In this day of job insecurity and a bleak economic outlook, many women are postponing getting pregnant for fear that taking maternity leave will prompt their employers to give them the heave-ho.
Technically, a company could be sued if it terminated a female employee simply because she got pregnant and used maternity leave, but stranger things have happened in the workforce. Perhaps that’s why the news of a major insurance company based in Australia actively celebrating procreating female employees has captured so many headlines around the world.
If you have been living under a rock, you may have missed the news flash that insurance giant IAG is planning to double the salaries of new moms during their first six weeks back from maternity leave.
Yes, you read correctly, the company is digging deep to celebrate the return of female employees who give birth, and actually come back to work instead of staying home to raise their newborn.
According to news reports, the “welcome back bonus” given to new moms is in addition to the 14 weeks of paid maternity leave IAG grants its female employees. While cash incentives are common in Europe, IAG is one of the first companies in Australia to shell out big bucks to entice top female employees to return to their posts after giving birth.
IAG execs say the bonus, which is forecast to cost the company millions of dollars per year, is actually cheaper than recruiting and training new staff members. If that number seems high to you, consider that more than half of IAG’s 10,000 employees are women, and according to company officials, roughly 600 female workers go on maternity leave each year.
Women in the United States should be so lucky. According to the American Sociological Review, a new mom bonus is virtually unheard of in this part of the world. Rather, female workers must rely on the Family Medical Leave Act which provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave for new moms and other caretakers. In America, paid leave is not required by law and is granted by a very small fraction of companies.
Can you imagine getting paid extra for returning to work after giving birth?
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