to think this is really not on (maternity leave)

[manicinsomniac]

Having a baby, having your full time off, coming back for a month then announcing you're 4 months pregnant and will be off again. If you knew you were pregnant (or even trying) should you really go back to work, knowing that your employer was going to have to pay two salaries for one job?

I really don't know if this is standard practice and completely ok or whether it's unfair and cheating the system. It seems unfair and a bit immoral to me.

They're not paying two salaries? Govt pays for stat maternity pay.

Well, if the alternative is to just quit, then of course you'd go back to work if you're entitled (I hate using that word here, but you know what I mean) to maternity leave then what's wrong with taking it?

Watching with interest. I am 2 months gone (after IVF), have been back four months. I have worked for the Company for 15 years but even so, my boss may not be thrilled.

So you're saying you shouldn't work if you're trying for a baby?

Agree with Pseudo, government pays stay maternity pay, not the employer

It's legal. Whether it's ethically OK is another matter (personally I don't have a problem with it).

I was under the impression SMP is paid by HMRC and thus there isn't a loss to the company? Unless of course they choose to augment it, in which case I'm sorry but it's the company's problem not the employee's.

They are perfectly within their rights to do this.

Maybe that's the reason I can't find any work at the moment,I live in a smallish town,lots of small business,cv's handed out to most of them. I am early thirties (look younger) ,had my children young and am most definitely finished. Would it be illegal to put "Finished reproducing,will not require maternity leave" on my cover note?

Yes, YABU. You normally have to back to work after mat leave or pay back your mat pay. Unless the employer gives a very generous package they will not be paying "two salaries". SMP is paid by the state for the most part and is 500 per month.

X-posted. Glad I was right!

I'm going to be controversial here and say I don't like it, having 'worked' with someone who did it for 4 children....then quit at the end of her last lot of mat leave

Is there an amount of time that you have to return to work for before entitled to maternity benefits again?

Yes damn those women not having their children to suit the most important people in the world. Imagine actually having children when you want them! Don't they now there's money to be made?

A company does not pay two salaries when a woman is on mat leave. Find out how it actually works before making sexist comments.

i know someone who did this. she had her materity leave, got offered back the same hours, rejected it, then not even a week later, found out she was pregnant and suddenly decided to accept her old hours again. conveniently, she has relatives in management -_- she's off on her second lot of fully paid maternity leave next month.

yes you have to work&earn a certain amount between certain weeks in your pregnancy to get mat leave from my employer so if you went back after mat leave and where already pregnant by some months think you would just get goverment mat leave

As people (like me) have children later in life this will happen more and more because women haven't got the time to hang around between children if they want more than one child. I might end up going back to work pregnant, I have been working full time for 22 years so it's not really so bad that I am taking my maternity leaves (hopefully) close together is it?

Thanks Cunfuddled

I've worked for the same company for the last 7 years. I was ttc for 5 of these. I will be returning to work from mat leave in a couple of months and I'm already pregnant again.
I don't see why I should be made to feel guilty about this.

DH works for what was a startup. They've found employing people of childbearing age to be a good move: be generous, reasonably flexible and supportive and you usually get loyal hardworking employees with high morale. I don't buy this small businesses hurt by those nasty evil pregnant wimminz bollocks; smacks of lazy thinking to me.

I have no issue with someone doing this twice, or three times.

A teacher at my school has done this 6 times. Enough.

Does the government even pay for private companies? And in education where statutory pay is quite long?

I don't really see the problem.

Most companies that offer their own maternity pay schemes will require the woman to be back at work for a certain amount of time, otherwise it's just SMP. Most places only offer SMP anyway.

What's the difference between being back 4 months and being back a year before having second child? One might argue that it's better to get all maternity leave over and done with sooner. Or should women who work only be allowed to have one child??

Statutory pay and period is the same for all women OP. That's what makes it statutory.