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Kacie Long
star-svg
17
10/14/19 at 7:43PM UTC
in
Parenting

Maternity Leave for Commissioned Employees

For the past 11 years, I have worked for a Global technology fortune 1000 company. I am 1 of 1600 field-based commission only sales employees in the US. While we are all W-2 employees, we are paid 100% commissions in the form of one time signing bonuses and residuals. We do not receive PTO and we are the only channel in the company that can not opt in for Short Term Disability benefits. In 2016, right before having my first child, I discovered that our sales channel did not have a standard maternity program. The two options that were presented to me were: 1. Take FMLA leave for up to 12 weeks. Taking leave will mean that I would be cut off from email access and intranet access. Will not be allowed to submit any sales deals during the entirety of my leave. 2. Take a "unofficial" leave, which would allow me access to my internal systems, the ability to send in deals, but be held to my current sales quota - and if not met would count against my overall sales performance. I made a lot of noise about these 2 options, and eventually was told that they had created a maternity leave program for the sales force that was in the final stages of being approved. Fast forward to now...when I just found out that that program was never finalized and that the options today remain the same as they were back in 2016. Some sales employees have been told to take "intermittent FMLA" while out on leave, but this doesn't seem realistic with a new baby, nor does it address how our sales quotas will be handled - since they are measured on a monthly basis. For non-sales employees of our organization, they have both PTO and STD to tap into during leave - but again, both of these benefits are not provided to the sales channel and therefore it is 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Putting many of these new moms/parents in a position where they feel like they have to continue to work while adapting to the new life of having a child. That is what I opted to do when I had my first baby in 2017, and I will tell you the changes and frustrations I felt both personal and profession were heartbreaking. My company recently launched a women's network within our organization, and I am one of the chairs of that network. As a young, professional mom I take family leave very seriously and I think that it is a disservice to our incredible organization and our employees by not have a viable maternity program for the talented individuals within our sales channel who desire to have a family. I am reaching out to the FairyGodBoss community because I need your help with insight and resources. In early November, I will have an opportunity to meet with our President, Director of HR, and HR General Counsel to address this issue. I want to bring a solution to them, rather than just complaining of the lack of a program. I am looking for guidance and insight from individuals who work in sales (ideally commission only) that's company has a maternity program that addresses sales quotas and commissionable pay. Or anyone that is well versed with the legalities of FMLA and how we can bridge that gap that currently exists within my organization. I am thrilled to be a part of the FairyGodBoss community and look forward to hearing your thoughts and prospective.

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Francesca Vanderwall
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610
10/28/19 at 12:34AM UTC
Let me know how I can help. I work at Edward Jones and we offer paid maternity leave using a very simple structure for our commission-based employees.
Corey Hatcher
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11
04/16/20 at 7:31PM UTC
Hi Francesca - I am in HR and am trying to work on policy for my company in these situations. Would you be able to share what your company provides, as the above options are not the most optimal for the employee! We want to keep it simple and have the most impact!
Francesca Vanderwall
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610
04/16/20 at 7:45PM UTC
You bet! Can we schedule a call to discuss? I could outline bullet points here, but that also means explaining our commission structure. (It’s all publicly available, just don’t want to hijack the thread.)
jen
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11
12/17/20 at 8:33PM UTC
Hi Francesca, I'm trying to help my company draft a split scale for commission now as they outline my maternity leave policy - would you be able to share what's worked for you?
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Anonymous
10/24/19 at 12:59AM UTC
For your November meeting, I'd suggest that you focus on what was previously offered rather than try to craft something completely new from scratch. To me it seems like option 2 sounds better than option 1. But that's just me without understanding what the consequences of not meeting quota are (assuming that they would not be firing you etc). I am assuming those options had been conceived by someone in HR or they wouldn't have been offered in the first place and now which is why from a practical standpoint I would start there and try to find out why those options are now no longer on the table.
Maggie B
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983
Business and Data Analysis Consultant
10/23/19 at 5:32PM UTC
Unfortunately, I read this and just nodded. Yep - FMLA or unpaid leave are completely normal and legal options for employers to offer. Yes - it's stupid that that's the case. Yes - it should change.
Catie Hargrove
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18
Executive coach, leadership expert & author
10/22/19 at 11:41PM UTC
Kacie, it's really unfortunate that we're even discussing this in 2019, especially considering you work for an established large company with a huge salesforce. I don't have any suggestions for how to fight the battle in front of you but I just want to offer my support for your willingness to fight this battle on behalf of those who will come behind you. There would be no progress in improving work conditions for women & parents in the workplace without people like you willing to stand up and create change. Your leadership in this effort may not change anything for you in the long run but you are undoubtedly helping to create an amazing impact for the women who follow in your footsteps.
Romy Newman
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299
Entrepreneur and mom of 2!
10/16/19 at 12:27AM UTC
Wow. This is crazy! I can’t believe there is not an established precedent for this. Since you are a long-tenured employee, I would suggest that you earn some sort of “equivalent” salary while on leave. Does you company offer paid leave to other employees? (Candidly, I had to forfeit my commission while on leave but at least i still got 50% salary.

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