[LMB] OT: Maternity Leave (was Stalkers and such...)

[Jacki Knight]

On 26/05/2007, at 8:54 PM, Xahne wrote:
> 12 weeks?  Argh!
>
> Here in the UK, it used to be 26 weeks paid, and 26 weeks unpaid.  It
> has just gone up to 9 months paid leave, and I think, 3 months unpaid.

When I was last employed (about 10 years ago) the figure was 6 weeks 
(count 'em - SIX!) paid but you could take any accrued sick leave and 
then make it up to 52 weeks with unpaid. Your spouse can now take 52 
weeks unpaid leave also but not at the same time as you (there was 1 
weeks Paternity Leave in those days). I believe in some industries it 
is/was going up towards the 12 weeks and you can now take as much as 24 
months unpaid. But with Workchoices who knows these days!

> Its been a year, and I still feel that its too soon to leave my Little
> Bug and go back to work!

Luxury! As the Monty Python man said. (You'll have to imagine the 
accent)

As a self employed person (and the family breadwinner) I got no paid 
leave at all and had to be back at work only a week after I got out of 
hospital. Granted, I managed to have a week in hospital with each of 
them as they were both C-sections.

Cheers

Jacki in Canberra - wishing, even after all these years, that there had 
been a better way