tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post1590091792424001786..comments2023-10-26T14:13:58.282+00:00Comments on Is there more to life than shoes?: It's a lifestyle choiceTrixyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02015060663707102784noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-80070486893839619262008-03-23T12:35:00.000+00:002008-03-23T12:35:00.000+00:00Clare, no chip on shoulder. I know some people who...Clare, no chip on shoulder. I know some people who have children find it hard to believe there are women out there who don't want them, and how could we not find your mewling brat cute and charming instead of dribbling and irritating, but there it is!Trixyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02015060663707102784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-12788707714928988922008-03-17T14:23:00.000+00:002008-03-17T14:23:00.000+00:00Bookartist,An Employer is not allowed to ask you q...Bookartist,<BR/><BR/>An Employer is not allowed to ask you questions like that, it is "discriminatory".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-53007703258836766082008-03-17T09:11:00.000+00:002008-03-17T09:11:00.000+00:00As someone who has made the same 'lifestyle choice...As someone who has made the same 'lifestyle choice' as you and isn't having kids I completely agree.<BR/> By the way 'anonymous' who wrote "I think you'll find, if you do your research, that employers claim back SMP from the Gov, so they're not out of pocket; and yes, you have to have been employed for a certain period of time before you are entitled to extended maternity leave" - I can assure you, having run my parent's small business for 2 years, that once you have recruited someone to cover the job, trained them and all the other associated costs you very definately ARE out of pocket when someone goes on maternity leave. It also disrupts the team. If maternity leave didn't cause so much as a ripple then why would companies be reluctant to hire a pregant woman or one they thought was likely to become pregnant?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-6634989408611814172008-03-17T08:37:00.000+00:002008-03-17T08:37:00.000+00:00Actually, employers can only claim SMP back if the...Actually, employers can only claim SMP back if the amount of SMP paid in a particular period is more than the amount they pay in National Insurance. So even if a small business <B>can</B> claim back some or all the SMP, they still have to pay it out first and then wait for HMRC to get its act together to make the repayment.<BR/><BR/>But I still don't understand why some people think parenthood is a RIGHT rather than a choice. You can say no to sex, choose to use contraception, even 'choose' to have the pregnancy terminated (if you think having the child is going to be detrimental to your physical or mental health - clever get out clause there), but if your biology means that choice is not there for you, it somehow becomes your right to get pregnant by artificial means without any consideration about how you intend to provide for your offspring. When there are almost 7 billion people living on this planet, how can it be some kind of inviolable RIGHT to give birth to yet another mewling consumer regardless of your or your planet's ability to provide for it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-63415446443080754372008-03-15T17:47:00.000+00:002008-03-15T17:47:00.000+00:00Ha ha ha, does this woman have a massive chip on h...Ha ha ha, does this woman have a massive chip on her shoulder or what?<BR/>Poor love, it must be awful for you being "tarred with the same brush" as us breeders.<BR/><BR/>Clare WilsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-20785522599983214992008-03-15T13:30:00.000+00:002008-03-15T13:30:00.000+00:00Bookartist: I have not taken advice on how safe it...Bookartist: I have not taken advice on how safe it would be to ask you that question. As a small employer I am aware that some questions in interviews can lead to significant legal problems, however I do not have a legal department to tell me what they are ! <BR/><BR/>I posted the comment below on Dr Crippen's Blog which links here.<BR/><BR/>I am a director of a small software development company. <BR/>My company started as 2 directors doing everthing, but has grown to the point where we employ 3 programmers. One of the directors is now full time meeting clients and specifying projects. The second director is now a part time coder, part time director, and part time meeting clients.<BR/><BR/>We have decided that we need to employ a fourth programmer, as we are now saturated, and need to free the second director from programming. We know from experience that it takes 4-6 months for a new programmer to become productive as they learn our systems, ways of working etc.<BR/><BR/>I know that we would feel very nervous about employing a woman who may go on maternity leave for 6 months. That would reduce our development capacity by 25%. We could not just replace her on a temporary basis because of the time taken for a new programmer to become productive. We could not replace her on a permanent basis as we are required to let her return from maternity leave to her old job. We do not currently generate enough revenue to hire 5 programmers.<BR/><BR/>If we hire a young woman we know we may need to cover 25% of development capacity with long hours and hard work for up to 6 months. If we hire a young man this is far less likely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-68089987503631280482008-03-15T10:13:00.000+00:002008-03-15T10:13:00.000+00:00Bookartist, that's the whole point. If we didn't h...Bookartist, that's the whole point. If we didn't have this stupid legislation, an employer would be far less bothered if you are pregnant. if you do indeed come back to work after you've had your baby, well great.Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-7688443846036127522008-03-15T03:47:00.000+00:002008-03-15T03:47:00.000+00:00Is this not part of the general rule that you must...Is this not part of the general rule that you must not obstruct the whim or fancy of any woman for any reason.<BR/>Oh and compensation is bound to come into it as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-86827227525389568082008-03-14T23:28:00.000+00:002008-03-14T23:28:00.000+00:00they're not out of pocketUmm, except for having to...<I>they're not out of pocket</I><BR/><BR/>Umm, except for having to deal with the fact that their employee isn't there for a year! Fine for some jobs, not so fine for those ones which take years to train for.Old BEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06974090439936326476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-62322939715787228042008-03-14T23:12:00.000+00:002008-03-14T23:12:00.000+00:00When people choose not to have children - they sti...When people choose not to have children - they still expect to get pensions at some point. Which will be paid for by the children of those who choose to have them. Ditto the nurses who care for the childless in their old age - they are the children of today. As the old joke goes - "Why care about the future? What has the future ever done for me?" Pensions and health care, for starters.El Draquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06876885203336454167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-71104873165102523782008-03-14T21:12:00.000+00:002008-03-14T21:12:00.000+00:00Dear, dear, what would you do with me? Pregnant at...Dear, dear, what would you do with me? Pregnant at the start of my last job, but my husband is the stay-at-home parent and has been for the past five years. Would you have given me the chance to explain this during our interview, or would you just have shown me the door?Bookartisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04018095613487468227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-86427526954081217622008-03-14T17:17:00.000+00:002008-03-14T17:17:00.000+00:00"Because having kids isn't a right.."Urm...yes it ..."Because having kids isn't a right.."<BR/><BR/>Urm...yes it is, at least in terms if you 'can' you 'may'. That statement opens up a whole load of debates that I sincerely hope someone more eloquent than me can start! ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-2831600295036291162008-03-14T17:15:00.000+00:002008-03-14T17:15:00.000+00:00"Because having kids isn't a right.."Urm...yes it ..."Because having kids isn't a right.."<BR/><BR/>Urm...yes it is, at least in terms if you 'can' you 'may'. That statement opens up a whole load of debates that I sincerely hope someone more eloquent than me can start! ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-75982074818150679042008-03-14T16:40:00.000+00:002008-03-14T16:40:00.000+00:00I think you'll find, if you do your research, that...I think you'll find, if you do your research, that employers claim back SMP from the Gov, so they're not out of pocket; and yes, you have to have been employed for a certain period of time before you are entitled to extended maternity leave.<BR/><BR/>What a shame that you don't want to employ the best person for the job on the basis that they're a women who may or may not become pregnant at some time in the future.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-1289189725203570572008-03-14T15:56:00.000+00:002008-03-14T15:56:00.000+00:00Totally agreed. Very large organisations like Tesc...Totally agreed. Very large organisations like Tesco or British Airways can easily cope with an employee being away for a few months or years - but there's no need to legislate for this as presumably Tesco or BA are happy to re-employ a returning mother who has a previous good record - but small employers can't. <BR/><BR/>So all in all, it makes it more difficult for e.g. you to find a job. Or for Mrs W, for that matter; we have two young kids and potential employers think to themselves "She might have another one soon". Which we won't. But they can't know that for sure, can they?Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12147812.post-52412238376655170862008-03-14T15:34:00.000+00:002008-03-14T15:34:00.000+00:00According to the Government you only get 52 weeks....According to the <A HREF="http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/Parentalleaveandpay/DG_10029285" REL="nofollow">Government</A> you only get 52 weeks. 26 weeks with an extra 26 weeks if certain conditions are met. You don't get paid for all of it, and an employer only has to pay SMP which is about £80 a week if they want. Am not saying you;re wrong in your point, just pointing out that it's not quite so cushy a deal as it sounds. <BR/><BR/>Also, in the case of the woman above that wasn't interviewed. Whilst I agree entirely with your point, she probably wouldn't have been entitled to any pay from the company anyway, because you only get MSP if you've worked in the same place for 26 weeks prior to the 15th week before the sprog is born. <BR/><BR/>That would of course, as you rightly say, mean the employer would still be in a recuritment stage and having to shell out for that. It is true that a woman can go on maternity leave and then decide to just not go back and give them bugger all notice of it. Which is absurd.dizzyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04250325010662356883noreply@blogger.com