For the FMLA (which only grants 12 weeks, not one year):
I’m not saying it is chump change; I’m just saying that it is not quite accurate to say that that the lawyers are getting 4 or 5 months pay. (I know how the economics of large law firms work; I was a partner in a large firm for many, many years until I finally got burnt out and left). (I think 6 months paid leave is quite unusual; four months plus an extra month of paid vacation time is what I’m familiar with).
busdriver11
" I can’t imagine anyone would expect a bonus for not doing any work."
we have some less stellar employees where I work who if you gave them $1,000,000,000.00 as a bonus would open the check look at it and walk out thinking I bet some else got $50.00 dollars more…and not even say thank you.
and others who work really hard who if you gave them a $50.00 gift certificate to wal-mart would hug you and cry for giving it to them. I would like to think nobody would expect a bonus for not contributing but methinks there are many folks who do.
@busdriver11 As I said, it is funded through government employment insurance programs, as unemployment is similarly funded. It’s been in place for years and Canada’s economy is doing just fine. Discrimination in hiring is not allowed here according to the Human Rights Code. And, no, a person couldn’t work for a couple of months then take a year off. There are requirements for a certain number of weeks worked (not sure what it is currently) in order to be eligible.
It actually isn’t insane at all.
@greenwitch The program is not conditional on the size of the employer.
"It’s been in place for years and Canada’s economy is doing just fine. "
Along with a very large chunk of Europe.
For my end of the year bonuses I got two very extremely grateful letters mailed to me from the people who literally just started, one part time, and it was really wasn’t anything to jump up and down over. Then a few verbal and thank you emails from people, then dead silence from another few, but they did cash the checks. Hubby thinks the people who don’t thank us shouldn’t get more next year - we give bonuses on longevity.
My biggest beef is not the maternity leave, it’s not like a person is going to continue to have children year after year after year - well most people anyway. It’s that I notice the women are always the ones who take off when the kids are sick. I have about half and half women and men. The men almost are never out taking care of sick kids, the women use so much leave they get no vacation time to actually take a vacation.
As I mentioned earlier in this thread, NYS has new Family Leave Act that covers a lot of the same things (and pays in the same way) as Canada’s law. It goes into effect next Jan 1st.
Every worker, no matter the size of the business, will be eligible. Will only be for 12 weeks max when fully phased in, but it’s better then unpaid leave.
eyeamom
"Hubby thinks the people who don’t thank us shouldn’t get more next year "
what you give you can not take away!(once you start giving a bonus year after year it is expected)
if you withhold a bonus next year they will be super angry! it would feel good for 30 seconds but, the nasty, angry response from the employees who did not receive bonuses will be taken out in work quality and attitude towards you and customers. tell your husband it is not worth it. keep it as a fantasy in his my mind (IMO)
he is not wrong but remind him you want to win the war not just one battle.
He’s not saying don’t give it, he’s saying don’t increase it. But that was just him being irritable.
“and others who work really hard who if you gave them a $50.00 gift certificate to wal-mart would hug you and cry for giving it to them.”
In one’s employees are hugging and crying for getting a $50 gift certificate to Walmart - you’re not paying those employees enough.
A small company…thanks for the bonus (I earned). A public company…silence.
You should not expect a thank you. Employees don’t see it as a gift. It was earned. Many small business owners run the business like a family, which is awesome. But you have to keep in mind that families are stuck together no matter what. Unconditional love is the glue. At work, money is the glue.
I’m sure it sticks in H’s craw, but he instintively knows not to expect a thanks, I’m sure!
A year leave is really expensive, even if salary is paid by insurance. Betweem the 50% more you have to pay a temp, loss of production of revenue and upheaval when they come back, it costs a ton. You cant just replace someone for a year. most positions that is very hard to do. 4 months is hard enough!
This is such an interesting thread. A little over 2 years ago I changed jobs. I am now a remote worker for a company. While I try to understand company policies, I find that being remote I don’t always know about everything. For example, I had a death in the family and when I submitted a request for personal leave to take a day off to travel for the memorial service, it was denied by my supervisor because she knew why I was requesting the time. I had no idea our company had bereavement leave and that I didn’t need to use personal leave.
When I had my first child over 25 years ago, I was working in an administrative capacity for a large accounting firm. They had totally different policies for maternity leave for staff, depending on your position. I earned one week paid leave for each year I had worked for the company, then could use personal leave or request unpaid leave. So I got a whopping 2 weeks paid leave, then took 2 weeks personal leave.
For child #2 I was working as a temp. I had been a stay-at-home mom, but went back to work as a temp to make enough $ to pay for my delivery, since our insurance didn’t cover that much. I actually ended up getting more paid leave as a temp than I did as a full-time employee for child #1. For child #2 my H also got 2 weeks paternity leave, which was very helpful, since we also had a toddler.
For the OP, I do think it’s the particular person. My now 25-year old is very aware of her company policies and benefits.
Is that so? Have you looked at the unemployment rate in many of the countries in the EU? People in Greece, France, Spain, Italy and many other countries might disagree with that statement. Have you looked at the tax rates, income tax and VAT? These kind of benefits sure aren’t free, somebody pays for them, and often not the people who use them. In a perfect world everyone would get years of paid leave every time they had a baby…but somebody pays. And even if there is a huge pot of money out there collected by the government, see HRSMom’s statement:
I am most certain that a business owner has a completely different perspective than an employee.
Any businesses in those other countries that have all these great benefits complaining? I think not. Their citizens aren’t complying either. I know of no other country which emulates our system of doing things in anything.
It’s always stunning to me that supposedly the greatest and richest nation on earth treats its citizens so appallingly poorly. And the excuse is always the same - we are so different than those other countries we can’t possibly do it here. Such nonsense. Truth is we are simply selfish, greedy arses.
Apparently you know that no citizens and businesses are complaining. What a vast amount of wisdom you must have. I wonder why the US is #1 in one particular category, the country people most desire to emigrate to. I wonder why, with all these selfish, greedy people around here, unlike the caring and benevolent countries everywhere else?
That said, it would be good if we could improve and make standard benefits for everyone. However, someone has to pay for it. Maybe we could pay for it with highly regressive VAT taxes like Canada and Europe. Maybe not so benevolent after all.
We are different in that we are a strict federalist capitalist society…by choice. We choose self determination, with some modifications.
By the way, other countries emulate the US often. And my European colleagues, though they don’t love the US, say about free healthcare and the like: you get what you pay for. I of course have no way to verify.
We just had someone from Canada telling us how great it is.
I don’t see many citizens of those countries dying to emigrate here.
People from poor countries, people from countries where the government is oppressive, people from war torn countries - those are the ones who want to come here - not Western European progressive countries.
I love paying taxes because I like having services - even services that I don’t benefit from at all,
I don’t see paying high taxes as regressive. I see it as the price one pays for living in a civilized country.
^that is not true at all. Huge waiting lists in those countries to get in too.
I did not say that high taxes are regressive, but that VAT taxes are highly regressive, meaning that they disproportionately tax a greater portion of poorer people’s income than the wealthy. That is the system that is in place in the EU and Canada.
Perhaps you love paying taxes because you do not pay high taxes? Yet since you get the benefits of your husband being a government worker, which are generally very good…you get many of the benefits that other people pay for, without paying a high tax rate. So it sounds like a great deal for you, however not so good for people paying a large portion of their salary in taxes (whether high, middle or low income), who do not get those same benefits.
I’ve paid very high taxes and don’t mind it, truly. I feel fortunate to be able to do so. Not everyone has the opportunities I have had.