Would I be able to negotiate about this with work?

[namechanged7]

DP and I decided to TTC next month (Feb).

I started my job a few weeks before Christmas.
Store policy states that any employee can take 26 weeks off work. It then states that any employee who has worked for 26 weeks on their 14th week of pregnancy is entitled to an extended 26 weeks.
If I was to conceive right away (which would be the hope), on my 14th week of pregnancy, I'd have worked for 24.5 consecutive weeks within the company.

Would I be able to negotiate with them about this with it being so close to the extended maternity leave? My plan wasn't to take 1 year anyway, my plan was to take 9 months, so would that be a viable compromise, or am I setting myself up for a loss?

It's such a petty reason but I didn't want to wait an extra month or two as December/January baby is a bit more pressure financially with Christmas, and then February/March is my current DS' birthday. (But yes, I know, I might not conceive first try and it could end up like this anyway!)

What does everyone think?

Wait a month.

They won't negotiate. Just wait!!

Oh good grief. Just wait.

I don’t think you understand what negotiate means!
What exactly are you negotiating?
You’re just requesting.
And yes, you can ask for something for nothing.

There’s a good chance you’ll conceive first month, plenty do. So if it’s that important to you, then wait a month.

An employee who, at the beginning of the 14th week before the expected
week of childbirth, has completed 26 weeks’ continuous employment with
her employer is also entitled to a further 26 weeks' additional maternity
leave (AML), which begins at the end of OML.

its not the 14th week of pregnancy - its 14 weeks before your due date.

@QforCucumber oh my goodness, I really am an idiot! I'll definitely read things more carefully next time but it was just in a rush on my break! I feel ridiculously stupid now

@QforCucumber good point - I guess as OP is in IoM it might be different but that's certainly the case in the rest of the U.K.

Just for the record, they'd be exceptionally unlikely to let you negotiate the qualifying period - it would set a precedent.

Regardless, it sounds like you're sorted. Best of luck!

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply, but was clearly a pointless thread due to me being a massive idiot! sorry to everyone!

its not the 14th week of pregnancy - its 14 weeks before your due date

This.

26+14 = 40.

There’s no difficult sums to work out here. You need to have worked for 26 weeks by the time you’re 26 weeks pregnant.

Aka, if you’re already pregnant when starting a job you’ll get nothing but the minimum which is fair enough.

Just wait.

No, don't risk it if you can't do without the extended leave.

They will not negotiate because the rules are set by statuary rules. They follow them because that is what they have to not because they are really supportive and want all new parents to have extra time with their child.

If you conceive outside the rules set out to them, then that is what they will follow even if your 25 1/2 weeks it won't matter.

Sorry missed it's the Isle of Man. Tbh just wait a month or two. Still, can't always plan these things!

Why not wait a month or two, but with the expectation that you need to budget for the birthday in a different month. Our eldest has a birthday very close to Christmas, so I always start shopping in September/ October, pay deposits for birthday parties etc, and put the remaining balance aside, so it doesn’t all come out of the one pay packet. We do this despite having a reasonable household income.

Cross your legs for a couple of weeks I say

I'd check out if you qualify for SMP, which I think you would.

I'd wait, my children were born, October, November, December and my Mum, Granddad and now Granddaughter all fell between November and Christmas.

I just had to plan it out. When they are under 3, they don't need a lot, so you've got time to plan and have a Christmas savings account.

Many banks are doing Christmas saving schemes now.

You can ask hr about t&c in your contract, they will advise, but get your probationary period out of the way first

Almost every business loathes having to pay maternity, or even having to just let you have the time off with no pay. It's much harder to get a replacement in just for a fixed term, and they don't even know if you'll come back. It's harsh but it just how businesses are. They usually just do the bare minimum that they can. The only exceptions to this are usually very small private companies where it's a long standing employee who gets on well with the owner.

If they don't expressly have to do something to assist your maternity leave then they won't.

All this fuss about budgeting for birthdays at the end of the day!

Regardless of the sums above, OP, I have this brilliant life hack for you, that will make all of this so much easier.

Birthdays and Christmas happen the same day every year. But it is possible to save throughout the year or buy presents in different months to the actual birthday.

(I was born in December, and my mum always whined that it 'got lost in the rush of Christmas'. No. The date is entirely set, and entirely possible to plan for. Don't be a wet blanket.)

I'd check out if you qualify for SMP, which I think you would.
It's the Isle of Man - no SMP there.

Doubt that you will be able to negotiate anything and, frankly, in this situation, you shouldn't be able to either.

Life hack