‘Men must be allowed to look after babies’
Tuesday 23rd August 2011, 2:29PM BST.
GOVERNMENT should not dictate to parents which one of them stays at home to look after a newborn baby, according to the chairman of the group putting forward proposals to introduce statutory maternity leave.
Deputy Hunter Adam (pictured) was responding to concerns about proposed changes that would mean a father could choose to take time off to look after a new baby instead of the mother.
The Social Policy Group chairman said any new legislation would have to take account of the fact that society had changed and in some cases women were the main breadwinners in a household and would need to return to work quickly.
‘That could be a concern but if the situation is a couple decides that it is better for them to have the male looking after the child should the male not get some allowance?’
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I completely agree, if employers are going to be required to provide maternity leave then paternity leave should be included on the same terms.
Whether or not making it compulsory for all employers to provide said maternity/paternity leave is an entirely different debate!
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Totally agree.
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Thank goodness someone is talking some sense on this issue. Let’s get the legislation right here by learning from other jurisdictions’ errors.
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Only problem I see is the maternity benefit that the states provides to mothers that are on maternity leave, that would need to be amended as you cannot receive this if you are working during the period of which it applies. If the father takes paternity leave and the mother decides to work then he should be able to claim the same to make it fair. Then also there needs to be a ‘check’ to make sure that both parties cannot claim if they both decide to not work, they will have to make the decision that reduced income is inevitable
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I agree in principle but it would be interesting to know how it would work in practice when the parents are employed by two different employers.
Maybe there would be a centralised body that monitors the two sets of maternity leave and confirms to each employer how much the other parent has taken?
Also, unless the parents know a long time in advance how they intend to split the time, it could mean that employers are left not knowing how long their employees will be away for, until the last minute.
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“Should the male not get some allowance” Although I haven’t read the whole article, surely the statement should be “An allowance should be allocated for the care of the child, regardless of the gender of the care giver.”
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Excellent! Well done to Hunter Adam to raise this very important issue.
Jake I recognise that issue too and good point. Perhaps a simple renaming of the leave as well as any state benefit received may be in order? Perhaps either change “Maternity Benefit” to something like “New Parent Benefit” or something along those lines to make it unisex- I’m sure that there are other (better) suggestions out there. In regards to a “check” then possibly if they link the benefit electronically to the child instead of the mother/father then this could be a simple way of tracking that no dupilicate claims occur.
Not only should parents be allowed to choose who takes the leave but also when they each take leave if they choose to share (of course with proper notice given to employers at all times). For example, one parent can take the whole 6 months or each parent can take 3 months each or one parent 2 months and the other 4 or any other type of combination which is negotiated between them. Perhaps it should even be assumed that leave will be shared unless otherwise stated by the couple?
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There’s already similar proposals for the UK, where there’s going to be a simple self-certification system, with HMRC checking compliance (not completely fraud-proof but cheap and simple).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8516839/Shared-parental-leave-QandA-How-will-it-work.html
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Rachel …I like the idea of 3 months say for the mother then 3 months for the father whatever way they want to organise it.
In that way the employer of each parent, assuming they work for different companies would only have someone away from work for 3 months ………..a lot better than a straight 6 months, especially for small companies.
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Well, we progress from, using babies as an excuse to get housing for young girls who don`t want to work, to, using babies as an excuse to get 6 months leave of absence from work.
Hunter-Adams you really are a sap to think that we can`t see that this is a pre election ploy to get votes to keep you in your luxuries.
I wonder if we could use babies to get free food for the family to make sure that they all feel good, this would ensure that over the period of the baby`s first two years it will have free housing, nutritious food and their parents on hand to make sure they don`t fall over too much.
Potential parents, YOU are the ones who decide to have “brats” so YOU make sure you can afford them BEFORE you leave the contraception in the bedside drawer.
Why should the business owners and tax payers pay for you to have extended holidays during the time when babies spend most of their time asleep? What are you going to do all day? Sit and watch your baby sleep?
Get back to work and earn your keep like everyone else does. We, the workers, business owners and tax payers owe you NOTHING and certainly shouldn`t be paying for you to skive of work.
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Terry Langlois you should run for deputy, your name crops up on every single article on this website.
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Wonderful,What a wonderful idea. But who is going to pay for all this? Where is all the money comming from (and we can,t ignore the loss in production during all this time off work ) to fund this ? Answers on the back of a postage stamp please.
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AJ
If this is your concern then its ok dont worry, employed people will just have to stop having children, then we can just leave it to the rich and the doleies whilst we work harder towards an early grave (which no-one will visit).
The answer to your question btw is co-operation, if I know I’d be due 3 months paternity leave if mrs lloyd dropped a sprog, then I’d sure as hell pitch in to work harder when members of my staff are off on Maternity leave.
Actually, scratch that, I make my team pull together regardless, yes you get the “but I dont get that” blah blah blah, to which I usually reply “wow, a couple of months of working 5% harder as a gesture to a colleague is too much for you eh?”
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oh yes, 3 months mommy 3 months daddy, sounds wonderful x
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What’s all the fuss about ? I’ve been looking after the babies for 14 years now, nothing new in that. Trust me, things are already a lot better now than they used to be – because previously I wasn’t a housewife, I wasn’t retired & I wasn’t long term sick I had to pay full rate insurance contributions as though I were self employed or independently wealthy ( which I certainly wasn’t ! )
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Well, I am a full time mum & homemaker. Firstly, its the most important job any person can undertake, that is to say if they want to do it well. How do you know if you’ve done a good job? You don’t – simple. Women have taken the role on since Adam & Eve and there’s a good reason for this. Women have oestrogen and men have testosterone. What do these chemicals do in our brains? Oestrogen doesn’t just give us boobs for milk, it makes us softer and fluffier than males who are programmed to hunt and provide – they are naturally more aggressive. Crying, temperamental babies? hmm..This is not across the board however, some men have higher levels of oestrogen as do some women have higher levels of testosterone. So paternity leave why not? But its not a good idea to invite men who are more aggressive, physical and who can’t breast feed to take over the mother’s natural role. Its tampering with Nature to serve the needs of an increasingly materialistic society. So if the woman earns more, chances are she’s better educated too, ergo who better to be with the child? Children do not cost alot of money believe it or not. Expensive lifestyle choices cost money. Child minding, very expensive and where there are both parents, is totally pointless. Strangers looking after your children. Really? Your kids grow up with no parental structure, don’t know who they’re parents are. The love of money is the root of all evil – you put your wallet before your children, wow! Guernsey – Rein it in! Paternity leave, why not, help Mam over the first month or two sure. But sorry boys you just aren’t programmed the same and for those fathers who do what I do day in day out I commend you, it takes a real man to push a pram, and a real man to know what he needs to do to buy one and that isn’t sending a nine month weary woman with stitches back into the rat race. No, he says “I’ll look after you till your back on your feet. I’ll support the family because I have broader shoulders, its my job. Now, whats for tea? and where’s the remote, dear?” I have testosterone too, it allows me to call it as I see it and makes me speak up for women’s rights which are being constantly eroded, strangely enough though by misguided pseudo-intellectual women, who ‘rationalise’ that they’re careers are more important than their children.
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@Nat
Now that you have done so much for sexual equality, in reminding everyone that a woman’s place is in the home, playing Suzy Homemaker and mother, and that all men are all aggressive baby beaters (and no doubt all potential rapists and paedophiles), and that all men who earn less than their wives are all of a diminished intellect, are you also planning on doing the same for racial equality? If so, could you tell me how many servants I am entitled to?
As a father, I am quite disgusted by the insinuation that I am either a child abuser or some kind of effeminate, unintelligent man. I take a very active role in the upbringing of my children, and I am quite offended by your disparaging remarks. If you wish to take your own family relationships back to the 1950s, then feel free, but leave those of us who have moved into the 21st century to get on with it.
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Hey Folks. The boss does not make you have babaies so why should he pay for this. Having children is a life style decision. Do you expect your bodss to cough up money so you can have a more expensive holiday. No you don’t. So make your own decision on how you bring up your children and pay for it yourselves. Lawyers will soon be claiming an allowance for staff who don’t have children!
I’ll get shot for these remakrs but the social state system is going far too far. A memeber of staff has never ever asked me as the boss, when would it be covienent for me to take 9 months off. Why, becaseu they know it is never convienent.
My mother left work to start a family as did my wife. Time for these youngsters to grow up and live in the real world.
Signed. A hard up boss trying to run a business in 2011!
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Big Si
No need to be offended mate.
If we follow with Nats nature lesson then it must be normal for us guys to fight and brawl in the street over some soft fluffy girl?. And the victor can then follow her around jumping on her every few steps till she gives in and we have our way with her?.
Nat we moved out from the caves many years ago.
But it would be nice to go back to those days i suppose? because i think back then if the woman was caught cheating on her spouse i doubt the cave man guy would have been told he will loose the cave to her and her new lover, give her half his wealth and if he`s lucky he might get to see his kids once in a while :).
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