BABY ON BOARD For women, the viability and attractiveness of a career as a pilot is significantly affected by the ability to balance work with maternity leave and childcare commitments. This is a multi-faceted subject that raises questions about flexible working, rostering and the role of fathers. Most fundamental, however, is the issue of maternity pay. The financial support available to a woman following the birth of her child has a major influence on the decisions that she will make, the consequences of which will remain for an entire career. In late 2017, a group of female British Airways pilots came together – with the assistance of BALPA – to campaign for an improvement to the level of maternity pay for BA pilots. The group now comprises approximately one-third of the female pilot community. This group has since been widened out to BALPA’s other recognised airlines. They are committed to encouraging more women to become pilots, and they are united in the belief that the current level of maternity pay available is grossly inadequate, causes significant hardship to women seeking to balance their careers with their family lives, and presents a major disincentive to women considering a career as a pilot. BALPA is seeking to address this problem. We’ve already received confirmation from Thomas Cook that it will improve its provision, and we hope this will cause a domino effect in the industry. We launched the campaign with a parliamentary event to which we invited MPs, peers and journalists, so they could find out more about the current situation and what we want to see improved. However, notably, the airline managements were sadly conspicuous by their absence The event was sponsored by the Rt Hon Maria Miller MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee. We received encouraging support in our aims, and hope this will be the start of a successful pay campaign. “IT HURT AT THE TIME, AND IT HURTS NOW” Pilot and mother, Sarah Brodie, talks about the difficulties of starting a family as a pilot I have been flying commercially for well over a decade now. I invested in my own training and committed to the 24/7 airline world. At the back of my mind when I started out, I had made a conscious decision to not have children, and part of me felt that – because of some complications in my late teens – I probably couldn’t. So there was no leaning back in my career. No question of “what if I have a baby, what is the maternity package, how supportive would my company be?”. I therefore planned for nothing. I didn’t foresee that I was going to become a mother of two, and have to take two years of unpaid leave. But that is exactly what happened. It hurt at the time, and it hurts now. Compared with my male colleagues who joined at the same time as me, I am £150,000 down in earnings. I had no support from my company at all. Nearly every policy within the airline – a world-leading company – is enhanced. However, maternity pay is only statutory. Should I fall over and break my leg while making the choice to play sport outside of work, I would benefit from an enhanced sick-pay package. Yes, you could say that it was my choice to have a family and to take two non-consecutive years away from flying. That is true. I also made a choice to train as a pilot (for the record, I’m not due to retire until 2044, after more than 30 years of service). Like every pilot, I have made a huge commitment to my long-term career, and having a family is a normal life event. If I’ve dedicated and invested my time and resources to the company, shouldn’t it dedicate support to me in return? Why should something so normal, such as having a baby, be such a battle of survival – or even such a test of commitment to the profession? The message I have received from the un-enhanced statutory maternity policy is “fine, go and have your children, but on your head be it – don’t expect any help from us”. Recently, I met up with friends who work at local councils, in the insurance industry, and in HR for multinational companies. All of them have enhanced maternity pay. These women have known me for years, and they were shocked when I explained that I had only received statutory maternity pay: “That is terrible! I’m shocked, I can’t believe it. How did you survive?” Other people aren’t as blinkered as me. Having a family is their first and foremost ambition in life. It’s no surprise to me, therefore, that female pilots are so under- represented in the flight deck. Women who foresee having children in their lives will weigh up the cost of training, the ‘clear the decks’ attitude to courses and sim checks, the shift work, and then see that to have children, you are effectively on unpaid leave (£145 per week for nine months). They’ll then come to the conclusion that it’s just too difficult. And it is difficult. Very difficult. I find my airline to be a diverse and positive place, and my male colleagues are fabulous and supportive. My seniority was maintained while I was on maternity leave, and I was also offered in sequence my command. However, the legacy policy of not paying enhanced maternity, which is so out of step with other industries and multi-national companies – and the airline’s very public ethos of diversity, inclusion and recruiting female pilots – is outdated, and starkly unjustified. Over the next few weeks, and through the launch of ‘Baby on Board’, I hope that the maternity issue is resolved in 2019 – and that a reasonable package is put forward for female pilots as soon as possible. Find out more about our ‘Baby on Board’ campaign and sign our petition at babyonboard.balpa.org MATERNITY PAY