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It should be stated clearly in benefits details provided with your offer letter. If for some reason that doesn’t come with your offer letter, ask for their benefits details (should detail all benefits - 401k, PTO, health insurance etc)
400 is not that small. it’s very odd to me that they have nothing in place, at their size
Do they not have a policy or do they not offer it at all? Some smaller companies don't have a policy because no employee has needed maternity leave before. Meet with HR and see if they'll create one for you.
In the future I'd ask about benefits and if maternity leave is not mentioned then ask explicitly about leave benefits. If this question is what causes you to lose out on a job, then it's probably not one you want.
I’d want to connect with a current employee to get intel before working at any small company.
* current or former employee
There are ways to get this info without asking directly.
1. Look to see if the company lists awards on careers site like “best place to work for women” or “best place to work from the HRC.” If so, likely they offer health and wellness benefits that pertain to women.
2. Look at the # of female employees of child bearing age that work there in that department or team. If their tenure at the company is between 4-12 years and there are any signs of growth, that’s a great sign that you can build a career there while also balancing home life.
3. Read reviews on Glassdoor and see if this is mentioned. Command F will help you search keywords and research quickly vs. reading every post.
4. In the interview process you can ask about how the company supports work life balance or retains top talent where they will gladly brag about benefits if that’s something worth bragging about. If they say “we’re like a family here…” run.
As someone mentioned, you just ask for information of all additional benefits. This should include 401k, PTO, holidays, and specific leave types like military leave and maternity/paternity leave.
And if you don’t see information on maternity leave then you can say something like “I was reviewing you leave policies and I didn’t see a section on maternity leave — I think it speaks a lot about company values to see how they support new parents. Can you point me to that section?”
It is unfortunately extremely common in the US for companies to use the lowest legal mandate — which is to offer the unpaid 12 weeks of FMLA.