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Salary Story: No Maternity Pay Forced Me To Have An Abortion

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In our series Salary Stories, women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions and job loss, with the hope it will give young women more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.

Been in the workforce for at least five years and interested in contributing your salary story? Submit your information here. Published stories receive £100.

Trigger warning: This article contains discussion of abortion.

Age: 27
Location: Norwich
Current industry and job title: Oil and gas company, contracts specialist
Current salary: £45,000
Number of years employed since school or university: Five
Starting salary: £21,000
Biggest salary drop: From £24,000 to £21,000 in 2022.
Biggest salary jump: From £35,040 to £45,000 in 2024.

Biggest negotiation regret: When I interviewed for a past job, I stated that I would not take less than £30,000. When I was offered the job at £32,000 I was so shocked and happy, I did not negotiate further. I am now more aware of the industry standard for the job, and I believe I could have started at a higher wage.

Best salary advice: Know your worth. I stayed at jobs where I was treated horrendously, was pushed to work crazy hours, all whilst being practically on minimum wage. I was burnt out, frustrated and put off an entire industry due to one negative job. Now, I know that I was worth more than that role, and that somewhere else will value my ethic and worth, and I wish I didn’t stay put thinking this was normal. There is nothing normal about crying at work.

Once I had completed my degree and post-grad, I got a temporary job as an admin assistant whilst someone was on maternity leave. This job was mostly remote, and was very isolating. But at the time, was above minimum wage, and I relished being paid weekly. I thought this was an excellent salary as I was earning more than my partner, so I didn’t negotiate, which is something I later regretted.
I really enjoyed being able to set a weekly budget and have spending money after being so skint in university, though. I took this time to interview for other roles, whilst enjoying having spending money.
I got this role because I failed to obtain a legal training contract at a law firm. It is incredibly hard to get these roles. Getting the paralegal role was a good opportunity, but what I didn’t realise was how you are treated. You are expected to do anything from your own caseload, fixing the solicitor’s contract layout, sorting through real estate boxes, and more. You had to be available around the clock and it was hard work for only £22,000.

It was a massive jump in responsibility, and despite not having overtime, I clocked around 50-60 hours a week. It was a very toxic environment, but at the time I didn’t know this was not normal. After six months of late nights, burnout and tears, I was told I had not passed my probation in a horrid Teams call with the partner. When asked why, he stated I should stop asking and just, quote, “accept my fate”.

This was a very dark moment for me, and I felt I had failed in my career before it had really started. I was fortunate to have some savings to fall back on, and as I was living with my partner I didn’t feel totally responsible for myself. But emotionally, it took me years and years to recover, I felt incredibly insecure and to this day I panic over probations and overtime expectations. I would dread bumping into the partners, and not go to networking events. I later ended up working with someone who knew that solicitor, which was a major stress as I was so paranoid that he would tell everyone that I was incompetent. He never did, but the fear didn’t go away.

I contacted the agency I had used previously, and was asked to fill in as an admin assistant for a university. This job was very easy, and the staff were lovely, which was much needed. I got a new job a week into this role, but ended up working at this role for around six weeks before starting my new role.

I was able to decompress from my old job as I was paid hourly and could take on as many hours as I wanted, which allowed me to truly “leave work at work”. It helped as there were no expectations — in fact they said I was fast and efficient — it was an easy job but for decent money. It was a lovely month and a bit, so I just enjoyed working there and leisurely interviewing.

I started a new role in a different industry, taking a slight pay cut. I still was fixated on having a job in law, so this role was less of a chosen career change. I knew I could use the work within this career to help my CV as it was law-adjacent (arbitration, litigation), but this job wasn’t for me long-term — I actually turned down the opportunity to interview for a promotion. 

Having said that, this job was amazing. I had great colleagues, supportive managers, and lots of responsibility. But I knew this was not the career for me. The career trajectory was practically non-existent, turnover was high, and the work, after six months or so, became really mundane.

Also, despite trying to negotiate the salary for this role when I started, I was told that the role was fixed and there was no opportunity for a higher salary — despite the interviewers saying my CV, education and experience was the best they had ever seen. It was especially disheartening when I discovered others had started on higher salaries — especially the men — which made me feel the place was misogynistic. The salary, despite being not that different to my previous salaries, felt a lot less, especially as this was in 2022 when there was a sharp cost of living increase. I had interviewed elsewhere during this role but could not find a good opportunity. 

I was given a £500 raise due to the cost of living crisis. At the time I was given this raise, I was outperforming all within my team, and when I discovered others were given greater raises, I knew it was time to move on. I was having to go into my savings every month to get by, and the work was not rewarding enough to make up for it.

I had a meeting with my manager who incorrectly told me that everyone was getting a flat £500 increase due to inflation. After my colleagues discussed it, we noticed the differences in raises. I was very upset. I had to do around 10 hours of (paid) overtime a week to not feel overwhelmed by the cost of living crisis. When I left my role, I highlighted this disrespectful increase as a core reason for leaving and explained as I lost a great deal of trust and respect.

I was approached by a recruiter on LinkedIn, and decided I had nothing to lose by interviewing. I boldly stated I would not take anything less than £30,000, with the thought we would meet in the middle at circa £25,000. When I got offered the job at £32,000 I was over the moon. The job, although in an entirely new industry, was very similar to my paralegal role – but less toxic. I interacted with lawyers on a daily basis, drafted contracts and negotiated rates. It’s was a great job, as would I leave at 5 p.m. sharp. It made happy that I was fired from my previous role, as otherwise I would have never stumbled into this role. I was able to build my experience, self-worth and knowledge, with the hope of one day qualifying in-house as a solicitor. 

At the mid-year career appraisal, I discussed legal qualification with my manager, who requested I submit a business case. I was so excited and thankful for the opportunity… only to later find out that he never submitted the case and that I was effectively cut out of future opportunities. That, plus an HR complaint which was filed on my behalf against a senior manager harassing me and other young women, made me start to hate working, despite actually loving my role and work. 

I was given a 9.5% salary increase at the annual appraisal cycle, where the department head personally invited me to his office to commend my good work. He explained that was the largest % increase in the firm, and it came due to my good work. This, alongside a £5,000 bonus made me feel more valued at work, and I decided to stay and continue to work in my role. But this was not without difficulty. My line manager was toxic and mean, and my colleague was made so ill from his actions she went on long-term sick leave. I was resenting working, and felt I had no structure or support within the team. I still delivered excellent work, but it became harder and harder to push through my manager taking credit for my work, and setting me up for failure. I felt that I had no choice but to move on. 
Once again, I was approached by a recruiter for this opportunity, and after having such a horrendous time with my toxic boss, I felt I had to give the opportunity a go. What was especially challenging was that my colleague (and friend) was also going for the same role.

After the interview I felt confident I had the role, and was pleased to be told I had, but the salary was less than I had expected. I went back and forth negotiating, highlighting my experience, the fact I have two degrees, and my enthusiasm for the role. I eventually got an increase of £500 to bring my salary to £45,000, which I was grateful for, but I was concerned I had already made a bad impression over £500.

I had to give three months’ notice in my old role which felt like an age, especially with my toxic manager, and I didn’t feel excited by the new role as I felt forced out of my current role. Eventually I started my new role, which was great but a long commute.

Unfortunately, within the first week I actually had a medical emergency following an abortion I felt forced to have due to not being eligible for maternity leave between roles. I think it is an incredibly difficult thing for women to have to go through, knowing you want to move jobs, but effectively having to then lose eligibility of not just enhanced maternity pay, but also statutory. I am incredibly pro-choice, but hate how the choice was financially taken from me, as I could not support my maternity leave. I had a massive haemorrhage following the abortion and had to take two weeks off work in the first month, which was incredibly stressful and isolating. Luckily my manager and team were supportive, and fortunately I was actually able to have sick pay, but this affected me mentally. I have a great deal of imposter syndrome in this role, as I am the youngest by far and I am managing the admin team, but I have had excellent feedback and constantly think to myself “Would a man think this way?”. I am able to save for a house deposit and go on holidays, so I am happy and content where I am.

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