To expect some form of response

[MrsG841]

On Monday i was offered in writing a new job of which i accepted in writing back straight away.

I am currently on annual leave at the end of maternity leave and emailed both my managers my resignation and stated i had posted a hard copy with my signature on which i did via first class.

I still have yet to receive any form of response from them.

Is it unreasonable to expect even a small response like "noted" or "I have received your resignation"

You sent it on Monday? Give it a few more days.

Probably miffed that after period of maternity and then annual leave that they probably had to cover that your not returning. Not being horrible but maternity or any other leave means someone else usually has to work harder. They are probably annoyed that the expected assistance you would have given on your return is now not going to happen. Moreover, they now have to find a replacement but probably not until you've left - more time. Assuming you have to give some notice there is not much you could do on your return as you'll be leaving soon. My speculation but you did ask

guess you could have phoned them

I have phoned but between meetings and them being scrubbed (i work in theatre) i haven't been able to speak to them

Honestly - if I was the boss/employer I would probably be seeking advice before responding. I would be seriously annoyed someone took full advantage of maternity leave and then never came back and would be seeing what my options were.

Sorry, but you did ask

It's very common to not return after maternity tbh, if it is a reasonable size/experienced company it won't come as a massive shock.

Im on annual leave as i have 7 weeks to use before end of dec....i organised last month to return to work after this annual leave is finished but last week was offered an interview so its not that i purposefully took maternity to then leave...plus im not being paid anymore as my maternity payments were finished

I don't think you can use the argument that you didn't purposefully intend to leave!

I assume you applied for the job you have been offered? Unless you were head hunted?

That said, it's not at all unusual not to return after maternity leave. They may be rather annoyed that you had a recent meeting re: using up holiday before returning without mentioning the intention though.

I had the meeting on 31st Aug to return to work and everything was finalised middle sept so all done before i was even offered interview

What type of maternity pay did you get? If you get contractual maternity pay you will need to pay it back if you don’t return to work. You won't need to pay anything back if you just got statutory maternity pay.

I got 6 weeks paid then the rest has been SMP...i left for maternity in dec

As long as you have a record of handing your notice in and have made a reasonable effort to let them know, there is nothing more you can do. I would send it again with a read receipt on so you know it has been received.

They should have responded though and that’s bad on their side, shows how little they valued you if this is how they act when you leave.

I also didn’t return to my place of work after maternity leave. I told them I wanted to change department and was made an offer of a different position which I accepted but they never formalised it or completed any paperwork, I then found out that they filled my new position externally and just didn’t tell me so expected me to take up my old position which I made clear I wasn’t going to do.
I handed my notice in straight away and secured another position. They never responded to my notice, I rang and spoke to the new manager over the phone who told me that he had no idea who I was so it was no real loss. 5 years of hard work and it ended like that. Some people are just shithouses

Kittysmyname

What type of maternity pay did you get? If you get contractual maternity pay you will need to pay it back if you don’t return to work. You won't need to pay anything back if you just got statutory maternity pay.

That's not necessarily correct about contractual maternity pay. From maternityaction.co.uk:

Firstly, you will be entitled to receive any contractual maternity pay up until the end of your notice period. Secondly, you should check your employment contract or maternity policy to see if you are required to repay any contractual maternity pay if you do not return to work for a certain period after maternity leave.
You can only be asked to repay contractual maternity pay if it was agreed in advance with your employer or you were notified before the start of your maternity leave. You can also only be asked to repay any contractual maternity pay over and above the amount of SMP or Maternity Allowance that you were entitled to, as your employer cannot ask you to pay back any SMP and you do not have to pay back any maternity Allowance to the Job Centre Plus. If you have to repay any contractual maternity pay you can ask your employer to repay it in instalments.

People are still entitled to holiday on mat leave. If the OP has given enough notice according to their contract then she has done nothing wrong. I know many people (some because of work) who don’t return to work after maternity leave. It happens!

When I handed in my notice in March, I initially told my boss and she asked me to put it in writing. I received no response or acknowledgement. I think they were just being petty because me leaving made a problem as my role was pretty hard to fill

Minerva ah ok. I must have looked at a dodgy website. Just wanted to let OP know it could be a possibility (paying back some of her maternity pay).

It's not ideal particularly for small businesses but you are perfectly entitled to give notice after maternity leave & lots do. You are also entitled to any holiday pay that you have accrued. They are allowed to be pissed but need to be professional.

Perhaps they are checking your annual leave entitlement. It's accrued wk by wk so perhaps they think u might have took leave that u won't accrue since your leaving.

Ie My leave run april to april. I used my year leave on end of my last maternity so when I went back in Dec I had no more leave until April next year. If I had left in Dec I would have owed

I think that there are some limitations as to when your work can contact you when you're on maternity leave/annual leave/off sick etc so perhaps they're waiting for you to be "officially" at work.

Correctly if I’m wrong but don’t they have to keep your job open for you clue in that

As to whether it’s usual not to return to work why don’t people resign when they know this. Because they want the benefit. That’s why no one wants to take anyone on whose of the age where maternity leave is possible