To start maternity leave a month before due date?

[Closingtime94]

Hello,

I was just wondering if taking maternity leave a month before due date would be unreasonable - my due date is the 31st of January but I know it can be two weeks either way and I would like some time off after Christmas haha and before the baby arrives - is this too soon or would it be okay?

I'm new to pregnancy and Mat leave and everything so wanted peoples opinions and whether they think it's too soon or not or what may be a better idea

Thanks

@tiltedclone. Assuming that you are teaching/TA staff rather than admin or pastoral or site team who have different holiday entitlements, you would be better starting maternity the first day of term in January. This means that you get paid for the holiday and also have 2 more weeks of maternity leave after the baby is born. You can also nominate the first day of a school holiday as your return date.

Before anyone crys CF, teachers aren't actually paid for the holidays - our salary, plus 25 days holiday pay is divided by 12 to create monthly payments (the pay we get in August is actually for the work done before the summer holidays start). TA pay is similar, except usually is worked out hourly for term time only. Also we can't accrue holiday during maternity like most other jobs - hence why you can nominate the start of a school holiday as your return date.

By starting your maternity leave on 18th December, you are actually sacrificing roughly 2 weeks of pay for hours already worked!

I was due 27th Jan and stopped end of term before Christmas. Baby came 18th. It was lovely.

I had six weeks of combined holiday/maternity leave before DS arrived. He’s five now and i have NO REGRETS I spent a blissful few weeks (after a very hard pregnancy) baking/going swimming in the daytime/meeting friends/knitting little baby cardigans/watching tv boxsets. It was bliss, and gave me a bit of a buffer before the lovely but exhausting onslaught of labour,
birth and a newborn. If you can afford it, do it.

Do whatever is best for you!
I’m finishing over a month before due date but that is on annual leave, then maternity will kick in later.

I would take it. With both of my children I planned to take 2 weeks prior to due date.
My 1st arrived after 1 day of mat leave. Over 2 weeks early. My second arrived before i had even gone on maternity leave nearly 3 weeks early! Gutted I never got to put my feet up relax and get ready. However the benefit was I got the extra time with my babies before going back!
Congratulations on you pregnancy

@PurpleGoose thanks for the advice, I appreciate it! I did wonder if that was possible but didn’t want them to think I was being a CF and didn’t know how to word my thoughts around it! I am glad to know that I can do it

I took about 6 weeks off before due date, 4 weeks holiday, 2 weeks maternity. I was originally planning for just 2 weeks before so I would have longer after but I had horrendous SPD and couldn't physically get into work anymore, my employer wouldn't let me WFH either so I wasn't given much choice.
I spent the month before getting things ready, having some me time, relaxing before all the chaos comes in. Would definitely recommend.

I went on holiday leave followed by maternity at 30 weeks. And DD1 was a week late. It was great. I really relish remembering the last time I was bored and think back on it fondly 😂. 11 weeks of bliss.

I had low blood pressure so my long drive to work was too hairy to continue after I passed out in a traffic jam.

I was due to finish at 38 weeks with my first but had a tough end to pregnancy and decided to stop at 36 weeks with just a few days notice. I had the baby two weeks later on the day I was due to stop originally! I decided in advance to stop at 36 weeks with my second.

its normal. I was exhausted by 34 weeks, asked to go on maternity leave early, then baby came a week later

YANBU... my DD1 was due on 20th March so I started mat leave on 26th Feb to have some time for me before baby arrived...or so I thought! She decided to make a very rapid (1.5 hr labour) on March 3rd so you never know!

I'm totally bin favour of having a bit of time to yourself before baby. Mine came four weeks early so I never got that 😔

I had a mint off before mine arrived, I had a two hour commute and , after passing out one morning on the station platform, decided enough was enough!