To be in two minds about returning to work.

[MarmiteAndCheeseRolls]

So mat leave ends in Sept.
Baby will be 6m. I have a 12 y old ds

PIL have offered to babysit whilst I work.
Firstly our reservations are they are disabled. They would be capable doing it together tho. But baby would be in their home all the time. They cant come here due to the stairs.
My hours are 9-2.30 and sometimes 3pm. So was doing sch drop off. Park car and get a £5 week bus ticket.
For dps parents to babysit. I'd have to leave home. At 7am to drive to theirs. They live opposite side of town via a busy traffic route. Then the parking costs. And long drive back. Is get back about 5.30 due to traffic at that time of day from theirs. So extra fuel and £100 a month in parking
Dp works longer hours so the driving would be down to me.
Then ds would have to get himself to and from school.. Which in winter it's a long cycle or walk. And I'll be honest he's not the most trustworthy to come home and not do anything he shouldnt

If I didn't go back. We would get a tiny bit of tax credits help which we don't now. But still be a huge shortfall.. BUT dp can take on more hours on his second jobwhich is what he wants to be fair on the baby, DS and me.

On th other hand.. I miss my colleagues and the laughs.. I still meet with them but its not the same ( but I do hate my job to be fair) . I have no time without baby due to dps hours and general things , which generally don't bother me but sometimes I just think it would be nice.
.
I just don't know..

Oh and dp is totally against a nursery. And the childminder we know and love lives 20 miles away.

Give up work when one of you has a second job?! He may say he's happy to do that now but in reality I see resentment really kicking in.

Claim tax credits or whatever and use a nursery or childminder.

I think the current plan for childcare isnt suitable.

However if you want to return to work then could you look at alternatives?

Nursery or nanny then if no CM.

I know that on here posters are always told to stay in work but in your situation I wouldn't go back to work for a couple of years.

I'd look for a little part time job evenings or on a weekend day so that your partner could look after the kids.

Legally you are entitled to 12 months off.
I would take another 6 months then review it Again?

The right decision for now, does not have to be set in stone for the future.

If you don't return to work at all will you have occupational mat pay to repay?

He already has a second job. As an entertainer.. Which is his own business
His day job is 8-5.30 min to sat. then certain nights he does 8-11pm. He turns down a lot of work. So it's easy to grab it if needed.

I was only part time. Time which was close ish to home.. But it would be the travel that would make it a pig.

My mat pay I wouldn't owe much as I only had full pay for three months. Then had no holidays so would cancel out some of it.

Yeah that was my other thinking. Ivev had 9 months off as went on mat leave early as work was stressful over Xmas and had a few pregnancy issues.. But could extend the last three months to see how it goes as, as I understand its unpaid isn't it.

Yes, smp stops at 9 months.

That's is a long working week for OH.
Does he work Mon to Sat every week?

Your current part time job sounds like a lot of time away from home for you for little work.

You could look at getting something closer later on if you find you need to go back to work.

Can you afford to do this without your dh missing out on family life completely? Your plan for Pil to do childcare is unsuitable, it's not fair on your baby to be stuck in the house day in day out. The words 'huge shortfall' are worrying and suggest that you're a reasonable earner?

I don't think it's reasonable for your DP to be flatly against nursery. Is there another childminder you could find locally, maybe from recommendations from family and friends?

If you can manage to take the extra 3 months then that's certainly worth considering. It gives you the chance to find a childminder that suits or to investigate nurseries to see if any appeal.

Take the full 12 months. Apart from anything else you will have accrued 3 months more holiday which they will have to pay you if you leave. In terms of nurseries and childminders, you might find you have left it a bit late to have any choice about childcare - local nursery you have to sign up well before baby is born to get the hours you want.

I would strongly encourage you not to rely on tax credits though - they are being discontinued and Universal credit is a lot less generous. TC regularly over or under pay or just decide they don't believe your figures and will spend 6 months investigating. (Ha ha).