Perceptions Regarding Pregnancy and Maternity Leave - Essay Example

Topic: Perceptions Regarding Pregnancy and Maternity leave Pregnant women are en d to certain rights in their workplace that give them the needed protection during their pregnancy period and maternity leave. However, the aspects of maternity leave under the United Kingdom law is bringing out mixed reactions regarding the impact it exhibits in women and businesses. Arguments have been passed across raising concerns of whether or not the UK laws should be amended in order to cater for the interest of both the women and the businesses. According to the United Kingdom law all pregnant women employees are permitted to take up 52 weeks of maternity leave. This is highly independent of how long they have been working for their employers. Pregnant women are guaranteed a significant amount of pay during this period. Paid time off as well as flexible working hours are also some of the benefits incurred by pregnant women in the workplace in accordance to the legislative provisions that are implemented (Bunkham, 2013). It is as a result of such requirements that the reactions exhibited towards maternity leave in the workplace affects the performance of most pregnant women thus making them vulnerable to discrimination. Therefore, it is perceived by many that the legislation on maternity leave may end up being a burden for women in the long run. There have been numerous of researches that have been conducted with respect to the impact of maternity leave on both women and businesses. Most of the findings give an indication of employers who are reluctant in employing women based on the assumption that they may soon fall pregnant and take up the sole option of maternity leave, leaving their work duties unattended (Joseph, 2013). It is unfortunate that women often have to face the challenge of enduring hardships upon being pregnant or during the course of the maternity leave. With regards to this, most women in the UK are subjected to discrimination in their workplace simply because of their pregnancy and taking up the sole option of maternity leave. In order to effectively analyse this issue regarding the impact of maternity leave it is important to look into some arguments based on conflicting opinions so as to be able to create a logical picture. Most of the political women argue that shorter maternity leave will be beneficial to most women in the UK. Thus maternity leave is viewed as a burden to most women. This is a claim that has been raised by women politicians based on how they are viewed with their male counterparts. According to Sheila Lawlor, most firms refrain from hiring the women that are perceived to be of the childbearing age. The sole reason for this is that most employers tend to avoid any potential costs that may be imposed on the firm in the course of the maternity leave (Lawlor, 2012). The advantage of taking up this step is that the firm will be able to avoid the statutory pay, thus managing to recruit more people that will better the economy of the firm. The benefit that is attributed to the proposal of having shorter maternity leave is the fact that women will be able to be much flexible in their workplace thus enabling them to adjust back to their duties faster. According to the UK law, out of the 52 weeks given for maternity leave, 39 of the weeks are paid which is the statutory pay and maternity allowance may be paid for a longer duration. Statutory maternity pay is mostly paid when the employee has been working for at least 26 weeks. As of April, 2013, the statutory maternity rate is 136.78 Euros per week which is reviewed every April (Gov.UK, 2013). For the women that are not qualified for the statutory maternity pay they are entitled to a maternity allowance. It is based on the review of the maternity leave pay that firms opt to employ fewer women especially the ones of the childbearing age. This assumption is quite damaging especially to the women who want to venture more into their careers immediately after their maternity leave. Some employers may often choose to employ more women into their firms. However, this does not wipe off their assumptions and reservations regarding the effects that are brought up by maternity leave. Accessing from the current economy situations, most businesses are struggling with both financial burdens and efficiency of filling the positions that are occupied with executive women when they undertake their maternity leave. The reason as to why most employers are reluctant in hiring women or rather they lay them off is the fact that they are not sure of whether the women employee will return back to work or they may decide to cut down on their workload (Stowe, 2013). The aspect of cutting down on the workload once a woman is back from maternity leave often slows down the performance of the firm. These reasons are the basis as to why employers chose not to give promotions to most women in their businesses. Thus the view regarding maternity leave is seen to be a setback for most of the employers in their businesses. Some women in the UK participated in a research study that was aimed at analysing the impact maternity leave had on women. The study majored on the unfavourable treatment that women had to endure during their pregnancy and upon their maternity leave. From the findings majority of the women complained about the fact that they were subjected to numerous health issues such as high blood pressure, poor growth of the baby and high level of stress. These health issues were inflicted on them by their employers and thus most women aired out the fact that the maternity leave period was filled with moments of stress owing to the fact that they feared they would lose their jobs (Davis, 2005). Another major point of view that has raised numerous arguments is the fact that maternity leave lowers the chance of professional growth among women. It is solely the decision of the pregnant woman to decide on the duration of time that she will take off work out of the one year leave that they are entitled to. Of course the decision is usually a two way traffic as it has to be made in accordance with the employers’ judgement. However, owing to the fact that career oriented women need to focus more into expanding their professional skills, taking up the full sole option of 52weeks for maternity leave is beyond their imagination. For women to be able to move up the professional ladder there is a lot of sacrifice that needs to be made and that includes cutting short their maternity leave to focus on their careers (Bunkham, 2013). Women that are in top jobs are faced with the challenge of pulling out from their profession simply best on the fact that if they decide to get pregnant and take up the maternity leave their careers may come to a halt or rather may be over. Many of the women who hold high influential jobs have come to realise that at some point in their success endeavours it is hard for them to be held up in a situation of having to choose between the top job and the responsibilities brought during and after childbirth (Fairley, 2013). In as much as career women may opt to take up the maternity leave it may be for the shortest time possible. The greatest disadvantage with this decision is the fact that most children tend to lack that motherly care owed to them during the first months after birth. According to reports produced regarding maternity leave in UK, the long duration that women are entitled to has become the main reason as to why women lose their clients. It is important for women employees to monitor their clients’ situation especially if their job duties entail regular encounters with the client. However, some employers often do not keep contact with their employees who take up their maternity leave. Most of the times women resume work only to find out that here duties were entirely scrapped off indicating that they were simply fired (Piero, 2013). A good employer should be responsible for ensuring that all the relevant matters concerning the duties of an employee on maternity leave are directly passed to her. Issues concerning job vacancies and job promotions should all be passed across. Women who work in the retail and hospitality sectors are more oppressed with the issue of pregnancy discrimination unlike those working in public sectors. Their duties require full time participation and thus if their maternity leave coincides with important business duties it may lead to termination of their employment (Joseph, 2013). The government should impose strict measures to ensure that employers are restricted from mistreating pregnant women. The nature of employment and type of employer are important factors concerning the discrimination that pregnant women and those on maternity leave face. For the women who mainly do ordinary jobs, taking up the sole option of maternity leave is not convenient for them. This is because they may find it difficult to catch up with their lost earnings once they resume their jobs (Bunkham, 2013). Based on the arguments that have been stated regarding the impact of maternity leave on women and businesses, the best and most argued point of view is the fact that maternity leave is becoming a burden to most women in the workplace especially the ones that are more career oriented. It is necessary for women to take up maternity leave but taking too much time off work might slow down their work progress. Women who work help out their husbands in sharing out parental responsibilities. Proposals have been made stating that shorter maternity leave will also enable fathers to bond more with their children as they too will need to take some time off work to cater for their children. The laws surrounding maternity leave have caused a lot of disadvantages to women in the workplace and thus something needs to be done to rescue the situation. References Bunkham, T. (2013). The Truth about Maternity leave in the UK. Davis, S., Neathey, F., Ragan, J., & Willison, R. (2005). Pregnancy Discrimination at work: a qualitative study. Manchester. Fairley, J. (2013).As a boss maternity leave is a nightmare for employers: the Telegraph. Gov.UK. (2013). Statutory maternity pay and leave: employer guide. Joseph, G. (2013). Maternity leave discrimination: the Telegraph. Lawlor, S. (2012). Maternity leave is a burden to most women. Piero, G. (2013). Women in leadership: 50000 women lose jobs over maternity discrimination: the guardian. Stowe, M. (2013). Maternity leave scares employers business: the guardian. Read More