https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:44:43 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919397 Sun, 04 Oct 2020 20:48:43 +0000 MrsSRS 2919397@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Clementine12: yes. And that should be separate and on top of any sick or vacation leave. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919379 Sat, 03 Oct 2020 17:36:57 +0000 Clementine12 2919379@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for all these good thoughts, bees. It really helped bring clarity.. Here is my more articulated and simplified idea based off your comments -</p> <p>4 weeks paid parental leave available for use at the worker's discretion for 1 year after the birth or adoption of a child. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919364 Fri, 02 Oct 2020 19:08:28 +0000 cake2017 2919364@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I do not think it is unreasonable to want more. Unfortunately, I think it is how most companies can be </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919363 Fri, 02 Oct 2020 19:06:36 +0000 cake2017 2919363@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@newlypregnantlady: that’s great, are they hiring? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919323 Thu, 01 Oct 2020 10:17:49 +0000 mdf106 2919323@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think those policies are reasonably good for a small business. They are better than what I got for my first two births, although not as good as what I got for my third working for a big company. I took 6 weeks, and I don't know of anyone who took more than 8 weeks while I was there. It was amazing to not have to stress about money during my third maternity leave, and to be able to take 12 weeks. What I would ask for are:<br /> 1. The ability to use flex time for appointments (for everyone, but especially useful for pregnancy and baby appointments). I always had this, and generally scheduled the first appointment in the morning.<br /> 2. Some amount of paid leave for all new parents, on top of the std. Maybe ask for two weeks. I think it is important for this to be for all new parents, not just the birth parent/primary parent.<br /> 3. I would also want to be able to roll over at least some time, which would also be useful to everyone, but I doubt they would be willing to change it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919322 Thu, 01 Oct 2020 09:59:43 +0000 MrsSCB 2919322@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Clementine12: I think your suggestions sound reasonable. In terms of some parents possibly having more sick leave than others, I think that's fine. You can't really predict how much someone may have, because it'll be based on how long they've had to accrue it, plus how often they're sick. There's always going to be some variation, it's hard to make it 100% equal. But that seems pretty minor in the scheme of things, especially if everyone gets access to paid parental leave! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919309 Tue, 29 Sep 2020 21:54:24 +0000 Miss Ariel 2919309@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I work for a large company which actually specializes in disability coverage like std. What you’re all describing is fairly standard in the industry. Although there are some states that do have specific state paid plans but state government.</p> <p>Knowing our company specializes in leave we do have fairly substantial polices. They recently added paid parental leave. Originally it was done where you had to take all weeks at once but they’ve changed it so now it can be split up. So in theory you a father could take two weeks at birth and 4 more when the mom goes back to work.</p> <p>If you’re looking for suggestions to make, I do think adding general paid parental leave is a good one, as well as being able to split time up so it doesn’t have to be all at once. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919306 Tue, 29 Sep 2020 12:37:19 +0000 Clementine12 2919306@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsSCB: @kiddosc: one thing on my mind is the age of the workforce here, which is mostly middle aged or older - and I can see the owners thinking that an attractive family leave package would attract people having families (gasp!) which doesn't seem to be desirable for them. However we are an entirely women owned business.</p> <p>Here's my thinking as to what I would like to see - leave paid through 12 weeks, through STD, maybe vacation, then just pay. Employees keep sick leave (because it is unreasonable to have a long period of time with no time off when babies see peds like 6 times in the first year, not to mention getting sick) or are maybe granted 5 sick days to use until they accrue again.</p> <p>Feels iffy since we accrue time on the date of hire so this might benefit some parents a lot more than others. I lucked out seeing a midwife who had Sat appts but other parents might burn through sick leave before family leave starts. Lots of moving parts. Thoughts?</p> <p>What would you want to see that would be beneficial to the employee while still being fair to the employer? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919305 Tue, 29 Sep 2020 12:14:55 +0000 kiddosc 2919305@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Clementine12: I don't think you should remove it. Just because other people have worse leave policies doesn't mean you shouldn't be honest about what you'd like to see benefits wise. Companies use these surveys to gauge what the working population is looking for. They want to be able to offer competitive benefits to attract and keep talent. The answer is always no if you don't ask. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919304 Tue, 29 Sep 2020 10:11:08 +0000 newlypregnantlady 2919304@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My brother's small company (maybe 20ish full-timers but growing a lot right now), has just switched their policy. They offer 3 months paid leave for paternity leave (they supplement the FMLA so the employee ends up with 100% paid leave), and 4 months for maternity leave. He works 100% from home right now, and the company is thinking about moving to a more flexible schedule with employees able to negotiate the kind of office hours they want to keep. His company is insanely amazing for benefits, though. He is able to negotiate a ton of vacation time and flexible hours in general, even without COVID WFH. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919303 Tue, 29 Sep 2020 08:18:36 +0000 MrsSCB 2919303@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Clementine12: I think it's completely fair to suggest a more defined maternity leave policy! FWIW, with my first, I worked for a small-ish company (larger than yours, but fewer than 100 employees). I got 16 weeks fully paid leave. Part of it was through STD, which was paid into by the company. The rest was just my normal salary. I didn't have to use vacation or sick time. </p> <p>Here's the thing -- when someone goes out on maternity or paternity leave, the company has already budgeted to pay their full salary for that year. Assuming they don't hire a temp to fill in, which didn't happen for either of my kids, then IMO they should continue to pay. More and more companies in the U.S. are moving in that direction. If an organization wants to stay competitive and have satisfied (and in turn more productive) employees, and good employee retention, they will want to consider a quality parental leave policy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919302 Tue, 29 Sep 2020 07:49:03 +0000 Beth24 2919302@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My company had about 20 employees when I started and is now around 60 but leave policy has stayed the same. On maternity leave right now for my third. My company uses Aflac to cover STD, none is paid by the company. I have to write a check to them each month to cover my health insurance and Aflac payments. No working from home typically (but we all have been working from home since March with Covid). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919301 Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:15:31 +0000 Clementine12 2919301@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Well I guess I'm taking that line item off of my survey and should feel a lot more grateful to my work for the benefits they do offer! Thanks for the reality check, bees. Here's to hoping for nationwide changes to maternity/parental leave soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919299 Mon, 28 Sep 2020 22:07:45 +0000 DesertDreams88 2919299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Public school employee, district of 1000 employees, same as described except WE pay for STD, not the company. That's how it is for all the districts I know in AZ. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919292 Mon, 28 Sep 2020 15:12:24 +0000 Lahela017 2919292@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I worked for a medium/large company (800 people) when I had my baby. The leave was exactly as you described. I got 5 weeks of STD and the rest of my leave was unpaid. (Healthcare was covered as required by FMLA) Unfortunately that seems to be the norm in this country. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919291 Mon, 28 Sep 2020 13:40:13 +0000 PurplePumps 2919291@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I just wanted to say that I work for a huge company (80k employees at the time, 190k now after a recent merger) and only 3 or 4 years ago did they implement a 3 week paid parental leave policy. Before that, it was exactly as you describe, STD insurance pay and whatever PTO you had accrued, and they continued to cover medical through the 12weeks FMLA as required by law. Parental/ maternity in this country just plain sucks, big companies too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919290 Mon, 28 Sep 2020 13:15:37 +0000 JennyLayneAZ 2919290@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Clementine12: I work for a small company as well. We don't get paid maternity leave, its through STD (which isn't even offered anymore :bummed: ) and gets paid out similarly to yours - 6 weeks covered which is actually 4 at 60%. Our policy is different though, that 6 weeks is paid no matter the type of birth. I had 2 c sections and learned after my first that it wasn't extended. That was rough!<br /> Ideally, I wish I had been paid for 8 weeks, 60% would've been fine....but, 6 weeks just simply isn't enough time. And while my company is lenient with dads, they don't get any actual leave...just understanding that they're going to use some vacation time after the birth of their child.<br /> I do know someone who recently gave birth (in January, I gave birth in April), and whatever they did for her was worked out between the employee and management. I've been here since STD was offered, so I have that benefit, but she just started last year.<br /> So, at least your company is trying to work out some details to have as company policy instead of going case by case. :meh: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919288 Mon, 28 Sep 2020 12:54:33 +0000 kiddosc 2919288@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>They're just asking for opinions, so I'd put down whatever you think you'd want in a maternity leave. If they hear from enough employees that that is a desirable benefit, then they will have the task of determining what the business can afford.<br /> Ultimately, I think most people would prefer to be able to build up to at least 12 weeks of paid leave. I think a reasonable compromise would be for the business to offer 2-4 weeks of paid leave to employees so that in combination with STD, sick leave and vacation leave, most women could get to 12 weeks of paid leave. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919287 Mon, 28 Sep 2020 12:00:05 +0000 agold 2919287@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree that its very hard with small businesses. If the business has to pay someone to work overtime to cover the employees who on leave, its hard to cover that cost. I'm at a small company and I am so fortunate I was able to take off all the time the state would pay me to take off - 6 weeks after the baby, and then 6 weeks of paid family leave. My employer did not legally have to hold my job for the second part of that, so do to do was kind. Best of luck. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919286 Mon, 28 Sep 2020 11:58:38 +0000 Clementine12 2919286@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@josina: thats even more frustrating than my work is. I am trying to balance what I can reasonably expect from the company versus what I want the government to do for all parents.</p> <p>I don't know how I would do this without working at home - all appointments are on my lunchbreak while I work at home. Dentist, doc, pediatrician... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919285 Mon, 28 Sep 2020 11:51:34 +0000 josina 2919285@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's tough with small businesses.<br /> My company is the same, roughly 20 employees. 3 of us have had children while here.<br /> Luckily, with each of our 1st children we were paid in full for 6 weeks but did have to work from home throughout if needed. I was able to take another week and a half I believe with PTO. (we get 4 weeks PTO, does not rollover).<br /> With the 2nd I had to take out a STD policy for the 6 weeks, and used PTO for another week.<br /> We are not allowed to work from home at all. If we're not AT work we have to use PTO. The most any of us girls have taken was 8 weeks and that was with c-section.<br /> There is no paternity leave.</p> <p>Ideally we'd all get 12 weeks off paid in full, but without the government stepping in, I don't see it happening with a small company. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/maternity-leave-policy-at-a-small-business#post-2919283 Mon, 28 Sep 2020 11:13:19 +0000 Clementine12 2919283@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What do you think is a fair maternity leave policy for a small business? </p> <p>Living in the US - I am filling out a survey for work and there is a question about benefits. I want to say that a more defined and reasonable maternity leave policy is desirable but if questioned I want to be able to give specific ideas.</p> <p>Business has 20 employees - I was the first to have a baby in years with my first but now 3 of us have young kids (all women) and there are 2 men who might have kids while working here. With my first leave, I asked for a few things (working from home when back to work mostly) and it ended up feeling like we were drafting policy for this as I went through it.</p> <p>They pay for STD which covers 60ish% of a paycheck for 6 (really 4) or 8 (really 6) weeks depending on the birth. They continue to cover medical insurance costs during maternity leave. Other than that, sick leave and vacation leave can be used (we accrue sick leave 1 week a year and get up to 3 weeks vacation that does not roll over).</p> <p>For example, I had LO2 in December. I took 12 weeks off and was paid through 10 weeks, some partial through STD and some in full through vacation and sick leave. I accrue leave on my date of hire which is in January, so I have no vacation or sick leave until January again. As a "benefit" we are able to work from home 1 day/week for the first 2 years (before COVID so this is a bit of a joke now).</p> <p>What do you think is fair? Is it unreasonable to want more out of the business? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-you-tell-work-about-your-pregnancy#post-2859244 Fri, 30 Nov 2018 07:51:44 +0000 Pumuckl 2859244@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>With my first, right after our NT scan - as it was the reason I was actually late for a team event because of it ;) - so 13 weeks and change</p> <p>With my second it was around that time too. So 13 or 14 weeks.</p> <p>With the twins people started calling me out by 8-10 weeks. Granted I looked REALLY pregnant. My belly was probably as big as it was at 4 months with a single pregnancy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-you-tell-work-about-your-pregnancy#post-2859242 Fri, 30 Nov 2018 07:49:32 +0000 cyoung 2859242@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Idk when I did but it was in my second trimester I think. Only because I had a job where I delt with dogs and sometimes I needed help with the big ones. It was very physically demanding. I only told my boss though. I didnt care if everyone else knew and I would have told them sooner, it just never came up in conversation. I didnt know how to tell people without it being weird. Most women that I worked with were young and in collage like i was and when they found out most of them didn't really care...not in a mean way...they just were still in the party phase and I wasnt due to being pregnant. One girl said "cool" and that was it lol </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-you-tell-work-about-your-pregnancy#post-2859237 Fri, 30 Nov 2018 07:15:08 +0000 NCSUchick27 2859237@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I told my two bosses at 9 weeks, and the rest of the office at 12 weeks. We had already had a couple of good appointments by then and we had the NIPT results back so I felt comfortable telling everyone. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-you-tell-work-about-your-pregnancy#post-2859236 Fri, 30 Nov 2018 07:13:43 +0000 Oopdah 2859236@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>With my first, at 12 weeks because I was so excited to share. My second, around 13 weeks, but nobody was surprised, apparently there was some speculation because I had gained some weight and was eating saltines all the time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-you-tell-work-about-your-pregnancy#post-2859233 Fri, 30 Nov 2018 05:22:50 +0000 meadow 2859233@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I told my coworkers and boss at a couple days past 12 weeks. I was dying to share at that point and was starting to struggle to make my work pants fit. By 14 weeks I was in maternity pants. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-you-tell-work-about-your-pregnancy#post-2859229 Fri, 30 Nov 2018 02:31:37 +0000 Corduroy 2859229@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>With LO1 I was about 16 weeks. With LO2 I told my boss at 6 weeks because I had to bow out of some duties (listeria concerns primarily). Fortunately that got me out of a lot of travel during my morning sickness. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-you-tell-work-about-your-pregnancy#post-2859213 Thu, 29 Nov 2018 22:36:53 +0000 lady baltimore 2859213@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was around 14 weeks. I work in teaching, so I told my boss a few weeks before summer break, as we were meeting to talk about scheduling for the following year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-you-tell-work-about-your-pregnancy#post-2859136 Thu, 29 Nov 2018 15:37:49 +0000 Lahela017 2859136@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I waited until 16 weeks when I felt like I couldn't hide it anymore. </p>