Pregnancy and workplace discriminations
Yesterday one of my colleagues went on maternity leave. Being one of her team members I could visualize the impact of her absence in our project commitments. In small teams like ours (8 members to be exact including her) each delivery made during her 2-3 month absence would cause an overhead of 2-3 days (huh! sometimes deliveries are highly against each other(!)). If we are having 9 (3 per month) deliveries then it would add to another one month overhead in addition to her leave period. So if she is leaving for three months then as far as we are concerned it is actually a leave period of four months. So for a small scale develping business concern this would be a big concern (Concern concerns (!)). This is why I believe small scale industries are not keen in employing women in mid 20s. On the other hand if they are employing gals in the 20-23 age group the same issue arises but with little postponement.
Some time back BBC published an article "pregnant women losing jobs". It stated..
Pregnant women can face discrimination in the workplace. Tens of thousands of women are forced out of their jobs each year for being pregnant, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has said.
These women miss out on £12m in statutory maternity pay, while employers spend £126m replacing them, the EOC added. The EOC added that upwards of a million pregnant women will face workplace discrimination in the next five years. Women must be better informed of their workplace rights, the group added. "Pregnancy discrimination has a huge impact on their lives, but the harm it does to our economy affects us all," Jenny Watson, acting chair of the EOC, said. "It's time for honesty about the scale of the problem. Employers - particularly small businesses - need more help in managing pregnancy at work."
"Employers have to pay for extended maternity leave, pay for a temporary replacement (often with additional expense on training that replacement) and also have to keep the pregnant woman's job open for her, without knowing whether she will return to it", complains Mr.Paul who runs his own business.
The problem is very intense that both sides claim for their lose, but in an overall view the issue has certainly decreased the employment opportunities of women. Women employees on the other hand should also be blamed as they claim advantage of such leave periods and are never returning to work.
Solutions !!
Mutual information exchange in terms of bonds or signed statements would be the only solution. But still you can't force persons running their own business to employ women who might want to have a baby some time soon.
BBC also states some solutions for this problem.
Some time back BBC published an article "pregnant women losing jobs". It stated..
Pregnant women can face discrimination in the workplace. Tens of thousands of women are forced out of their jobs each year for being pregnant, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has said.
These women miss out on £12m in statutory maternity pay, while employers spend £126m replacing them, the EOC added. The EOC added that upwards of a million pregnant women will face workplace discrimination in the next five years. Women must be better informed of their workplace rights, the group added. "Pregnancy discrimination has a huge impact on their lives, but the harm it does to our economy affects us all," Jenny Watson, acting chair of the EOC, said. "It's time for honesty about the scale of the problem. Employers - particularly small businesses - need more help in managing pregnancy at work." "Employers have to pay for extended maternity leave, pay for a temporary replacement (often with additional expense on training that replacement) and also have to keep the pregnant woman's job open for her, without knowing whether she will return to it", complains Mr.Paul who runs his own business.
The problem is very intense that both sides claim for their lose, but in an overall view the issue has certainly decreased the employment opportunities of women. Women employees on the other hand should also be blamed as they claim advantage of such leave periods and are never returning to work.
Solutions !!
Mutual information exchange in terms of bonds or signed statements would be the only solution. But still you can't force persons running their own business to employ women who might want to have a baby some time soon.
BBC also states some solutions for this problem.
- A written statement of maternity rights and employer responsibilities, with a tear-off slip for the woman's employer
- Employers to have the right to ask pregnant employees to give a clear indication of when they intend to return to work.
- Financial support for businesses
Comments
Its all about HRM..When a person goes on maternity leave,it amounts to loss of man power,work hours and the company needs to pay them even while on vacation..
But its an important phase in one's family life,and no compromises on career.