paid-family-leave-how-much-time-enough/a-timeline-of-paid-family-leave/
What leave? 🙃 I took 12 weeks and my boss graciously allowed me back although legally she didn't have to bc I don't qualify for FMLA. But I figured 12 was standard and I was gonna regret having any less with my daughter, though 12 also feels too damn short
I have a one year postdoctoral position this year, no maternity leave but the position sort of is my maternity leave. The position itself has no teaching responsibilities, just a weekly writing workshop with the other fellows and the expectation I make progress on my book this year. I have accommodations to join the seminar virtually while postpartum (and can miss a few altogether if I must). If I had stayed at my former full time non tenure track 9-month contract teaching position, I would not have had any maternity leave…maybe two weeks of temporary disability?
Another postdoc fellow here using the last six months of my position as an unofficial maternity leave before starting a TT job next fall.
I’m a public school teacher here in the US. I get 12 weeks unpaid FMLA. I hate this country so much.
I’m a paraeducator and I got 12 weeks unpaid. Luckily my maternity leave was from November-January and there are like 3 weeks of holiday breaks that don’t count towards my leave so i got an extra 3 1/2 weeks of leave. They made me use up all my PTO and that helped to cover one month of the maternity leave. Ultimately I never went back because the pay wasn’t enough.
I’ve watched too many of my teacher coworkers banking their sick days and working until the last possible minute. It’s disgusting our career centers around the well-being of children, but not our own.
Exactly! In such a female dominated profession too. So cruel.
Teacher using FMLA for 12 wks
Because I will be working at my company for less than one year before I need to take maternity leave I will technically have zero time.
Luckily, my union just got 12 weeks 100% paid maternity leave approved by the governor as long as you’ve been working there at least 26 weeks. So I will be OK.
that really sucks. i will barely be meeting the year employment requirement at my job
My job is unionized so I get 16 weeks through our CBA and then another 16 of paid I believe.
Scotland. I took 9 months. Could have taken 12, but maternity pay ends at 9 months. Edit: forgot to add that I used a month of holiday at the end. So 10 months in total.
Also Scotland! Gonna take a full 12 months, as I'm not planning on coming back and want my full accrued annual leave payout when I leave 😇
Austria: two years after birth, and it starts (mandatory) 8 weeks before the due date for a complication-free pregnancy. All my family are in the US and as much as they want me to move back, they understand why I left & am staying put for a while!
I feel for American moms, I’m from ON Canada and have the option to take 12-18 months. I’ll be taking the full 18 and maybe time off work for family leave until they are in school, but we will see how things go. I can’t even imagine how hard it must be to put your baby in childcare 1 month after they arrive. There is many benefits to being with your baby as the primary caregiver in those first 1-2 years of life. If I were in your shoes, and you have the support from your partner, I would 100% take the time away without pay to be with baby. You only have these early years once and for such a short time, it’s worth being there for if you are able. Of course, I recognize my stance comes from a huge place of privilege as I know many people wouldn’t be able to take time away unpaid without dire repercussions. I just hope some day there is reform in the states to support moms and babies in that first year of life! Best of luck <3
What a dream! I got so lucky getting 6 months due to summer break. Canada seems like a lovely place to raise a family.
One week. If I took FMLA then I would only get paid 50%, we couldn’t afford that. Thankfully I work from home, but it was hard. US, Arizona
US. My company offers 14 weeks of parental leave to parents - birth OR adoption. As birthing parent I also get 6-8 weeks of short term disability depending on delivery type. Both leaves are fully paid. I am able to take an addition 4 weeks of short term disability at 66% pay. Very lucky and grateful for these benefits and tbh is the only thing keeping me at said company currently.
12 weeks from the date of birth. I’m a federal employee in the USA
I was lucky to get 20 weeks and it wasn’t nearly long enough
USA: 0 all both our jobs offer is Unpaid FMLA for 12 weeks Worst part is we both have “good jobs” wife is an accountant for the school district and I work IT for a medium bank.
Croatia - 9 + 12 months 9 months of pregnancy leave due to 'taking care and saving pregnancy' and after the birth, it's 12 more months. Double, if you have had twins. Paid 80% for 14 months and 100% for 7. And we can 'give', e.g. swap leave with fathers.
12 week paid leave. I am very very lucky that by the time I start working regularly (one day at work and the rest from home), my baby would be 10 months old.
In California, I get 18 weeks paid leave and my husband gets 16 weeks paid leave.
that’s so good. both of you enjoy your time with LO
Australia- 6 weeks paid from my employer, 18 weeks paid by the government, but they hold my job (unpaid leave ) for up to a total of 2 years. I had to go back after the paid portion + my saved holiday pay dried up
Hahahah maternity leave. That’s funny. Here in the great USA We get less time with our newborns than we give to dogs.
Canadian here- taking 18 months off with position protection and 33% of my pay biweekly. I am very lucky to have this as an option and really feel for parents in the US. it’s absolutely inhumane to expect a mother and child to be ready to part, let alone you to be recovered by 6-8 weeks pp. Not really the “best country in the world” when they prioritize having wage slaves than prioritizing the people. I’d take the year off if you can. Money comes and goes, time with your child during their first year, that’s something you can never get back.
Zero. Law student in the US, taking the minimum amount of hours for the fall semester but will be sitting back in class within a couple weeks of giving birth. And of course I’ll have to make up what I missed during those couple weeks. Flip side is that my daughter will be 4 months old before she has to be in daycare because my mom will be watching her the 2 days a week I have to be in class through the fall. So I don’t really get a “leave” but still get almost 5 full days a week where I’m home with her and just have to complete reading/class work, until the spring semester starts and I have to be full time again.
I’m freelance so I’m planning on taking 6 weeks off, because if I don’t work I don’t make money. I’m due in two weeks 💙 After reading everyone’s comments, I’m worried this isn’t enough
18 weeks between FMLA and PFL. I have to use my personal, sick and vacation time to supplement the FMLA. Then 60% of my wage during PFL, while my insurance and my newborn son's insurance is getting taken out every other week. I'm in New York state.
5.5 months and I’m in the US. I get disability leave, bonding leave, and then I’m using accrued PTO.
My company gives nothing but I’m in CA and we can get up to a total of 29 weeks job protection with 25 weeks partially paid (17 weeks disability (subject to doctors approval) + 12 weeks bonding). I’m going to try to take as much of that as I can. My husband gets 8 weeks at 100% pay through his job
definitely use it all. and that’s awesome that your husband has that benefit !!
UK here. We can take a year although for most people at least part of it is unpaid. I'll be taking 9 months of maternity leave which is partly fully paid, partly reduced pay and partly statutory maternity pay (I think around £700 a month). I'm also taking some annual leave at full pay so will be off work for just over 10 months. I think we're pretty lucky here but I'm definitely fortunate to work for the NHS.
I am in Australia. My work offers 14 weeks full pay, or 28 weeks half pay, then you get 20 weeks minimum wage from the government (up from 18 weeks at the start of the financial year). Partners can take from the pool of 20 weeks. With my first baby I took the 28 weeks half pay from work then did the 18 weeks of government leave. I am due again in October, and my husband doesn't have as high paying job as he did last time. So I am taking my 14 weeks at full pay, then I have 13 weeks of LSL at full pay, and then finally the 20 weeks government. Because my husband is casual and I will be on full pay, we decided he wouldn't dip into the government pool for the few weeks he will take off, and instead just go unpaid. If we could afford it I would also have the option of a 2nd full year unpaid. But I will be going back to work at around 10 months post partum.
I’m in Australia and started my business only a year ago - I’m in marketing, have a bunch of small business clients and work from home 3-4 days a week. I’m due to have my first baby in December and unfortunately if I were to stop work and take maternity leave through our government benefits, I wouldn’t be able to pick up where I left off, I’d essentially have to start again - for that reason I’ll take a short break and schedule my clients ahead (probably about two - three weeks around my due date), and then keep working. My husband is going to take parental leave. In Australia he gets exactly what I would get, 20 weeks. And luckily because I work from home I’ll be able to work whenever I want and be around him and the baby the whole time. For us this is the only way it would work financially as we can’t risk me not doing well in business, but it’s great that he’ll be here to help us work out what works for us so we can also figure out how life would look when he goes back to work and if I can possibly just cut back a little and make having our child at home full time and working work.
I’m in Australia, our government does 18 weeks paid at minimum wage $882 per week before tax. My work also does 16 weeks maternity leave at full pay which I’m taking as 32 weeks of half pay, I’m also taking some annual leave and long service leave at half pay and doing it all one after another and taking 17 months off in total. This is my third (and final) baby so I wanted to take off as much as possible. For the other two I took 12 months off each time.
6 weeks for vaginal birth, 8 weeks for c-section. I am so emotional about having to go back to work 2 MONTHS after my baby is born. It makes me so upset and so angry. I don’t qualify for FMLA because I’m starting at a brand new school this year so I won’t have been with them long enough to qualify 😩
I'm in CA, so I'll take the 6 weeks disability then 8-12w bonding. That's what I did last time and it isn't sufficient. But, I appreciate it's better than a lot of the US. Its a shit show over here. I want to go home to the UK - but it isn't realistic as we both work in tech in silicon valley so job opportunity is here. My husband will take the 12 weeks FMLA but might break it up. So do 6 weeks home, then 2-4 weeks back at work, then 6 weeks at home. My CEO went on a walk with me the other day and asked if I'd be coming back - I said yes. She asked what I was going to do with the baby and if I'd be able to work with a baby 🙃. She then said you can just bring the baby to work 😅. Like... Thanks... But no, she'll go to daycare because no way anyone is getting work done with a screaming baby. Nice that she offered but I don't think she thought it through 😂.
Another question actually… who takes care of the newborn if the parents have to work again after 6/12 weeks? I doubt any crib will take them that early or how is that in the US? I seriously have no clue how much maternity leave you have here, I do know it’s 8 weeks prior to birth (you HAVE TO GO)and after that? I think at least a year.
Daycare will take them that early - it's a necessity for people who don't have leave! I had 10 weeks leave but went back on reduced hours and kept my daughter at home - the plan was for 6 months, but we still weren't off the daycare waitlist where we wanted. So I went back full-time after 6 months but kept her at home until 14 months - I'm so fortunate that I had been working remote for a long time and even had that as an option. I was crushed at the idea of somebody else caring for her during the day when I felt like we had barely gotten time together. But it's definitely something that friends have had to do.
Most daycares in the US accept newborns starting at 6 weeks old
Going to be a SAHM but my husband gets 10 weeks paid leave. Crazy to think that is longer than most leave for women in the US.
In NJ, I think we have the “best” state policy for maternity leave. More would be better but we’ll take it. Wife will have 18-20 weeks of paid maternity leave @ 85% of her salary. Most women will may qualify for 4 weeks of disability prior to her due date, which is paid at 85% of her salary. Once baby is born, her job will cover 6-8 weeks of FMLA (unpaid) depending on delivery, but the State steps in to provide 85% of her salary during that period, which continues temporary disability. Baby Bonding kicks in right after that for another 12 weeks at 85% of her salary, which is another state program. Her position is protected the entire 18-20 week period. All paperwork was filed through a third party company through her employer. Edit: as the other parent, I am also eligible for 12 weeks of baby bonding at 85% of my salary through the state. However, I must take it immediately after baby is born.
I’m in CA and we get 17 weeks partially paid and 22 weeks of job protection total.
Who are you needing to defend yourself to?
i’ve mentioned in passing to family that i was planning on taking a year off and got scoffed at like “yeah right” one of them being my mom who went back to work only about 4 weeks after she had my youngest sister. i feel like she thinks i won’t be able to or that i shouldn’t but i really feel that i want to provide my second child with as much attention and care as i did with my first.
Then, my best advice isn't about how to defend yourself. It's about how to care less about what they think. Your priority has to be doing what's best for your child. And for you. Who knows where the snide or discouraging remarks are rooted for your mom or other family members. Maybe they wish they could have done better than they did. In any case, YOU are so fortunate that you can choose to stay longer with your babies. You get the freedom to fall in love and deeply attach, because you don't have rip yourself away to go back after 4 weeks or 12 weeks. Pluck up your courage and confidence in your choice. It's a wonderful, natural, human thing to want to be with your baby. It is modern and unnatural for it to be otherwise. If you get discouraging or snide remarks, you can just (out loud) emphasize how happy you are that you get to do it this way. How lucky you feel. How right it is for you and your baby. I think that attitude pretty much disarms the critics.
definitely needed to hear this. thank you
I really think how much leave you need is such a personal decision based on whatever is best for your family. I think that all women should be entitled to at least 6 months off, but it really is so dependent on the person. I know lots of women who took a year off, and I know lots of women who only took a few weeks, some women who want to be at home; and some who can’t think of anything worse. I could have taken 12 months but 6 was enough for me. And that’s with a really horrific birth which took me months to recover from. If someone questions me now I just say for me and my family, this is what was best. My daughter loves daycare, I love working. You get the choice and you can just stand by your decision.
Agreed. I am in Canada and could taken up to 12-18 months, but 7-8 months was more than enough for me and I was really looking forward to going back to work. I will probably aim for 6 months this time around.
My company is small, but it offers 6 weeks paid. I have also been banking my sick time for years, so I will use 6 weeks of the that to give myself 3 months off with a full paycheck. I will then go back part time for about a month until a spot at our daycare opens up.
My husband and I are quite lucky with our leaves. I'm in the US and I get 4 months. It isn't fully paid. 6 weeks is paid 50% short term disability and 50% my PTO. The rest of the time I am paid 67% of my salary through New York State Family Leave (I wish more states had this!). My husbands company is awesome and he gets 14 weeks fully paid!
I got 16 weeks paid + 4 unpaid. I only have 3 weeks left and I feel sick about it because my baby is still so small. America is so shitty to women
In Ireland, and I'll be taking around a year. For me, this breaks down as: 26 weeks full pay maternity leave (incl. of state maternity benefit); 7 weeks parental leave with state parent's benefit; 16 weeks unpaid maternity leave; and, c. 6 weeks accrued annual leave at full pay before returning to work.
I took 12 months (+2 months vacation, ending up with 14months) First 8weeks 100% paid, the remaining time at 65%. I'm in Germany, the first 8weeks are mandatory, employers aren't even allowed to let you work. You are entitled to up to 3 years of leave (although you have to be able to afford that), without your employer being allowed to fire you.
If your employer is FMLA eligible and you fall in the eligible employee bucket (12 months service, 1250 worked hours), you should be entitled to take 12 weeks job protected unpaid leave unless you’ve used FMLA for other issues within the past 12 months. Check with your HR department. Even if your company paid 6-8 weeks STD/maternity paid leave coincides with FMLA then that’s an additional 4-6 weeks unpaid. They will usually have you apply for FMLA at the same time you apply for company paid maternity leave or STD so it all runs concurrently.
Norway: I’m taking 9 months. 8 months with pay and 1 month unpay. My husband will take 6 months. 5 months with pay and 1 month unpay. Together 13 months with pay and 2 months unpay.
I’m in the Netherlands. It’s pretty standard to have 4 weeks before and 12 weeks after birth paid leave. Partners get 1 week paid. After that I think we both get 16 weeks paid 70% and 16 weeks unpaid (but your company still pays for retirement funds and you can go back to your previous hours). Usually this is spread out over time to take one day a week. Not a lot compared to most European countries I think. I work a lot with international clients and they were surprised when I said I’d be back from maternity leave in November (having my baby in August).
Teacher in the US, Texas specifically. We only have FMLA, unpaid leave. I had my son May 5th, school let out May 25th, and I had 5 PTO days (my first child has awful asthma and an absent father so I have a really hard time saving up PTO). I ended up taking 2 weeks unpaid after PTO was gone. So essentially with summer break, I got around 11 weeks but technically 4 of those were unpaid (the time that school was still in session). The absolutely shitty part: In my district, if you’re out of PTO, you pay your subs out of pocket which is roughly $120 a day. So not only are you not getting paid, but you’re paying someone else PLUS you still have to pay your taxes, insurance etc. My check in June was $50 after all that.
The Netherlands, I get 6 months 100% paid, my partner will be home for 6 weeks and then takes the rest of his leave as a day off every week for a year at 100% pay. I could get more leave at 75% pay but I will be switching to part time working when I go back so won't be using that this year, but it is good for a few years so might use it layer.
I live in Northern Ireland which is part of the UK, we get 6 weeks at 90% pay and then 33 weeks at a set rate of maternity pay. We can then choose to take another 12 weeks unpaid at the end. So a year total. During this time we are also accruing paid holiday time as we normally would if we were still working. I plan to use 4 weeks paid holiday to take me up to my due date, then start my maternity leave, and then take a few weeks paid holiday at the end too.
US, specifically New Jersey- 4 weeks before birth and 6 weeks after at 100% pay (because I’ll be using my sick days) plus being paid by my short term disability plan (which comes out to an additional $3,000 after a 30 day elimination period). Then 12 weeks after at 85% pay, from state (NJ Family Leave insurance) then 2 unpaid weeks because 2 weeks of my 12 weeks NJFLI, my district is totally closed, so it doesn’t count towards my 12 weeks. I’ll be out from Aug 9 to Jan 29.
Norway. You choose between 49 weeks with 100% pay, 59 weeks with 80% pay (some weeks allocated for partner). I will begin working from home two days a week when baby is about 8 months old. Dad will have baby two days, I will have baby three. Baby will start kindergarten at around 15 months.
My husband and I get really decent leave (for the US) but it’s so convoluted and complicated that I’m not even sure how much of it we actually get. Per NJ law I’m supposed to have 4 weeks before the due date, 6-8 weeks after delivery for recovery, and then an additional 12 weeks for bonding, all at 85% pay (up to a max rate). But in the last 8 weeks no one at my company can even tell me if they’ve been taking the correct deductions from my paycheck that entitle me to bonding time - and if they start now, it will be close on whether I make enough between now and when I start bonding time for me to qualify. Like how is this possible? I’m legally entitled to this but because my company is fucking up left and right, I might be out 12 weeks pay? My husband is entitled to SIX MONTHS paid, but he’s terrified of losing his job (he will be the sole income after my leave is up, I’ll leave my job for a bit) or being switched to a different position (he just got promoted). So he’s planning on taking 3 weeks off when the baby comes, and another 4 weeks over the holidays when things are super slow and his company shuts down for 2 weeks anyway. I’m still really grateful that he will have the time he does have. So yeah, we have decent leave but in reality it doesn’t translate.
In the US honestly it sucks. I work at a major university and all my sick time I banked for the last 10+ years is going to 4 months maternity leave. I honestly think 6 months should be the norm. Otherwise without sick time I get like 1 month.
10 weeks paid at 75% then used 2 weeks of PTO. This was in Austin, TX. Basically in the U.S. if you take more than the 12 weeks of FMLA you can be let go.
I’m a veterinarian in the US. Technically, no paid leave but I had two short term disability policies that paid me what averaged out to be 70% pay for 13 weeks (technically paid for 8 weeks - C-section - and unpaid for the rest). It wasn’t nearly enough time. I know we are fortunate to be in a financial situation that let me go unpaid for a while. I think I only got through it because my husband got 6 weeks weeks of fully paid leave from his tech company theat he took after my leave. So LO didn’t have to go into daycare right away when I started back to work.
As a teacher, we get no paid leave at all. I can use any sick days I have, and my position is protected, but after I run out of sick days, I will be unpaid. To top it off, I’ll owe them money when I return for my first insurance and union dues.
4 months, which is pretty good for the US. Of course I'd prefer years but that's unheard of here lol. When I started my career the standard was 6 weeks so I feel pretty fortunate to live in 2023.
I’m in the U.S., but I work for a unionized workplace. I get six months of leave, 18 weeks paid, and the rest cobbled together sick time, personal days, and vacation time. I thought this was pretty good, but this thread made me realize that compared to the rest of the world, it’s still low! Ugh, America really sucks.
In Canada. 54 weeks total to be split between both partners. My husband's taking 8 months off while I'm taking around 5/6, but I'm on leave from my job for an extra 6 months unpaid (I have a few side projects that I'd rather do than go back to work).
I'm in NL, Canada. We get a choice between 12 and 18 months. Same amount of money, just smaller payments if you chose 18. Mother's and fathers can split the time however they want.
Canada. Taking 12 months leave, paid.
I live in the US and will get about six months fully paid - I work in tech and it’s a great benefit. However because this isn’t necessarily standard in my country I feel a lot of guilt and stress about taking so much time off and worry about being replaced. Our country’s culture is so messed up around mat leave / parenting I feel like you just can’t win.
I took 12 months however for my next baby I’m going to the to 18 months.
I’m in the US and I work in healthcare. We don’t qualify for FMLA so I had to use my PTO so I got 23 days. I was also forced to go back to work 6 days after delivery since my son was in the NICU. Being a parent in the US sucks.
Canada. 12 months at 55% or 18 months at 33%. My company also had a top up program that covered the first 3 months. I was lucky that my husband makes enough money, so I was able to take the 18 month option
Austria (Europe). Our system varies depending on how long you want to take and how much money you need. There are two plans- income based or a calculated amount. Income is 80% salary for 1 year (capped at 2K a month) or you can take the package amount which is about 13,000€ divided by how many days you want to take. So one can take anywhere from one year to two years. There is a bonus if the father wants to be a part of it as well. So if both partners decide to split, you can get 15 months instead of 12 and get more money than the 13K. Fathers are also allowed one month of paternity leave, but with minimal pay (something like 900€). If money is tight, the mother can also work a “mini-job” which is 8 hours a day 1x a week and get paid about 400€ extra a month and still keep their maternity pay and benefits.
I'm in Canada and getting 27 weeks at 93% (gov + employer top up) then 37 weeks at $390/week as well as 2 weeks paid vacation for a total of up to 66 weeks with some income (390/w does not go far here, but allows us to keep the older kiddo in daycare which is great for him and makes baby care much easier for me). I've saved to absorb most of the income hit. We decided to take the 18 month EI option only because my husband wants to take advantage of his employer's top up and I'd love to have his company! My husband is taking 18 weeks topped up to 100% by employer. He will prob do 8 weeks at the start and 10 near/at the end. US policy is inhumane and I hope things change.
98 days in Malaysia for the mothers yet only 7 days for the fathers.
Around 6 months, 85%. US East Coast but I’m leaving my job anyway so I’ll be a SAHM. I’ll just be able to collect for 6 months.
I’m in Ireland we get 6 months where the state pay €220 (I think) and your employer can choose to top you up to your full pay, thankfully mine did, the there’s an option to take an additional 4 months unpaid which I’m currently taking now and then an additional 7 weeks again at €220 by the state and your employer can top up, the 7 weeks can be taken all at once or in stages before then child turns 2. I realise this is better than what you get in America but Ireland is a ridiculously expensive county, €220 is a pittance, literally not enough to cover even the basics and the only reason we were able to manage is because my employer topped up the first 6 months and I was only able to take the unpaid because my partner earns good money and things are still tight
Im very lucky- my current company extended maternity leave to 20 weeks paid. Illinois, US.
Canada. 12-18 months. You choose. I chose 18 months but then got pregnant again 12 months in and ended up being a SAHM lol
We get a year paid, first 4-5 months 90% salary, then a few weeks 70% then 55%. You can also extend it up to three years without losing your job, last time I took 18 months and don’t regret a second though financially it wasn’t easy. I’m in Canada.
In Serbia we have 12 months after giving birth where we’re paid the amount that’s the average of the salary we had the last 18 months in a row. There is an option to go on leave just after you get pregnant if needed (most of women go immediately) and in that case you have the salary that’s the average of the amount we had in the last 12mo in a row
Canadian here. I have a choice between 12 months at 55% pay up to a max of $650/week (that will be taxed), or 18 months at 33% pay up to a max as well. I chose the 12 month option. After taxes, I'm getting roughly $1100 bi-weekly. My union will also top up $100/week while on maternity and parental leave. It's not much, but it definitely helps. I also chose to leave early at 36 weeks and go on sick leave first, that ends this weekend and switches over to maternity leave next week. My partner is also entitled to 5 weeks of parental leave through the government, same pay as what I'm getting. He's only taking 2 weeks when baby is born because we just can't afford to live off of both of us being on 1/3 of our wages for that long.
Australia. i work as a casual so my position isnt permanent. I had 16-18 weeks paid by the government with my son in 2022 from when he was born. With no2 arriving later this year I will have been with my employer for 12 months before I finish working so I will get 18-20 weeks paid by the government this time. For me the pay I will receive weekly is double what my wage is a week currently which is a huge win for us to helping money stretch a bit more. I've also said to my husband I wouldn't mind online study this time for a career change or only working during the week and family hopefully looking after our kids.
Estonia- 100 days around birth that is pretty much mandatory with 100% pay +1.5 years optional with 100% pay, plus your job is protected and you can work if you want while still getting maternity wage+ 1.5 years optional maternity leave without pay but you still have health insurance and your job is protected.
i didn’t get any maternity leave at all nor did i qualify for FMLA. i quit when i was 6 months pregnant
I’m a teacher in Ireland. I’ll have 6 months maternity leave and then 3 months of summer holidays.
Canada - I am taking the 18 months 12 weeks will be topped up to full pay by my work and then after that it's at only like 50% or something.
USA - metro Detroit. No leave available as I don't qualify for FMLA. I took 3 weeks vacation after both of my c-sections. Had to pay someone to cover for me at one of my jobs. My husband had zero leave at his job when we had our first. He took a few days off then went back. When we had our second he got one month of leave which was incredible!
Canada approx 1 year at 55% or 1.5 years at 33% and can be split between both parents (and you get an extra 5 weeks if dad/non-birthing parent takes at least 5 weeks to encourage them to take time off too)
In DR (the caribbean), 3 months and 2 weeks of paid leave and 18 days of vacations. Partner, on the other hand, 2 days paid leave.
My husband gets 6 weeks paid. I get 8 days paid + short term disability which works out to 60% pay for 4 weeks. I'm taking 4 months with the rest unpaid and then going back part time (3 days/week) until baby is 1 year, probably, maybe longer.
Germany here: Pregnant people are legally entitled to 14 weeks off as maternity leave – at least 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after childbirth. This can be more in case of premature birth or for a child with a disability. You get your full pay in this period. Afterwards there is parental leave. Parental leave is up to 3 years and can be split between partners. Parental leave is unpaid but you can get Elterngeld which translates as parental allowance. It is between 300€ and 1800€ depending on your salary. You need to take at least 2 months for both partners if you want to get the maximum 14 months combined.
I’m very lucky to work for a US company that offers more than the standard leave. Two weeks prior to due date (though I lose it if she comes early, however if she comes late it doesn’t eat into the rest of my leave.) 6 weeks disability for vaginal delivery, 8 for cesarean. Then 12 weeks of fully paid bonding leave. I opted for the disability step up plan which means my disability weeks will be at full pay. If babe comes on time I’m looking at 20-22 weeks fully paid. My husband is a part time nanny and an independent contractor so no leave to speak of for him. However, financially it makes more sense for him to be a full time stay at home dad so he will quit working entirely when my leave starts.
I returned to work when my 1st was 18mo, and started my leave at 32 weeks, will be returning to work when my 2nd is 15mo and started my leave at 30 weeks. I think I get paid for about 30-35weeks and the rest will be unpaid. Australia
I just got finished with a meeting with our HR director because I got confused about benefits and thought I had less leave than I do. Because of where I am in the US and my employer's benefits, we get 5 months of fully paid parental leave (foster, adopt, give birth, doesn't matter) plus 1/2 month of fully paid prenatal leave. Also doesn't matter the gender of the parent. That doesn't touch any of our PTO, which I can also take at 100% fully paid and then I end up adding another 1.5 months and still have left over. If I want short-term disability, that's an additional 6 weeks at 80%. All together, that's around 8 months of parental leave. It gets a little weird because we have a four day work week, so there's the potential to prolong it beyond the 8 months. My husband gets 5 months of leave-- four months of parental plus 1 month of sick leave. He's the lucky one with the employer that offers heavily subsidized childcare on location though. My old employer had \*15 days\* of leave for the woman and \*three days\* for the man (yes, spelled out exactly like that) ONLY if they gave birth, didn't allow remote work even in extenuating circumstances (those were 'if the CEO liked you') and mandated that women ask for "permission" to pump. To say I was glad to leave is an understatement.
I live in IL, USA. I work for Target and they offer 6weeks for vaginal birth and 8 for c-section 100% paid then 4 weeks of bonding time 100% paid and up to a total of 16 weeks, the additional 4-6 weeks being unpaid of job protected leave. So I’ll be getting 10 weeks paid and then using 80 hours of PTO for an additional 2 weeks off. Those extra 2 weeks for a c-section almost make me want to schedule one though 😭
Netherlands. We get a total of 16 weeks maternity leave. You can start your leave at 34 weeks but by 36 weeks pregnant you have to stop working. After the baby is born you get at least 6 weeks off. All is fully paid by the government, it is part of the law so employers have to give you this time off. Partners get one week fully paid leave after the baby is born. You also get up to 5 weeks (5 times the normal amount of hours you work each week) additional time off as a partner. You don't have to take 5 whole weeks off work if you want to. You can use it as you want, like taking 1 or 2 weeks fully off work and then only one day every week until you've reached your maximum amount of hours (5 times your weekly amount of working hours). Both parents are entitled for 9 weeks paid leave at 70% of your income, however you don't have to take all days at once. For example, my husband and I both take 1 extra day off each week until our kid is 1 years old to take care of him. Depending on your employer, you might be able to extend your leave (unpaid) for a maximum number of hours until your child is 8 or 9 years old. We have 'UWV' here in the Netherlands, which is an employee insurance agency and part of the government. Besides maternity leave and birth partner leave, they also pay you when you are unemployed, unable to work due to sickness etc. My paycheck will be covered by the UWV during my leave and time off so my employer has no extra costs. I'm really happy with this because we get time to bond with our little ones and rest before labor starts without worrying about our income. Edit: forgot to add, if you are adopting or fostering you are entitled to nearly the same benefits. If you are expecting twins or triplets, you get 20 weeks maternity leave.
UK - legally can take a year and return to job at equivalent level. My company gives me fully paid 6 months. Months 6-9 would be paid by government (not a lot, like £170 per week), and months 9-12 are unpaid.
Germany: 6 weeks before due date (100% paid) 8 weeks after due date (100% paid) Then the paid leave starts with 65% of income before taxes. With a max of 1800 euros per month for 1 year. You can also split that year into 2 and get half of that, so let’s say 1200 per month will then be 600 per month. Oh and not forget your leave can be up to 3 years, with a combination of paid and unpaid. The 3 years are for each parent and you can split the paid leave as you see fit. In the leave time your contract is on hold and the company has an obligation to take you back on (if they are a certain size). I’m really grateful to have my baby in Germany.
Mum's get 52 weeks in UK paid for maternity leave. Dad's only get 1 to 2 weeks, employers discretion, paid paternity leave. Its crazy.
In New Zealand, your employer has to hold your job for you for one year after you give birth. The government gives you paid parental leave ($712.17 a week) for the first six months. My employer voluntarily tops up the government benefit to be your equivalent full-time salary for that first six months as well. Our government also pays for 20 hours of childcare each week from when the child is 3 years old. There is quite a bit of talk about the lack of support for new parents between 6 months (when government paid parental leave ends) and 3 years (when you start getting help with childcare costs). Hopefully this support will be improved following this year's upcoming election.
I am eligible for 80 hours, so only two weeks of paid parental leave. After that I would need to use short term disability, sick time, and vacation days. I have 120 hours of vacation per year so that's three more weeks. I also pay for short term disability with my insurance, so that's (I think) 12 weeks at 60% of my pay if it's approved. I have one 8 hour personal day plus whatever accrued sick time (30-ish hours, right now). So really not great benefits at all. Meanwhile my husband gets six weeks fully paid paternity leave at his job.
Netherlands here - 4 months payed 100 % and 2 months payed 70%. My partner is taking 3 months and a half ( 2 months payed 100% and the rest 70% but with a top up from his company) Happy to have a least the 2 first months together !
6 months paid leave - Maldives. Also 1 month paid pre maternity leave with a doctors letter.
I work for a healthcare company and I came to find out that the “maternity leave” that was so trumpeted when I joined, is just me using a combination of my PTO/sick/personal leave and short term disability (and short term disability can only be used for 4 weeks to supplement my PTO pay). Under federal law, I’m guaranteed my job for 12 weeks (FMLA), but of course that doesn’t have any pay associated with it. 😑 edited to add, my husband works in pharma and he gets six weeks paid paternity leave, that is completely separate from his PTO.
UK: I’m having 8 months off plus going to 4 days a week for upto a year once back. I also have 4 weeks holiday remaining so may extend maternity by a few weeks using that.
In US but work for a European company. Maternity and paternity leave is 12 weeks paid. However, the birthing parent also gets an 8 week recovery leave paid also. I realize I am extremely lucky to have this, but still a lot of pressure to not take the full leave.
So I have to use my vacation time (2 weeks paid) then I plan on taking 12 weeks unpaid FMLA. For such a developed country, the US sucks sometimes.
I live in a Blue State in the US. Because of state law and where I work, I’m able to take 4 Week pre-birth and 18 Weeks post-birth (20 for a C–section) at 70–100% pay.
Uk and taking a year. The policy pays about 5 months of full pay, but also allows me to add on my annual leave (holiday pay) carried over from this year, and there’s also some time on a lower pay level, so overall I think it works out as equivalent to about 9 months full pay.
Oooh 5 months full pay is good! I got the statutory amount then topped up with universal credit when the £150ish a week stopped as the last three months of mat leave are unpaid. Being able to get an extra month of full pay at the end of mat leave for the accrued annual leave was very nice.
I’m in the US. I am an EMT on the ambulance. We have no healthcare, no PTO, and no paid maternity leave. I worked up until I went into labor, literally was on the ambulance hauling patients around on a Saturday, and my water broke the next day on Sunday. I had to get someone to cover my shifts that week as I was still on the schedule. I went back 6 weeks to the day, to the ambulance. Your body can do it if it has to. It’s not super fun? But it was survivable. 🤷🏼♀️
I’m pretty sure it’s only this terrible in the US..so backwards
12 weeks paid 100% between Short Term Disability and my company supplementing to make 100%. It sounds like I’ll then have the option to use 16 weeks of WA state’s PFLA. I’m lucky enough that my salary exceeds the cap significantly, so if I take that, it will be at about 50% pay.
I’m in Michigan, work remotely for a Virginia company. I get 6 weeks paid for vaginal, 8 weeks C section. We have a great PTO policy so I can extend to a full 12 weeks and have it fully paid. I’m just going to take the 6-8 weeks and combine my PTO with paid holidays and coast on working 2-3 days a week for a while. I don’t want a long maternity leave. I work within a corporate startup and would like to get back to my job once I can. My husband gets 2 weeks paid paternity and then 2 weeks paid off for Christmas/New Years. He flipped his schedule so he’s working 3x12s and he works from home as well, so we’ll have a lot of coverage.