Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Friend not wanting to pay mat leave back NHS

37 replies

BrightnessFalls · 06/01/2020 17:27

A dear friend who has had anxiety at times and doesnt like nursing anymore has told me that shes got a new job in the industry and they will pay her to do x amount of courses but its not classed as the nhs anymore. I didnt realise that lots of community jobs arent nhs anymore. I feel pleased that shes landed her dream job but absolutely gutted shes told me shes going to try not to pay her mat leave back. We get good mat pay and shes the third nurse Ive seen not pay it back. She changed the subject when i said youve only worked for them two years and you are switching jobs instead of going back to the NHS for the three months (or whatever it takes to pay back) I know its not my business but I do feel disappointed because I know shes going to blame it on PND which she did not have. Im a midwife myself so i feel like its rubbing it in.

I never thought id feel so bad about this and I know I have to get over myself!

OP posts:
Owlsintowels · 06/01/2020 22:07

fedup21

I don't know all the details and the detail I do know may be outing, and I dearly love SIL so don't want to upset her if she did stumble across this, but basically she kept sending in arguments about how the amount they said she should pay back was wrong, stuff about Al accrued, bank holidays, stuff like that, and refusing to pay a penny until they agreed an amount, and in the end I think they gave up and stopped asking her.

Hard to believe really, but that's what she told me, and she isn't a liar, so I do believe it

Owlsintowels · 06/01/2020 22:11

Rafals I know one good friend who this did work for and I'm sure it does for others. A guess, but I think a lot of people can't imagine going back and leaving their new baby with childcare, then once they're back and into their old routine they suddenly see its not as bad as they feared and there are some advantages of escaping the family home for a few hours x days a week and being amongst adults and brain stretching work, so they decide to stick with it.

I was always going to go back but I felt very nervous about it in the lead up, but as soon as I was back I realised I'd been worrying about nothing. I can easily imagine a lot of women might quit work if there wasn't the immediate financial penalty, whereas given a month or two on the job they'd remember all the advantages of working and choose to stick to it

Afrigginggoat · 06/01/2020 22:30

I suspect she intends to get a sick note for three months. That satisfies the return requirement but means she is on sick leave. It sucks imo. She knew what she was getting in to when she took the considerably enhanced mat pay.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Care homes
Original poster
BrightnessFalls · 06/01/2020 22:53

Yes thats what she will do

OP posts:
Popc0rn · 06/01/2020 23:07

Well as an NHS nurse, these are my thoughts...

  1. Well done to your friend for getting out and getting a job that hopefully she will enjoy and won't be detrimental to her mental health.

  2. NHS maternity pay (8 weeks full pay and 18 weeks half pay) isn't really that great compared to some companies in the private sector (not all of them).

  3. The "return to work for 3 months or you have to pay it back rule" is stupid. The fact that someone can work for the NHS for 10 months or whatever the minimum time is, or could have done over 10 years, and still have to come back for those 3 months afterwards is really dumb in my opinion.

  4. I bet your friend has done hours of underpaid overtime for the NHS through not taking her full breaks and leaving late etc in those two years she has already worked.

TheHagOnTheHill · 06/01/2020 23:19

I'd love to know where all these non ward areas with good hours are.Any there are are snapped up and with clinics and other areas working at weekends and extended hours there aren't many.

Cohle · 06/01/2020 23:28

You sound like a shit friend. She's only not moving to another NHS job on a bit of a technicality for a start.

How do you "know" she's going to blame it on PND "which she doesn't have"? She hasn't actually told you that. Maybe she does have PND for all you know. Maybe her anxiety is preventing her from returning to that particular role. You really don't have enough insight into the situation to be so judgmental.

C8H10N4O2 · 06/01/2020 23:35

I can’t help but think that were nursing a nicer, better staffed and more family friendly role than it currently is, your DF may not feel so anxious and unhappy about returning to it

Agree entirely with this.

I didnt realise that lots of community jobs arent nhs anymore

So basically she is still going to be serving public health in an NHS job that has been privatised? Why should she be penalised because NHS jobs are privatised?

EachandEveryone · 07/01/2020 09:42

What happens to the NHS pension if nhs nurses are then going into school nursing/community and its under Public Health? Do they still get to pay into their pension?

olivehater · 07/01/2020 10:00

It isn’t really her fault the nhs is being dismantled and sold of to become private. A few years back it would prob have been an nhs job.

missyB1 · 07/01/2020 21:27

This is a nasty thread. With friends like you OP ......

Popc0rn · 07/01/2020 22:30

@EachandEveryone it depends on the company, Virgin have taken over a lot of community services and you can carry on your NHS pension with them.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page