Company refusing to pay Paternity Benefit

Showmethemoney

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Hi everyone, I hope this is the correct forum to post this. Perhaps someone might be able to offer advice on the following.

My company is refusing to pay anything to top up the 2 weeks Paternity Benefit that is now available to fathers. However they pay nearly 4 months top up for Maternity Benefit. They top this up to full pay.

Are they within their rights to pay Maternity but not Paternity Benefit. They say they are but it seems a little unfair to me.
 
Yes they are. The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act does not stipulate that the leave has to be paid leave.
 
The point the OP is making is that there is one policy for Women and a different policy men which would appear to be discrimination but would not appear to be illegal.
 
Thank you for the replies. So it is legal discrimination in a way. Maybe in a few years more companies will come on board and pay something towards it and it will become the norm like Maternity Benefit.
 
The point the OP is making is that there is one policy for Women and a different policy men which would appear to be discrimination but would not appear to be illegal.

I agree with the first half of the above sentence, but I don't understand how the second half necessarily follows.

How can it not be illegal (as discrimination on grounds of gender) to treat female and male employees differently in the same circumstances?
 
A company has no obligation to top up maternity pay or paternity pay. It does have an obligation not to discriminate between employees on the basis of gender.

The question is, if a company tops up maternity pay but does not top up paternity pay, is this discrimination on the basis of gender.

I do not think that there is settled law on this matter.

The OP would probably have a strong case for an Employment Tribunal.
 
A company has no obligation to top up maternity pay or paternity pay. It does have an obligation not to discriminate between employees on the basis of gender.

The question is, if a company tops up maternity pay but does not top up paternity pay, is this discrimination on the basis of gender.

I do not think that there is settled law on this matter.

The OP would probably have a strong case for an Employment Tribunal.

+1

I wasn't suggesting that the employer has any legal obligation to top up male employees' pay while on paternity leave, but if they choose not to, then they can't continue to top up female employees' pay who are on maternity leave, as the result is discrimination.

From a practical and a pragmatic perspective, it may not be very sensible for someone to drag their employer to a tribunal and sour relations, for the sake of {2 weeks} x {the difference between the statutory payment and their normal wage}...
 
The question is, if a company tops up maternity pay but does not top up paternity pay, is this discrimination on the basis of gender.

I assume Paternity Benefit is open to the female partner of a new mother in receipt of Maternity Benefit? If so, a refusal to top it up in line with maternity pay top-ups might constitute discrimination, but not on the basis of gender.
 
I assume Paternity Benefit is open to the female partner of a new mother in receipt of Maternity Benefit? If so, a refusal to top it up in line with maternity pay top-ups might constitute discrimination, but not on the basis of gender.

Correct, paternity benefit is a benefit open to new parents of a child aside from the mother. That includes same sex partnerships. In the case of an adopted child, the couple nominates one parent to receive the benefit
 
Is it discrimination against a man that he doesn't spend nine months pregnant and might just need a bit of a rest afterwards. Paid for because that's what society thinks is the right thing to do. And what about breast feeding. Should women not get paid leave to do that.
 
Is it discrimination against a man that he doesn't spend nine months pregnant and might just need a bit of a rest afterwards. Paid for because that's what society thinks is the right thing to do. And what about breast feeding. Should women not get paid leave to do that.

They do in the public sector, not sure about the extent to which they do in the private sector...
 
How is it silly Purple? I'm not arguing men and women shouldn't be treated equally, but it is a physical fact that the woman carries a baby for nine month, goes through the birth process, is generally needing a rest and will also need to be at home if she's breastfeeding. And society recognised that fact by allowing women to be paid for that.

I'm not arguing that men shouldn't be paid parernity leave. Just pointing out why it is women who are paid. And there are cases of women going back to work very quickly. That high flier Nicola Horlock was one.
 
How is it silly Purple? I'm not arguing men and women shouldn't be treated equally, but it is a physical fact that the woman carries a baby for nine month, goes through the birth process, is generally needing a rest and will also need to be at home if she's breastfeeding. And society recognised that fact by allowing women to be paid for that.

I'm not arguing that men shouldn't be paid parernity leave. Just pointing out why it is women who are paid. And there are cases of women going back to work very quickly. That high flier Nicola Horlock was one.

Of course women need to recover after giving birth but for generations they got up to 12 weeks off. Six months is not necessary for a physical recovery. Why not have six months of parental leave where the mother has to take 12 weeks but either parent can take the other 12 weeks? Not only would it give fathers a chance to bond with their children (yes, fathers matter too) but it would negate, to a great extent, the workplace barrier women face when employers know they are likely to take 6 months off at a time. Large companies and the Public sector can deal with that but when hiring a key employee in a small organisation it will always be a factor.
 
As Bonte pointer out Maternity leave is unique to the mother and should not be mixed up with parental leave .Parental leave is time out to look after the next generation. The child interest come first.Parents should be released from work in return for suspension of wages/salary.They should be paid an allowance I have no problem paying a little extra tn tax to allow parents to look after there children in the first year if the want to,
 
I was wondering how long it would take before the aul 'someone think of the childer' would start .....:rolleyes:
 
As Bonte pointer out Maternity leave is unique to the mother and should not be mixed up with parental leave .Parental leave is time out to look after the next generation. The child interest come first.Parents should be released from work in return for suspension of wages/salary.They should be paid an allowance I have no problem paying a little extra tn tax to allow parents to look after there children in the first year if the want to,
I think 6 months for the mother only is too long and is a major factor in employment discrimination against women. Of course there is a link between maternity leave and parental leave; mothers are parents but so are fathers.
 
As a father I think the bond between baby and mother after birth is special I don't think 6 months is a long time for a mother ..As I said parents should be paid an allowance in the first 12 to 24 months after birth .As a father I would love to take 6 months off after the mother went back to work until baby is 12 month old if we had a system in place .
 
As a father I would love to take 6 months off after the mother went back to work until baby is 12 month old if we had a system in place
I presume you don't just mean unpaid leave/career break options. I think this would be an idea as long as it was unpaid. Otherwise everyone else who may not have children end up paying for it and as Purple points out it will work against hiring certain people depending on their age.
 
elcato unpaid but the person taking it would get an allowance option for father or mother . Germany is looking at changing system so people who do not have children to pay more into state pension .At present we are looking at state paying for creche first few years .
 
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