Not just a small business employer. Always have thought that most perks don't belong in the workplace.
Surely it comes down to what the renumeration is and how it compares with your situation in your home country, not whether you get something locals don't. I think that expats have different needs, but comparison of living costs versus income is what it comes down to. If you are better off here, come, if you aren't, don't.Original Post Deleted
My husbands company do not offer expat packages, but the package makes it more than worthwhile compared to the UK.
I am all for continuity of service AND keeping conditions the same as your previous country. If you're worth it, go for it, get what you want and deserve - just like the employer who will not hesitate to get rid of you if you don't deliver.
What I'm against (and always have been, even as an employee in a previous life) is the view that the employer is responsible for your welfare. They're not and will never be.
Don't worry, you've made your point clearly and successfully. He's just backtracking and scrabbling around to save face.
I also see in a lot of expat contracts better than legal maternity provisions. I thought that was generally accepted and non controversial.
The only time the employer cannot terminate the employee is DURING pregnancy - after being told about the pregnancy. I think there is a short period right after too. But after that, all restraints are off. So there is no long term job security at all. The only benefit to the woman, therefore, is that they get paid during pregnancy and for a short period afterwards - in other words this translates into a money issue.
Put it another way, if the law said pregnant women could not be terminated, but didn't get paid for maternity leave, then no employer would sack pregnant workers. It's only about having to pay people who are not working. If you are a small employer, paying for a member of staff who is not working it a big drain. For larger employers it's much less of an issue because the woman is a smaller proportion of the cost/benefit equation.