Scholarship table
ABI moved to 8 wks 2 years ago and it's kept a lot of people. It's becoming a more essential part of a package to recruit with.
Agreed.If it actually was a main reason why you chose to work for your company, then the benefit had its desired effect.
Except it is also causing enormous strain in some areas and other employees in some cases. One of our departments currently has 1/2 of their 16 member team out for maternity / paternity. The 8 folks remaining are so slammed that one resigned earlier this week. There’s always the other side of the coin and unintended consequences. People trying to be supportive of their colleagues, but also knowing how effected they are. The older employees who never got that kind of time off, you can bet there is some resentment...you can hear it in their remarks.
I find that employees frequently take their cues from their boss and the culture that person created.
That is just a lack of planning and poor management. I have been making arrangements with teammates for 5+ months. Everyone is incredibly supportive and excited for me. I have heard zero resentment, and the majority of my coworkers are in their 40s and 50s. I am splitting it up into 4 weeks right away and another 4 weeks after my wife goes back to work next summer. People take leave all the time. My boss was out for 6 weeks after back surgery. Another woman had breast cancer and was intermittently out for weeks at a time during heavy chemo sessions for years. Someone else needed 3 weeks to grieve after losing a spouse. Life happens. If management can't adapt, that is on them. And MU82, it was absolutely one of the major reasons I came here, along with total compensation. We are just starting a family. I was determined to find a job that would let me be the kind of dad I want to be.
First, congrats on the family. Companies offer benefits to recruit employees. It sounds like your company thought it out carefully, decided to offer this benefit, and it helped them land a great employee like you! Win-win-win.Otherwise, you make many outstanding points. Well-run companies can handle all kinds of situations that crop up. And as somebody else said, if you don't like that companies offer paternity leave, hasta la bye-bye. Go work for Caveman Inc.
the sky is falling attitude and the slippery slope arguments are terrible.
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny. Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.
Dumb.In the US, you are an at-will employee, i.e., any employee is free to leave the company at any time for any reason whatsoever.
This is pretty much true in any country where slavery is illegal.
Many countries use employment contracts which have limitations on how and when an employee is able to leave. In return, they have greater job security than in the United States, and better severance benefits if they are terminated. It is a double edged sword and I like our system better, but not everyone has a system like ours. These contracts are entered into freely. It is definitely not slavery.
Yup. Most of my european friends all work on contracts and are not at will employees free to leave at any time. They have to wait for the contract to be up.
Or else what?
They give notice. Negotiate leave date. An example is my friend Robert who had to wait 6mo after the half year before he could leave his position. However, they will often let the employee go before the full term of the negotiation. Also, people in other countries respect rules and agreements like my friend Robert who is German.
I'm not being argumentative, but I'm really curious about the answer to Chick's question: "Or else what?" What would be the consequence if someone just quit without giving notice?
It's just not done. Cultural difference. You ever try and get a German to walk against a "Don't Walk" sign? It's like pulling teeth. Or see a German pass on the right? No way. No everyone thinks like America thankfully.
Contracts are legally binding documents. Much like a non-compete. Big companies have a deep bench of lawyers and will take legal action if a worker tries to reneg on a signed agreement. That is why workers often comply. Employment law is very complex in Europe.
Hypothetically speaking, what would happen if an American got a job in Germany and quit? Obviously, no German would ever do such a thing. But if some American did it, what would happen? I understand the binding nature of employment contracts and all that. What I'm asking -- and nobody seems willing (or able) to answer -- is what do these employment contracts say will happen if someone quits? When that deep bench of lawyers takes legal action, what are they asking the court/tribunal to do?Again, I'm not trying to be argumentative. I've been an employment lawyer for nearly 25 years. I'm not familiar with how this works in Europe and I'm genuinely curious.
IANAL, But my assumption would be to sue for breach of contract
Yeah, if only.more people thought like Germans.