montreal mike

Then why not try the front burner? It worked for us!

sas-lou

Granted .. but in the UK if i didnt want to work and hubby did, then we would have the safety net of the tax credits to help support us.
I am fine with it not being there in Canada afterall i chose to have children at a silly young age, but i suppose until the money starts coming in in Canada and can be budgeted properly then i can only speculate on how things will be/turn out. SIGH

dbd33

I think that's very much a valid concern. Remember Canada is in many ways "America in the fifties". Apart from the practical consideration of having "baggage" it may be that a potential employer simply thinks it wrong for a woman who has children to be working and so may choose to employ someone else.

(And yes I've heard of there being employment laws in Canada).

iaink

Im not familiar with the UK tax situation any more, but in Canada we get over $250 a month from the government, plus tax advantages of about $600 a year, plus whatever else we can claim back for sports programs, child care, camps etc.

Granted, some of that only kicks in after you have been here a while.

Bare in mind when looking at dbds comments that he doesnt approve of his employees (sorry, "independent contractors" ) taking paid time off, or ever turning their cell phones off.

Most employers are more enlightened, and having kids is not an impedement to employment. If you can deal with a stroppy 5 year old, workplace politics should be a breeze in comparison Our main daytime shift is structured to start and end early to enable the working parents (mostly mums) to be home in time to greet the school bus.

Danny B

I get 15 days holiday and my employer is very easy going when it comes to time off to do kid stuff.

Need a few hours off to watch their sports day, not a problem.
Need a day off because the kids are ill, not a problem.

It realy depends on where you live, I have heard that BC is more laid back than the east coast so maybe that's the reason why I have such an easy time at work?

sas-lou

I wasnt aware of that .. i though you only got some canadian tax credit benefit for children if you was on min wage .. and then a tax break come April ..

Well i feel a little more positive now ..

Elaine B.

Not relevant to you sas-lou but you get $100 a month for every child under 6 but it is considered taxable income.

iaink

No, there is a Universal Child Benefit for kids under 6 worth $100 a month per kid, however, that is viewed as taxable income, so they give with one hand and take some back (at your marginal tax rate) with the other. Makes sense though as if you are a high earner, you dont need a government hand out.

Then there is the Child Tax Benefit, which applies to those with kids under 18, and depends on your previous years reported income. That money is tax free. For an everage earner like myself its about $60 a month from memory (I never get to see it, it goes in the tax free savings account)

montreal mike

Which begs the question 'why on earth hire a young woman most likely to get pregnant (repeatedly). Consider this is very disruptive to the work place plus one has to guarantee her a job when she returns and, to add insult to injury, there will no doubt be future pregnancies.

Some employers will target their hiring to the over 40 crowd figuring the risk of pregnancy is limited.

Yes we have anti-discrimination laws but this happens. One may not agree with this but it is a fact of life.

Elaine B.

Good grief man you'd think getting pregnant was an addiction that you do it once and can't stop

dbd33

An arrangement that can work well for mothers with small children. We don't care that we don't see them, when they work or how they schedule their time.

montreal mike

For some with six or more kids this is the case.

This isn't the way I think but this subtle discrimination does go on day in day out and in plenty of workplaces.

Aviator

Not from my experience

sas-lou

Jesus .. 6 kids and work .. knackered just thinking about it ..

Although i heard this morning on SKY news in the paper review that a family have 12 kids, neither mum or dad work and they get £32k a yr in benefits .. oh and it aint enough for them. Got to love this country .. sorry but if you open your legs and pop out 12 kids you can get a job .. HMMM . the word lazy comes to mind

treehavn

Sure, I was asked an interview in the UK if I was intending on sprogging soon. It happens.