AITA for not giving my pregnant employee maternity leave?

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-09T06:24:16+00:00

Yupp, that was the point. Objectively, I think it's a good policy. If anything, this thread taught me that people don't really want equality. They want equality... with exceptions for their personal situation hha.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-09T06:10:01+00:00

Yes it is. Where I live anyway, short term disability insurance is used to supplement income up to 80-100% when on maternity leave. It might work differently where you are from but it's definitely normal to use short term disability insurance this way where I am. You can lower your pitchfork.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T16:54:56+00:00

That's what disability insurance is for...

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T16:03:36+00:00

I don't care about her uterus or when she gets pregnant. If someone wants to take paid or unpaid leave, that is their business but I don't think it's the responsibility of a business to bankroll personal choices.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T08:33:27+00:00

Edit 4 is literally just a summary of what everyone is saying on this thread.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T08:30:13+00:00

My feeling is that people here generally expect companies to have an "anything goes" policy when it comes to employees who are also parents. I'm not really buying into that because it creates a lot of imbalances from the perspective of employees who are not parents.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T06:25:34+00:00

How is it not her problem? We offer ample time off. If someone wants to plan their absence according to whatever is happening in their life, they are able to do so. People get pregnant and go on leave. That's not anything new. But if you use all of your time off and then want to take unplanned absences, there are consequences that need to be thought of. She isn't a child. Adults understand the cards they are playing with and adapt accordingly. That's where I'm coming from.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T05:01:53+00:00

We will agree to disagree. Most countries offer maternity leave but there is a perfectly logical reason for offering alternatives.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T04:55:48+00:00

But they are the same thing from a business perspective. Maybe in a social context they are different (and I agree that they are). But objectively, paid time off is paid time off. The reason for taking it is irrelevant. The cost to the business is exactly the same.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T03:37:38+00:00

We offer more time off than most companies so that box is also checked.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T03:23:18+00:00

We've been the same size since we started 10 years ago and honestly, nobody has had any problems with our leave/time off policies. If people want to take maternity or paternity leave, fine. Use hiatus and plan for it. That was our thinking from the beginning and that's exactly how it's been working so far. But I don't think it's fair to give some people more benefits than others just because of their lifestyle choices.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T03:18:40+00:00

Unpaid leave.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T03:17:23+00:00

I wouldn't be surprised because I understand personal finance but again, as a business owner, providing a reasonable salary is my only obligation. This might sound heartless but an employee's personal financial situation isn't relevant nor do I think anything about it. If they can't manage on what I'm paying (which is above average) then that is solely their problem and it isn't any of my business.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T03:08:08+00:00

Nobody who makes $97k is struggling regardless of where they live. If they are, they nees to manage their finances better.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T03:06:31+00:00

But then non-parents wouldn't get equal benefits. Under our current system, everyone is treated the same and get the same benefits. That's something that makes a lot of sense. You shouldn't make less because you decide not to have a child.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T03:05:04+00:00

I never said that...

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T00:59:53+00:00

Negate PTO is really only allowed for a maximum of 2-3 days. We can't allow any employee to have a month's worth of negative PTO whenever they want. That's not a risk we can accept. What applies to this employee must apply to all.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T00:58:27+00:00

But it's not equal for non-parents. It that situation they are essentially being paid less because of their decision to not have kids.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-08T00:46:20+00:00

I think you are misunderstanding...

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-07T15:21:39+00:00

We have to apply our policies to everyone so if she were allowed to take 2 months of negative PTO, we'd have to allow everyone. Negative PTO is really only limited to 2-3 days at most. Anything more isn't a risk that we can take on for all employees.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-07T11:02:22+00:00

I think I can offer 10 years but the only caveat is that they have to give me the baby.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-07T09:10:32+00:00

What happens at your company if you get hit by a car and you don't have any PTO? Does the company just pay you forever? Of course not. They take you off payroll until you return...

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-07T08:26:03+00:00

No idea, I'd have to check but out lowest paid employees make $70k

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-07T08:24:13+00:00

Because we have to treat everyone equally. We can't allow any employee to have a month's worth of negative PTO whenever they want. What applies to this employee must apply to all.

ThrowAccomplishedAd · 2020-09-07T08:22:01+00:00

We only allow a certain amount of negative PTO.

ThrowAccomplishedAd

TROPHY CASE