Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Noone is demanding that. If the company can't get it done without the person taking parental leave they simply have to sink or swim.

Like with any other law regulating worker benefits and worker safety. But companies know that starting out and have to plan and act accordingly. That's the cost of doing business.



It's only the "cost of doing business" because of man made arbitrary laws. It doesn't have to be the cost of doing business. Why do you claim "noone is demanding that", when in the next sentence you just shrug it off as "they'll just have to sink, whatever". If the alternative for the business is to go out of business, it is "demanding".

Businesses are not at fault for their employees getting pregnant, so why should they have to shoulder the risk? If society wants to protect mothers, society should pay up, not the individual businesses.

Are you saying people shouldn't run childcare facilities? Or only huge childcare facilities are allowed, which certainly wasn't the intention of the laws for maternal leave?


> If the alternative for the business is to go out of business, it is "demanding".

Then don't hire employees in a region/country that has good employee protection laws/regulations. If businesses want to operate in such a region/country they will have to comply with ALL the laws and regulations there. If they don't, they should operate in a (in this respect at least) third-world country like the US.

> Businesses are not at fault for their employees getting pregnant, so why should they have to shoulder the risk?

Reproduction is integral to society. I businesses don't want to have that "risk" they should only hire people old enough that they can be sure they're barren/impotent but then they're discriminating in their hiring process AND get employees that are already relatively close to retirement (i.e. not a good idea).

> If society wants to protect mothers, society should pay up, not the individual businesses.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_leave#Europe_and_Cent... -> Germany since it would to me if I had children. 14 weeks maternity leave with full pay, 14 months parental leave with up to 67% or the maximum (1800€ per month according §2 (1) BEEG) specified by the law. In Germany this monetary responsibility is mixed (social security AND employer).

> Are you saying people shouldn't run childcare facilities? Or only huge childcare facilities are allowed, which certainly wasn't the intention of the laws for maternal leave?

???, this was never part of my argument. Going back to your comment I originally replied to, many many businesses and branches of business have difficulty hiring people but that doesn't really matter here.


"Then don't hire employees in a region/country that has good employee protection laws/regulations."

Not very practical for childcare facilities?

" If businesses want to operate in such a region/country they will have to comply with ALL the laws and regulations there"

The point is that laws can be changed. Here in Germany especially, we are very aware that laws are not automatically good. We went through this period of time where a lot of bad laws were in place.

"they should only hire people old enough that they can be sure they're barren/impotent"

Or, you know, men? Which is exactly what the feminists governments want to avoid, but they bring it about with their paternity laws. Also, what you suggest is technically illegal in most Western countries (discrimination).

Sorry, but I get the impression you haven't really thought much about these issues yet.

"14 months parental leave with up to 67% or the maximum"

Yes, the government pays mothers, but it doesn't compensate businesses for the losses they incur when women they hired leave for motherhood. They just have "punishing" laws like the job position has to be kept open in case the mother wants to return. That is a punishment for businesses, who are not at fault for women having children.

"this was never part of my argument."

You just dismiss it if certain types of businesses struggle. I explicitly mentioned childcare facilities because I have experienced the problem firsthand.

The point is that laws can have unintended consequences. And those don't go away by simply saying "the business should just go bankrupt or operate in another country".

"many many businesses and branches of business have difficulty hiring people but that doesn't really matter here."

Of course it matters, it means the cost of hiring women is even higher, because replacing them is expensive.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: