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When I surprisingly found out I was pregnant, the other big surprise was that for some reason when I switched emplyers a year ago, I had NOT enrolled in short-term disability in the process! (I know, what was I thinking?!). I was really counting on the 60% of my pay to cover my bills while I was out for 2 plus months after having the baby but now I have nothing! :( I tried to apply late for short-term disability but was DENIED because of my pregnancy! Ugh.
I was just wondering how other bees have or plan to cover expenses during "maternity leave" without either short-term disability OR paid maternity leave? Are there other policies you took out? I'm hoping there is another option because this is really freaking me out! Thank you!
I don't have this problem, but I just wanted to say good luck. Since my husband's been out of work for almost a year, I know what a struggle it's going to be to pay bills while on leave.
I am surprised they can get away with denying you for short term due to being pregnant. I do not have short term disability or paid maternity leave either. I thought about getting short term when we started talking about TTC, but that was more in case I got put on bedrest during the pregnancy- wasn't planning on using it for maternity leave. Anyways, I never got it done.
We have to use vacation and sick time and I have about 4 weeks saved of that. I am planning on taking an additional 2-4 weeks unpaid. I think whatever I would have spent on short term disability premiums would have eclipsed 60% of my pay for 2 weeks, so we just decided to cross our fingers and hope for the best.
I don't have it either and did try to apply for short term, but it won't cover it, which almost made me say whatever to it, but since I have a baby coming, better safe than sorry. So I'll be using savings or my bills. Thankfully, they aren't a lot per month (about $500 since our house is paid for). I hope you find something soon. (((hugs)))
I interviewed for my current position, and between the 2nd interview and being offered the job, I found out I was pregnant. My first prenatal appointment occured ONE WEEK before I was covered by this job's insurance (they had a 60-day waiting period).
Because I went to an appt before I was covered by insurance, they considered my pregnancy a pre-existing condition and therefore I would NOT be covered by my short term disability for maternity leave.
It sucked.
I had to go back to work when LO was only 7 weeks. It was really hard going back that early and when he turned 12 weeks I was so jealous of other moms that got to take that much time (especially because from 8-12 weeks they are developing personalities and smiles!). If I had known I wouldn't have been covered, I would have pushed that first appt. back a week! It was ONE WEEK! I was so upset when I found out. Of course the other part htat sucks is going back to work, I had to start paying daycare, and that first month was REALLY rough financially. We considered postponing our wedding but luckily FI got some god bonuses at work.
Just try to save up your money as much as you can until then. If you have any credit card payments you can call them when the time comes and explain that you are on UNPAID maternity leave for a few weeks and they'll usually give you a little bit of leeway on your payments to try to work with you. I deferred my student loans.
I am a contractual employee so not only do I not get paid for medical but if I miss any time off I do nto get paid for it. We have been putting aside some every month and will continue to do so until the baby is born. Once the wedding has passed I will be able to really put enough to the side to cover the bills once I am out of work. There is no way we can make it on just one salary. Thankfully the baby will be here abotu a month after the wedding so that will give us a few paychecks to really put to the side. On the flip side I will have to go back to work at 6 weeks. Which does not give me any time at all with the baby. :(
I have never had a job that didn't offer maternity leave. I couldn't imagine the stress that would surround this type of scenario. (((hugs))) I hope you can figure something out.
I'm sorry you're going through that! I know they will deny STD if you apply after you're pregnant because they want you to have it at least a year before you can actually use it. (dumb!)
The only thing I could tell you is to start saving up what you can now to help compensate for your time off. Try not to stress - things always work out Good luck and ((hugs))!
I'm sorry. I am having to use my vacation/sick time but it will be paid.
We like others are trying to save as much as we can for the unknowns that may occur. We are also trying to stick to a very strict budget and cut back on everything we can.
Thank you all so much for the support and feedback! Really stinks how this affects so many people but there's nothing we can do about it! Ugh. Guess we will have to dip into our savings more than planned and that I'll have to go back to work alot earlier...sad :(
Someone at my office had to deal with this recently (company only offers paid maternity leave after you've been here a year and she hadn't been here a year when she gave birth).
She ended up using all of her vacation and sick time that she had accumulated since she started and her boss even let her go into a bit of vacation time debt (ie take time she hadn't earned yet).
She still had to come back to work WAY earlier than most people (I think she was home for 4 weeks). But all of that time was paid.
Maybe you could combine something like using all of your vacation and sick time along with taking some unpaid time. That way finances aren't as stressful.
My pay totally is on me... If I'm not working I will not be paid... i.e. When we have a baby I better give birth in the off season for work :0 If I miss the summer season it would be really hard and we'd have to save every penny possible to make up for the lost income that year..
We chart to avoid so I'm really confident in knowing when I can get pregnant... It makes me nervous though for when we are ready to ttc... if it didn't work and we got too close to birthing in summer it would be frustrating..
I work for the (federal) government (been here 5 years). We don't get maternity leave either. It's a combo of sick/vaca leave....or unpaid if you've used it all. It'll be a tough! I can sympathize with you!
Nope, I've never gotten maternity leave, either. Not really, though I worked for the school system here while pregnant with my daughter and I got the 6 weeks off and still got a check, but it was docked later for being "off"... confusing as hell, but at least I still got a check of some sort. It was a salary position, so that's how I got it.
My current workplace? Not that I know of, though I might be able to take it as "sick leave" and have it paid (unsure how that'll work, since I'm not pregnant and I'm not gonna ask the two who HAVE had kids). I DO know that if you're out sick x-many days, the first so many days are unpaid, then the rest ARE paid. ex: I was out sick a week last year and the first four were unpaid, the last was paid because I've been at my workplace for 3 years (4 as of 2011).
Most places where I live don't give maternity leave. It's either vacation, sick-time, both, or unpaid.
Though I don't have any advice to offer on how to make it through an unpaid maternity leave, I did just want to remind you that if you work for a company that has over 50 people, you do have the right to take a full 12 weeks off unpaid with job protection per the Family Medical Leave Act. You can supplement that with vacation/sick pay if you have any. PM me if you have questions!
@2PeasinaPod: I was asked if I wanted 6 or 12 weeks off, I chose 6 because of the $$ situation. Though, I wish I'd taken the full 12 with my daughter.
IF I were to ever get a paid leave, I'd definitely take the full 12 weeks.
I called in sick with both of my pregnancies. 6 weeks for each child - totaling 12 weeks. The paychecks kept coming.
@Zinzerena:FML isn't paid leave, but like the PP said, unless you work for a small company you ARE entitled to the full 12 weeks (provided you have worked there for a year).
I understand ladies. I don't know any companies that offer paid maternity leave anymore. Most women use a combo. of accrued vacation and FML. It's tough.
@Bostongrl25: I know. After two kids, I'm pretty well versed in it, lol. Hence why I said I chose the 6 weeks due to the $$ (as in, it was unpaid).
FMLA is there to prevent you from loosing your job DUE TO being out on maternity leave or anything else covered by it.
I love my kids, but I'm not sure I'd be able to survive 12 weeks off with the kids. Especially since driving for x-many weeks after giving birth isn't allowed.... I'd go stir crazy, lol.
@Bostongrl25: I was just about to say, I don't know any who offer paid maternity leave anymore either.
Can't you use your sick and vacation time? I used all of my sick/vacation/Short term disability days (which came out to 8 weeks) and 4 weeks of unpaid for FMLA. It obviously wasn't a suprise that I was going to miss that last month payday, so we just cut back during the pregnancy to get ready for it.
I don't know any who offer paid maternity leave anymore either.
I know, I find that totally ridiculous.
It might be worth researching your state programs as well - I know some states offer some paid maternity leave independant of your job situation. CA is one state like this.
Definitely do some research, there might be other programs to help. I had my daughter when I lived in California, and though I wasn't eligible for any of the programs because I hadn't lived there long enough (moved during my pregnancy) they had a program for middle class moms who needed some help because they either didn't have health insurance or needed some financial help during their work leave. I just used sick and vacation time and went unpaid for the rest. I only took ten weeks in order to be back at work for end of year since I do accounting. I just started saving like crazy when I found out I was pregnant to cover things for the time my sick/vacation wouldn't cover.
I'll look into what my state offers! Thanks!
I am banking my sick/vacation time but it's a total of about 2.5 weeks. Guess it's better than nothing! My previous employer had a very genrous maternity leave policy since it was a German based company. More US companies need to adapt that gracious mentality :)
I also work in a small office (uner 50 people) so no paid maternity leave. Paid leave is actually something that is rather rare as most of the countries that we cite actually support the mother federally, not through the employer. And even at that it is usually only a fraction of your total pay.
While I would certainly vote to expand the time off that our country grants to mothers I don't think that our government is really set up for supporting all of us. And I do not believe it is the responsibility of your employer to pay you to stay home.
And yes, I am pregnant and I run a small business.
Look into a state-funded program. My employer is very small and does not offer short-term disability or maternity leave. However, my state does have a short-term disability program for women whose employers don't offer benefits.
Good luck!
i will have to use my vacation time when we want to have a baby. Bummer is, I can only accrue 2 weeks, so that's all the paid time I'll have off. I'm sure my company would let me have more unpaid time off as needed though because they would need me back! Unfortunately, I'm not guaranteed anything under FMLA because our company is too small.
Once we want to TTC, we'll be saving our pennies to cover it while I'm gone. We are already on a lower budget bc DH is transitioning to a new field and looking for work, so once he gets going there, we'll be on the baby train!
I'm in the same boat. It's possible that I might have Short Term Disability but I'd signed up for it literally just before I found out I was pregnant. Either way, they don't tell you if your claim has been approved until you've been out of work for 5 days. I'm planning for being incomeless and the only thing I can do is dip into savings and rely on my husband. It's not ideal and I really am not confident it will work out well but I haven't found any other more viable plan. Ugh!
I get no paid maternity leave. I have saved up a little over a month of sick and vacation time so far. And then we got a hefty tax return this year which we just put into savings for the remainder of when i will be off. My husband gets 2 weeks PAID PATERNITY leave- how ridiculous is that?
@Miss Sapphire: I agree 100% with you!
& I don't get paid leave either. I'm thinking I'll take 8 weeks off, maybe less if we're both healthy/happy. DH is able to work from home, I feel blessed that he'll be with our LO during the day. I may have to get 2 or 3 days a week part time daycare to give him a break here & there though. We'll see! :)
I work for my FIL's company, and there are no fast rules anywhere about what I can expect when I actually concieve. I know in the past, it seems like he has given most women 6 weeks paid, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm hoping he'll be excited about a grandchild and be generous, but I'm not counting on it, especially since no one can do my job. I'll probably be in labor and answering work calls.
Yeah, since paid maternity leave isn't a requirement in the US, I don't know anyone who has it and I think it's shitty situation that I'm pretty pissed off about. I've tried talking to my husband about moving to Europe or nearly anywhere else before any future pregnancies... he's not going for it. I think he thinks I'm kidding.
Anyway, short term disability (don't know if just my employer or WA state) is 6 wks for vaginal birth, 8 for cesarean + 12 wks of FMLA... so HR told me I could take up to 18-20 wks off after our baby is born with my job guaranteed, but that anything not covered with my saved up sick & vacation time would be unpaid. (We also have a sick time gifting policy at work; co-workers can gift their sick time up to 6 wks for a co-worker during the disability period.) I think that makes my employer pretty generous--- I know I might not be so lucky in future pregnancies.
I am self-employed so I don't have access to short-term disability. Finances are my biggest stress. (Husband is also self-employed) We have just been trying to save as much money as we can to get by while I am not bringing home any money.
I know it's not the same as having a job that doesn't offer paid leave...but I am in the same boat when it comes to not having any "cushion" to help after the baby comes. Its really stressful but I try to remind myself that people of all incomes have children and we will find a way to make ends meet...somehow
down here in australia we just started paid maternity leave (26 weeks i think) and we use to have a paid baby bonus scheme ($4K to pop out a bub) but before that some of my mums (im in construction so not a lot of women) would arrange with the employer to receive half pay while they were working while pregnant so while they were on leave they would receive the other half pay as a weekly pay in arrears - dont know if thats something you can do but something to consider
Wow @Eloping, we definitely have it sweet down here - it is actually only 16 weeks paid maternity leave from the government OR the baby bonus. The maternity leave is only paid at minimum wage though, which is around $500/week before tax.
In addition my company gives 12 weeks full pay maternity leave when you have been here a year. So you could work for 3 months, get knocked up and 9 months later be paid for 12 weeks at full pay and then 16 weeks at minimum!!!
Thats what happens when you have a dwindling population though I guess!
@Miss Sydney: thanks, i thought 26 weeks but 16 weeks for a non breeder like me sounds good.
Wow, I can't even imagine...
Our government provides 15 of paid maternity leave at 55%, and my company tops it up to 90%. We then can take up to 35 weeks parental leave at the same rate of pay (DH is actually a bit better because his company tops up to 93%) to be split between the parents any way they see fit. We can choose to split that time between the mother and father any way we see fit. Short term disability or accrued sick time would hopefully cover any issues prior to the birth.
I just think it's so important to support people and allow them time with their new babies (or other life challenges that we have good leave for), without having to worry about how to get your mortgage paid. I'll happily pay higher taxes for these kinds of things.
My only concern is that when looking for a new job, employers might look at someone like me (seemingly fertile, and newly married) as a huge potential liablity. Which of course, is illegal, but I'm sure it happens regardless.
I wish you all the best with this challenge, and hope you get a chance to enjoy your new bundle of joy!
I'm from NZ and I can't believe that in there isn't any provisions for maternity leave in the US!!! It just doesn't seem right that women aren't supported during this crucial time!!
My only piece of advice would be to maybe reduce your outgoings before TTC so that you are used to living on a reduced income before you have bubs. Some girls I know have set up their finances so that they can pay all their bills on just DH's income.
Most countries we cite aren't supporting maternity leave through national programs - maternity leave is a national program that is paid via a combination of employer contributions and taxes. It's definitely paid for, and there is a minimum mandate. Also, most western countries don't offer 100% of your salary anymore. It's usually, say, 50%-75% of your salary. Which is still amazing. I lived in Denmark for a short while and they NEVER understood how little our policies support parents. It's truly embarrassing and, to be honest, shameful. It's really terrible.
I'm a federal employee like another poster here - no maternity leave, no short-term disability to buy in to. Nada. We can use all of our sick/annual leave for maternity leave and medical appointments, but the regulation is actually that using your annual leave is pending managers approval. They can deny you. Also, you earn leave so slowly (vs being given a lump sum in the beginning of the year) that if you have more than one child, you're really either going to have to wait a long time without taking any leave between kids, or be on your own. My fear is that when the time comes, I'll have a difficult pregnancy or a baby with a problem and use all my leave to take care of myself/them without using it to be a mother in the traditional way. This is truly why we never go on vacation. We are thinking about traveling when husband returns from Afghanistan but honestly, what if I need my leave for a medical emergency when pregnant?
Like I said, especially the fed gov't which should be the MODEL for family friendly work places....it's all shameful in my opinion.
PS: if you want to hate your company, check out google's maternity policies. On top of up to 18 weeks of paid maternity leave, they have a program where you can order take out/delivery food ($500 benefit) within the first three months of the baby's life.
Seriously - why is even something as basic as 4 weeks the standard in the US where we have "family values" and "value life". I guess we only value life when it's in the womb, but once you give birth, you're on your own...
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