[andorjakab]

I agree, that this problem is the most obvious with small companies. But I think that even on the national scales these regulations harm those, whom they aim to protect. It's a wrong concept to treat the employer and employee like enemies. The good concepts would be win-win-win scenarios. For example, goverments should REDUCE the cost of hiring the handicapped instead of forcing companies to hire them.

[jodrellblank]

A government can't say "no prenancy until you have saved enough to raise your child without working", it's unenforcable.

If you force companies to pay for women being pregnant and raising children, companies hurt. If you force companies not to pay, women hurt because pregnancy means instant unemployment and loss of income. If government pays, everyone pays in taxes even startups and people with no children (but at least the cost is spread widely). If nobody pays and it's left to charity, women and children live in poverty and suffer from that.

In individual cases, a couple can choose when to have children such that they can win no matter the situation, by deciding to save, or arrange to live on one income, etc. But I don't see any win-win scenarios that can be enforced from outside by legislation. Can you?

For example, goverments should REDUCE the cost of hiring the handicapped instead of forcing companies to hire them.

How could they do that (without charging you taxes to pay for it)?

[andorjakab]

"How could they do that (without charging you taxes to pay for it)?"

Easy.

Let's say, in my country €760 NET is a very good salary. If I advertise the job, I get thousands of people to choose from. Some of them will be handicapped. Let's say there is a goverment regulations, that employing the handicapped is duty-free, like cigarettes at the airports. Now I have two options. I either choose somebody who isn't duty-free, and pay €1572 (the empoyee still gets only €760), or, if I'm LUCKY, I will find a somebody suitable for the job among the handicapped persons, and I can choose him or her for the job. That way I've cut my employment costs two half, without paying ANY taxes. It's a nobrainer, even if I have to make some changes in my office to accomodate it for the duty-free person. Because I can slash my employment costs into half on the long run, without paying 1 cent less Salary than to everybody else. And the state? It's a win-win-win. Now they have a lot less people to worry about.