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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not take maternity pay and keep working with a newborn?

55 replies

lostandconfused2 · 30/11/2019 17:22

I'm a journalist and I have two jobs, one five 9 hour days a week where I'm on £550 pw before tax, and another where I only write four 800 word articles a week for £850 pw.

I am 19 weeks pregnant and I have been asked by my five-day job to start filling out maternity forms. I will get six weeks at 90% of my weekly earnings, another 12 weeks of my normal salary plus any SMP due, eight weeks of 50% of my salary and then £148 a week for remaining 13 weeks.

But I will not be able to work for the other place during this time.

And so I'm wondering, with a newborn, will I be too tired to write four articles a week, which I could do while he naps or when I've got some childcare help? Or should I play it safe and just stick with the maternity pay? (I don't qualify for maternity with the higher earning place as it's a new job and they're in the US).

Just want some advice on what to do that is going to be the most practical? I'm just a bit worried as my rent is almost £1,000 a month.

OP posts:
Waveysnail · 30/11/2019 17:34

www.workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/maternity-leave-and-pay-if-you-have-more-than-one-employer/

Feom doing some armchair reading. It seems.if your an employee you can take maternity leave in one job but not the other. But you would probably need to consult hr specialist or hmrc

Aquamarine1029 · 30/11/2019 17:35

It's really impossible to say. You may have a very easy baby, but then again, you may not. Even the easiest newborns are very full on, and breast feeding is more than a full time job if you're doing that. Also, you have no idea how you're going to feel physically and mentally. You may find it impossible to get down 100 words, never mind 4 800 word articles. My advice is to focus on bonding with your baby and taking care of yourself. Perhaps you could resume writing the articles after a couple of months.

dementedpixie · 30/11/2019 17:36

maternityaction.org.uk/advice/rights-for-parents-with-more-than-one-job/

This suggests you could get your maternity pay from employer 1 plus you could work for employer 2 at the same time as long as you were already employed by them at week 25 of pregnancy.

Purpleartichoke · 30/11/2019 17:38

I had a baby who screamed every time she wasn’t touching me for the first 6 months. I had to do just a little work during that time. I had to sit in bed with her sleeping on my legs and balancing a laptop on some pillows. It was hard. Very, very hard.

Thehagonthehill · 30/11/2019 17:39

Since you can't see into the future there is no way of knowing.But it is better not to do it than hand in poor articles or not be able to do it at all.
I couldn't organise to get out of the hose before 11am.
Newborns do not just tidily eat then sleep and you will be knackered too.

Original poster
lostandconfused2 · 30/11/2019 17:39

Thanks everyone. I'm definitely not entitled to maternity pay from my second job, so I might just play it safe and take it for a few months and see how I get on...

OP posts:
Treacletoots · 30/11/2019 17:41

Before DD I would have said, yeah, easy peasy, hell I had ambitions of going to the gym and setting up a new business on my mat leave.

The reality of it is you're sleep deprived to you're suffering from baby brain which, in my case meant that I could barely string together a sentence let along write a cohesive article (I copywrite too so understand) but... That's me.

You may be fine, and if you dedicate to doing it then it's a nice income just when you really need it, just be easy on yourself and don't unduly put stress on you don't need.

notnowmaybelater · 30/11/2019 17:42

Don't forget you may have a complicated birth and need at least the first 6 weeks physical recovery time. If you have an emergency caesarean it's serious abdominal surgery which would see you signed off for 6 weeks if there were no baby involved, and complications of a vaginal delivery can involve serious recovery periods in which you're in serious discomfort or need operative damage repair. Then there's sepsis...

It's also possible that even a full term baby could need special care and be in hospital for several weeks.

Of course you'll probably be completely fine, but you can't guarantee that at all and it would be foolish to burn your bridges to maternity pay and absence for at least 6 weeks.

GrumpyHoonMain · 30/11/2019 17:43

Legally you have to take a minimum amount of maternity leave if you are employed - provided that has been taken you can do whatever you want

limpingparrot · 30/11/2019 17:44

I started doing a bit of work about 2 weeks after my second (work for myself). It was hard and I was only doing some admin and ticking things over with no deadlines. It was only possible with a husband who was working from home for weeks, a nanny holding the baby while I worked solidly for a few hours and then a night nanny a few times so I had the mental capacity to concentrate! He wasn’t an easy newborn. You might cope better than me or the baby may be more obliging, but I found it tough going.

Reversiblesequinsforadults · 30/11/2019 17:44

Take it for the first few months then you can decide when you go back. You don't have to say beforehand and an employer can't make you decide.

notnowmaybelater · 30/11/2019 17:45

Do you have a non working partner or someone else able and willing to look after a newborn? Most nurseries and childminders won't take a baby under 6 or 12 weeks, and some won't take babies under 6 months old.

Don't expect to be able to work from home with a baby.

Alb1 · 30/11/2019 17:45

You legally have to take 2 weeks off after birth from what I remember. I think it’s best to play it safe and plan for maternity leave, you don’t have to take ages for it but until you’ve had the baby you won’t no how youl feel after the birth. I wouldn’t have been able to manage any work personally.

8by8 · 30/11/2019 17:46

It’s so hard to judge.

I’ve had one baby that napped on schedule, loved to snuggle up in a sling while I got on with things, and then happily entertained himself with toys while I worked nearby. So once I’d got past the basic physical recovery I could have written articles etc.

The other baby napped in unpredictable 15 minute bursts, hated the sling but when awake needed to be held upright with eye contact and interaction at all times or he would scream until he threw up. So I got nothing at all done for about ten months.

So I’d play it safe. Take the maternity pay. If it turns out you are having a good enough time to write then you can get some articles ready to go.

flowery · 30/11/2019 17:49

Why is it you think you can’t keep working for the second employer while taking maternity leave from the first one?

PlanDeRaccordement · 30/11/2019 17:50

I agree with rest of posters.
Take maternity leave for at least the first three months. During that time you will know if your baby is high needs or not. You will know your own physical and mental health. You will know better what your partner can contribute as well. Perhaps he will take some parental leave while you go back to work? After the baby is here for some weeks, you will be better able to make a judgement that works for you, your partner and your new baby. You can then get advice on cutting short maternity leave to return to work earlier.

dementedpixie · 30/11/2019 17:53

It would be legal for you to take the maternity leave and pay from employer 1 while still working for employer 2 as you would already be employed by them at week 25 of pregnancy.

Maternity leave can be taken at different times to each other so you could take a few weeks or months off and then return to work with employer 2 without affecting your maternity leave/pay from employer 1.

Tetraread · 30/11/2019 17:54

I would not have fancied it, it really depends what your baby is like and how well you recover as to how quickly you want to get back working. As others have said, see how it goes and at least it's an option when you are ready :)

itson · 30/11/2019 17:54

if the work is writing articles i would say its very doable,even if baby is permanently attached to OP's breasts or only wanting to nap in her arms.

Pinkblueberry · 30/11/2019 17:55

And so I'm wondering, with a newborn, will I be too tired to write four articles a week, which I could do while he naps or when I've got some childcare help?

You’ll definitely need help. I think most new mums, myself included, feel proud when we’ve managed to have a shower and cleaned a couple of dishes. Very small babies don’t always happily nap in a cot or Moses basket - they want to be held or rocked, driven around in a pram... and then there’s the sleep deprivation and brain fog - I struggled to text at times, never mind write several cohesive newspaper articles... I think it can be doable but you will need ALOT of support.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 30/11/2019 17:58

I had an “easy” baby and I still couldn’t string a Sentence together- the exhaustion knocked me for six. I doubt it will be possible

AmbitiouslyFit · 30/11/2019 18:01

Get a sling OP. Will be hard but if you desperately want to then you can sling the baby on, drink coffee and her cracking. But I would say 2-3 hours a day worth of work is maximum.

And lower standards of housework

dementedpixie · 30/11/2019 18:04

From your OP:

But I will not be able to work for the other place during this time

This is incorrect btw

madcatladyforever · 30/11/2019 18:06

It very much depends on your baby. I could have done it with mine, he slept all the time but my younger sister was appalling, cried 24 hours a day. Unfortunately you just can't predict this.

TabbyMumz · 30/11/2019 18:06

It is illegal to work after the birth for two weeks.