How to negotiate your maternity leave

By Lisa O'Brien

Australia is lagging well behind most of the world in legislating for paid maternity leave. But that does not mean that you cannot negotiate for paid maternity leave into your contract. All it takes is the tenacity to ask, some good timing and some svelte negotiation skills. Use our tips to negotiate yourself some paid maternity leave.

Negotiate from a power position
Timing is everything when making any kind of contract negotiations — especially those that are going to cost your employer money. The best time to ask for contract changes are when an employer is trying to poach you or when you have just made a significant contribution to the organisation.

Do your research
Make it easy for your employer to say yes. Before asking for paid maternity leave do your research and find out what other companies are paying and the terms and conditions that they are offering. Put together a spreadsheet listing all of this information and have it ready to give to your employer. If you need some help, click here.

Manage the meeting
When the time is right, schedule a meeting with your boss. Start the meeting by explaining how much you love your job. Then (without being modest!) summarise all of the contributions that you have made to the organisation. Observe your employer's reaction to what you are saying. Then, when they look suitably impressed, strike by explaining that you would like to stay with the organisation and be a long-term contributor.

Go in for the kill, explaining that while having children isn't part of your immediate plans, it is something that is bound to come up in the future. Emphasise that because you are conscious of the importance of forward planning you want both your employer and yourself to be prepared so that when the time come the whole process runs smoothly.

Provide your employer with a document outlining your suggestions of how paid maternity will work and what your exact requests are in terms of payments. Go a step further and include a report on how your employer can make provisions now to prepare for the future. Be fair and considered in what you ask for.

Be prepared!
A valuable employee asking for paid maternity leave can send even the most composed employer into a panic because it raises all sorts of issues — including the possibility of losing you, and the costs involved. It's up to you to highlight the benefits: for instance, securing a long-term productive and loyal employee (you!) which will save your employer time and money in the long run. Offering paid maternity leave will also make them an employer of choice, which will mean that they will attract and maintain the best of the best (yep, that's you too).

There is a strong push for the federal government to subsidise paid maternity leave in the future, which will offer your employer some relief and may even come into effect before they need to honour your paid maternity contract terms.

Be reassuring
Explain to your employer that while you want provision to be made in your contract now, you have no immediate plans to take maternity leave. Also, let your employer know that when the time comes, you'll be giving them plenty of advanced warning.

What to do if they won't cough up
Keep in mind that your employer cannot give you paid maternity leave if they simply cannot afford it. That is why it is a good idea to negotiate it into your contract well in advance. That way your employer can start to make provisions now. It is also the reason that there is a heavy push for the federal government to subsidise paid maternity leave.

Sadly some organisations — especially those that are small or run on a tight budget — will simply not be able to afford to offer paid maternity leave. If that is the case with your employer then take the time to weigh up the pros and cons of staying. If an employer is able to offer flexible work hours and the option of working from home after motherhood then it may still be worth staying with that employer. But whatever you do, consider your long-term future and that of your future family.



lisa@careerscoach.com.au
www.careerscoach.com.au