Careers
Sophia talks about the maternity and adoption leave boost at Severn Trent
We're proud of the work that we do to support our working families, which is why we’ve recently made some big changes to our Maternity and Adoption Leave Policy, which will apply to the Severn Trent group.
We’re delighted to be increasing the number of weeks that anyone on Maternity or Adoption Leave can take off to 46 weeks on full pay. And when you take into account the annual leave and bank holidays that would be accrued – that means that anyone impacted can take a whole year off on full pay if they choose to.
We wanted to chat to one of our colleagues who will benefit from this big boost to understand what difference it will make to their new family. We speak to Sophia, a Senior Laboratory Scientist in Shropshire, about how the new changes will support her as she goes off on maternity leave and other women in the STEM world.
Firstly, huge congratulations, Sophia. So, tell us a little bit about you, and your reaction when you heard about the big boost to our maternity policy?
I am senior laboratory scientist in the microbiology laboratory in Shrewsbury and I am due to have a little girl in June. In microbiology we use a variety of methods to analyse water samples from all over the Severn Trent network – we make sure that the water provided to customers is clean and safe to drink.
When I first heard that the new maternity policy gives women a whole year of leave on full pay I was shocked! I had heard that changes were being made to the policy, but I never imagined it would be so generous, I was honestly speechless and so excited I couldn’t wait to tell my partner, Nick.
I feel incredible lucky to work for a company that recognises the difference this will make to mine, and so many other colleagues and their families.
How will these new changes benefit you?
It's difficulty to put into words, how much this means – it will completely change my first year of motherhood. I will now be able to spend a whole year with my little girl, which is something we just couldn’t have afforded before.
When Nick and I were working out how much maternity leave we could afford for me to take before this policy was announced, the most we could afford was six months, and that would have made a massive dent in our savings. I was worried about paying the bills, not having a safety net if we used too much of our savings and about leaving my daughter before I was ready. The new policy has completely lifted all of those worries off our shoulders.
Thanks to Severn Trent I can spend a whole year with my little girl with no financial impact and most importantly by the time I return to work now I will feel much more ready to leave my daughter with grandparents.
How do you think these changes will help attract women into STEM roles?
For women to be attracted to STEM roles they need to see that they will be supported in all stages of their lives and believe that they can succeed as professional women when they become mothers if that is their choice. Our boosted maternity policy will show women that at Severn Trent, women can have STEM careers and fully enjoy motherhood, they can have it all!
Usually, women take a big financial hit whilst on maternity leave and rely on their partner to support them but this policy puts women on the same level as men financially when starting a family. This is a beacon to women who aspire to STEM careers saying: “Your skills are valuable to us, and we want you here!”.