Two Sarahs: new motherhood in Sweden vs Seattle

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yeah, I think many people don't realize that paid maternity leave in many countries will not replace a full time professional salary. It is much more like unemployment benefits, very capped. And while some companies pay a top up, many similarly situated professional workers in the US receive similar paid leave through STD policies, as well as employer-paid leave. Canadian-style paid family leave would be great for lower income families. It would not come close to replacing the income of a white collar DCUM-type. If people think they are getting their 6 figure salaries on a year long leave, they are kidding themselves.

True, but for many people it can easily come close when you factor in the money you save on daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yeah, I think many people don't realize that paid maternity leave in many countries will not replace a full time professional salary. It is much more like unemployment benefits, very capped. And while some companies pay a top up, many similarly situated professional workers in the US receive similar paid leave through STD policies, as well as employer-paid leave. Canadian-style paid family leave would be great for lower income families. It would not come close to replacing the income of a white collar DCUM-type. If people think they are getting their 6 figure salaries on a year long leave, they are kidding themselves.

True, but for many people it can easily come close when you factor in the money you save on daycare.

True they’re making 60-80% of their normal salary though, which is pretty good plus they have job security so it’s not like here where if you took extended leave, your employer might be trying to replace you. Because their whole system is set up to accommodate people taking extended leave from work. Also, when you do return to work daycare is much cheaper in Sweden than it is here too. We have relatives there and we paid the same amount for our kid to go to 3 hours of preschool 4 days per week as they paid to have their kid in daycare full time 8 hours per day including breakfast and lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yeah, I think many people don't realize that paid maternity leave in many countries will not replace a full time professional salary. It is much more like unemployment benefits, very capped. And while some companies pay a top up, many similarly situated professional workers in the US receive similar paid leave through STD policies, as well as employer-paid leave. Canadian-style paid family leave would be great for lower income families. It would not come close to replacing the income of a white collar DCUM-type. If people think they are getting their 6 figure salaries on a year long leave, they are kidding themselves.

True, but for many people it can easily come close when you factor in the money you save on daycare.

And it normalizes taking long leave to stay with a newborn. 6-12 months become the expected norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yeah, I think many people don't realize that paid maternity leave in many countries will not replace a full time professional salary. It is much more like unemployment benefits, very capped. And while some companies pay a top up, many similarly situated professional workers in the US receive similar paid leave through STD policies, as well as employer-paid leave. Canadian-style paid family leave would be great for lower income families. It would not come close to replacing the income of a white collar DCUM-type. If people think they are getting their 6 figure salaries on a year long leave, they are kidding themselves.

True, but for many people it can easily come close when you factor in the money you save on daycare.

And it normalizes taking long leave to stay with a newborn. 6-12 months become the expected norm.

Actually in Canada many women go back before then because your job is not protected. They only have to protect your job or an equivalent one for the first 17 weeks. Beyond that, they can give your job away or replace you.

[Anonymous]

Question about the $500/week mat leave pay in Canada - is it taxed as normal income?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question about the $500/week mat leave pay in Canada - is it taxed as normal income?

Yes, it is taxed as regular income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question about the $500/week mat leave pay in Canada - is it taxed as normal income?

Taxed as normal income (and it's canadian dollars)

[Anonymous]

I don't think I could have taken 17 weeks off at that pay rate, TBH. I had 8 weeks of disability at 80% pay, and used two weeks of PTO, then two weeks of unpaid leave.

[Anonymous]

for most people, some money is better than zero.

I think I got a check for $5K to cover my 12 weeks of unpaid leave. That was because I had paid into the Short Term Disability Policy that my work offered to us as an option. It wasn't my entire paycheck, but it sure as hell was better than nothing. Helped us through the 3 months without my full paycheck.

I had to miss a month of work for a surgery last year - My boss was able to get me something like $750. Again, better than zero.

I wouldn't pass up $500/week.

[Anonymous]

In Canada, it's part of the same program as unemployment benefits (Employment Insurance). You pay in 1.62 percent of your salary and your employer also pays in 1.4 percent what you pay. Over the years, the program has generally become less generous for the unemployment and more generous for maternity leave.

(In the US unemployment is administered on a state by state basis. Some states are more generous than Canada, and some are more stingy.)

[Anonymous]

PP here. I meant the employer pays 1.4 times what the employee pays.