Paid Maternity Leave - Melbounre

has anyone had experiences with any employers who offer paid leave

the sooner it becomes legislation the better

i'm in the public service now, so yeah, we get paid mat leave - but my former employer was a private concern and also offered paid mat leave

i think a lot of it depends on the size of the company you work for - and to a degree, whether they are Australian owned or not. my previous employer was rather small in AU, but the main company was based in the US, and as such, it had a large financial backing to offer paid mat leave...

i stand by the many statements that i've read that it shouldn't be up to the individual company to offer mat leave payments as smaller companies just cannot afford to pay the leave as well as the expenses of a replacement staff member. if it were to be legislated that companies pay mat leave, it would reduce the employability of women of child bearing age drastically - permanent employment would be impossible in any smaller companies as they'd either employ males, or females as casuals with no leave entitlements.

there needs to be a federally funded mat leave scheme for all working mothers - and there is a call for submissions for a major enquiry now. there is another thread about it somewhere from about 10 days ago...

My current company doesn't offer paid maternity leave (I am trying to change that though :D ). My previous company was a large automotive manufacturer based in Fisherman's Bend an they offered 6 weeks paid after 12 months service and 14 weeks paid after 2 years service, which I was given when I had DD.

Nai - they used to be my ex-employers customer :)
In my old job, which was in the IT industry, I was lucky enough to get 12 weeks paid leave.
In my current job there is at present no paid leave but we also are working on that. Its a much. much smaller company though. I can see how it would be a lot easier for a large company to offer paid leave than a smaller one.

I am one of the extremely lucky ones who gets 12 months paid maternity leave (after 2 years service).

I got 14 weeks at full pay, then 38 weeks at 60% of my salary. They also offer many options on how to take this pay. You can get it paid in lump sum, return to work early and they keep the remaining money owed to you for use later. They are very flexible and it definately comes into the equation when I consider having #3 (still haven't decided yet!)

where do you work, I need a new job

What do you do? If you could find work at Sensis they could be good as my H works there and got 2 weeks paid paternity leave.

I work at a university. They are excellent and very family friendly (hence the great maternity leave!).

Wow Mel - and I thought 14 weeks paid leave in the public service was good (which is what I get). Now I'm jealous!

Yup, I work at a uni too and I get 26 wks at full pay or we can take it at half pay over 52 weeks.

Wow! paid leave how wonderful.You are very lucky.

I work for a multi-national company and I'm based in Melb. I get 6 weeks full pay or 12 weeks at half pay after 12 months service. Some employees have to pay it back if they don't return to the job, but if you've been there for years (as I have) there's no need.