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Pregnant and won't be going back to work. When do I resign?

30 replies

Thinkstoomuch · 17/07/2007 12:04

I'm about 10 weeks preg and already know that I won't return to my work after maternity leave.

My job is great, lovely folks, the hours I want, etc. so I definitely don't want to mess them about, but we are going to move to a different part of the country (we were planning this before I got pregnant), which hopefully will be when I'm 6-7 months.

Does anyone know if I'll still get my full maternity pay if I resign when I go on leave?

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Katy44 · 17/07/2007 12:13

No, you probably won't, just SMP, and if you'd already had it you'd be expected to pay it back. That's how it works at my place, think it's fairly standard. Check your contract though it should tell you.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! When are you due?

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katz · 17/07/2007 12:14

most employers will have a set length of time you have to return for to keep our full maternity pay

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Staceym11 · 17/07/2007 12:17

you do not have to pay SMP back even if you dont return to work.....it is paid by the government not the employer.

but if you were hoping for more from your employer than SMP it is likely you'd have to pay it back!

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Thinkstoomuch · 17/07/2007 12:19

Sorry, should have said - only talking about statutory. My work don't pay anything extra on top of that.

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Thinkstoomuch · 17/07/2007 12:25

What I mean is, am I going to be financially better off by not resigning until I'm due to return to work after a year off? Or would I get the same maternity pay if I resigned on the day I went on leave?

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Katy44 · 17/07/2007 12:25

Yes sorry my post isn't clear, you should get SMP anyway. Anything more they'll expect back I think.

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Katy44 · 17/07/2007 12:26

Thinkstoomuch, I think if you're sure then I'd resign as soon as possible / you feel ready before you go on ML - but check your contract to see what the terms are.

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Katy44 · 17/07/2007 12:27

Just read your post at 12.19
Sounds to me like you'll be in exactly the same position either way
Your employers will pay you SMP and claim it back

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Staceym11 · 17/07/2007 12:33

you dont have to inform them until i think its 2 weeks before you arent going back iyswim, il try and find the site i looked at when i was pg!

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Thinkstoomuch · 17/07/2007 12:34

That's what I was hoping - I don't want to mess them about and they'll need to get someone to replace me.

Any idea which body I call for a definitive answer on this? No answer from Working Families.

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Staceym11 · 17/07/2007 12:43

think its on the dwp website but cant find it right now will keep trying!

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Staceym11 · 17/07/2007 12:44

right got a link end of first paragraph

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ChudleyMintonCanons · 17/07/2007 12:47

I would not resign until you have either have the move finalised or have had your baby. I do not want to be a scaremongerer but life is uncertain, things do change or not go according to plan and you may wish that you hadn't resigned before you actually had to.

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Thinkstoomuch · 17/07/2007 12:52

That's a really good point! I suppose I could be frank with them and say that I don't think I'll be back, so they can at least start to make alternative arrangements.

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Flibbertyjibbet · 17/07/2007 12:59

Its very important to keep your options open. I wasn't going to go back after DS2, and get a different part time job later on. When he was 6m old I was told that my employer was merging, relocating and that voluntary redundancies were being asked for. Guess who was first in the queue - got just over 6month take home pay.
As you can start mat leave at 28 weeks (6.5m) you could be perfectly honest with them and leave - once you have a set date for moving - you do state in OP that the move is 'hopefully'. If not moving by then, then just work longer up towards the birth.

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Oblomov · 17/07/2007 13:03

I think I have missed something. You are 10 wks now. And moving , when you will be 6-7 months pregnant. At which point you wil be resigning. So kind of nothing to do with pregnancy ?
Most people who decide not to return, let their employers know during their maternity leave, maybe quite early on. That still gives employers months to find a replacement.

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Oblomov · 17/07/2007 13:04

Besides, it is easy to feel one way now. And completely different when your lovely baby is lying in your arms. Kepp all your options open.

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Thinkstoomuch · 17/07/2007 13:11

"That still gives employers months to find a replacement." - not really, because who's doing the job in the meantime?
I'm the sole person in my role and it's for a small organisation, a charity, so looking at it from their point of view they'll want someone in as cover as soon as I go out the door.
And this is my second baby, so I don't think I'm going to feel dramatically different to how I feel now - just more knackered!

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Oblomov · 17/07/2007 13:14

O.K. Sorry.

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flowerybeanbag · 17/07/2007 13:20

thinkstoomuch don't resign definitely yet - it's still early days, and however unlikely it might sound, things might change.
I would have a frank conversation with your boss explaining that at present you don't intend to come back. That way if the plan is to get someone to cover, they can recruit on the basis of 'maternity cover, may go permanent', and explain the situation to candidates. This may well make it easier to recruit/attract more people.
That way you keep your options open just in case, but you are giving as much information as possible to your employer.

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Thinkstoomuch · 17/07/2007 13:21

Thanks for that link Stacym. This bit on there seems to answer my question:
"If you leave your employment after your MPP [Maternity Pay Period] has started, you will still get Statutory Maternity Pay from your former employer."

And as FlibbertyJ says I could leave as early as 28 weeks (6.5 months) if the house move is in place (fingers crossed).

Thanks all

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MrsBumblebee · 17/07/2007 13:24

Not an expert, but I'd be a bit careful about SMP. You definitely get it even if you don't go back to work, BUT I think there's a cut-off point - i.e. if you leave your job too early before your due date, you no longer qualify. IIRC, you have to still be in your job something like 11 weeks before your due date in order to get it. I'll try and find the info, as I could be completely wrong - but anyway, DWP or Directgov websites are really helpful. You can also use the Tiger online tool for predicting your maternity pay (there should be a link to it on one of the sites).

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Staceym11 · 17/07/2007 13:27

MRSB you're right the earliest you can take your maternity leave is 11 weeks before the baby is due, to get your SMP

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fruitful · 17/07/2007 13:30

While you're on mat leave they have to keep paying any pension contributions that they normally pay, and you accrue holiday as normal (which they'll prob have to pay you for when you leave).

But its ok to tell them (verbally) that you think you are intending to leave.

I kept quiet about my intention not to return, and just before I was due to go on mat leave, head office decided to close my office and make us all redundant, so I got a lovely redundancy chq and they still had to pay me all the smp.

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MrsBumblebee · 17/07/2007 13:31

Sorry, cross post - I think I was saying the same thing as StacyM's link. On the other points, I'm in the same position as you (decided not to return to very nice company). I told them informally straight away that I wasn't coming back, but gave my official resignation to coincide with the start of my maternity leave. If you do that, you're not entitled to other benefits during mat leave (e.g. holiday entitlement, bonuses, pension contributions etc), but I didn't really see why I should get all that anyway seeing as I wasn't coming back. And being nice can work in your favour - in my case, they're still paying me lots more than SMP for six months because a) they're so nice, and b) they think it was good of me to warn them I'm not coming back .