Multiple maternity leaves... Would you be annoyed with your colleague?

[ChikiTIKI]

I started working somewhere in 2016 and am just finishing up my second maternity leave since starting there.

If you were a colleague or manager of mine would you be annoyed that I had taken this time off?

And if I took a third and final maternity leave any time soon... Would you be furious?

It's one of the biggest employers in the uk, although there have been some staffing shortages in the team (some which could have been handled better, some which we couldn't have planned for).

Not me but NHS team where one member of staff had three maternity leaves in five years. Manager was pretty pissed off as there's never any money to provide a maternity cover.

It is what it is. You're entitled to do it.

I meant to write that the second successful pregnancy, I had just started a new role. I wasn't pregnant when I joined the organisation.

Irritated, yes tbh.

I know someone who had a year's ML; had another year unpaid leave; then got pregnant towards the end of that, came back for six months before going on second ML, intimated to colleagues that she might not come back after that, but then during that ML we had budget issues, and guess who decided to take a payoff for voluntary redundancy? And did not leave her projects in a fit state to hand over.

@RunningFromInsanity

Yes. Starting the job pregnant, then 3 maternity leaves in 5 years? I wouldn’t say anything but internally I would be pissed. Constant agency/temp cover affects a workplaces productivity.

I think this would likely be the case. I’m surprised at the amount of people saying otherwise, not many managers are going to think this is a good thing for the business

I would t care. I was in a role 15 months before my first leave (had been with the company 10 years). Came back for 19 months, then went off again.

No body cared. Apart from the horrible project they kept trying to dump on me, that I joked would probably be waiting for me when I got back. 14 days before I returned it was completed!

That’s two lots of maternity leave in 5 years of employment. It’s hardly excessive! Quite usual I’d imagine as it’s fairly common to have an age gap of 2 or 3 years.

I’ve been working for the same NHS trust for 5 years and am 5 months into my second maternity leave (the first being 2018-2019). Lots of my colleagues have had multiple babies in the time I’ve been there.

I’ve took three maternity leaves (full year off): 2015, 2017 and 2021.

I’m worried I’ll be taking the piss if I have another baby (debating it) but it’s a huge company so I don’t feel too bad. I definitely wouldn’t feel bad of colleagues, this is just how I feel I may be perceived!

(Also I’m a midwife and meet loads of women who go back to work pregnant!)

I took three maternity leaves in my old job, nobody seemed bothered.

Employers are aware of the risk of maternity leave when they employ women of child bearing age.

Try not to overthink things.

Hmm kind of mixed responses now. Makes me feel a bit nervous.

Would people be less annoyed over time if I carried on working there for another 10 years or more afterwards? I really like working at this place and don't see why I would go to work somewhere else.

It's NHS.

@Youngatheart00

Furious is a bit strong but 3 mat leaves in 5 years would seem a lot to me and it would get clear your priority wasn’t the company / your career at that time. Before anyone piles on, that’s obviously a personal choice to make, and not one that’s wrong, but I wouldn’t expect to be ‘employee of the year’.

My thought too.

Not so much of a problem for a big company. Pretty hard for a small one, where your colleagues will probably be covering for you. Three times.

TBH yes but it's just one of those things the chopping and changing of staff always has an impact on the team . Where it lost productivity ,having to pick up the slack ,training new people and new people need help and supports .
There's a cost to the business many small businesses struggling as few maternity leave could literally finish them .

It seems par for the course from what I hear of friends in the NHS. It's allowed so I really wouldn't try to second guess what people think tbh.

Furious is a strong word and how I felt about it would depend on how well your previous leave’s were handled.

As other pp’s have said short term cover can have an impact on the team and if you came back to say you were going off again soon it may make people internally roll their eyes if it means yet another contractor

I'd be expecting for the 4th maternity leave to start shortly after return from the third.

For me it is how long you wouldbe back before next mat leave. Women who come back either pregnant or get pregnant instantly it doea annoy me as being back for 6 or 9 months isn't really much use. You hand work back to them and then have to take it again, easier to just keep it. Longers gaps are better IMO, as it also gives the woman a chance to get settled back into work and deliver something

No, it's not a woman's fault she has the womb in her relationship and has to undergo the pregnancy every time rather than her partner being able to do every other one or whatever. Our management never ever hire maternity cover so teams are always short staffed during mat leave which annoys everyone but we are annoyed at management not the person taking the leave.

I wouldn't say anything but yes I would definitely be irritated.

I think the people who have done this are the ones saying that no one was bothered!

If the team are professional they will suck it up and not say anything. It doesn't mean that it doesn't stick in the craw!

It may not be such an issue for NHS as there are lots of women who do this but I know I have worked for bosses in private sector who used to avoid women of a certain age (sad but true).

I took on a mat cover secondment a while ago and when the woman I was covering came in to discuss her return with the manager, she announced that she was several months pregnant.

I personally didn’t care but there were raised eyebrows and jokes made in the office.

I think the people who have done this are the ones saying that no one was bothered!
I've not done it, but think it's rubbish of people to be promoting maternity discrimination, and people being furious that the female of the species don't put their boss ahead of their reproductive plans is backwards in my opinion.

Nobody gets to their final years and thinks "you know I wish I'd spent more hours at work and prioritising work", but plenty of people will wish they had more time with their family or had the children they always wanted.

I would be pretty annoyed as nowhere ive worked has hired replacements for maternity leave meaning the rest of the team covers. Also as an employer it costs money, so kind of annoying in an understatement. In very large companies it might be different but for small to medium sized businesses it illustrates why they are reluctant to hire younger women

@SausageDogSandwich

I think the people who have done this are the ones saying that no one was bothered!

If the team are professional they will suck it up and not say anything. It doesn't mean that it doesn't stick in the craw!

It may not be such an issue for NHS as there are lots of women who do this but I know I have worked for bosses in private sector who used to avoid women of a certain age (sad but true).

Possibly - I will have worked for my employer for over 4 years by the time I go on mat leave with no.2 with one previous 9 month mat leave. However most of my colleagues are women, and there are plenty of mums who have had multiple children whilst employed there. Staff retention of mums where I work is also very high compared to other groups of staff I've noticed, which is obviously a big benefit for my employer. Plenty of women with multiple mat leaves with long service but there is a higher turnover of mostly younger childless staff. Difficult to compare male vs female as there are so many more women than men in my workplace.