Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 ··· 9 10

Original poster

To think it's quite common to do this and it's not unreasonable?

232 replies

YuHu · 20/02/2021 20:49

To go on maternity leave (and take the full amount) knowing full well you won't be going back without telling work until you have to give notice before you're supposed to be returning?

This is what I am doing at the moment, mid way through my maternity leave and I do not intend to return but won't be informing work until I legally have to.

My main reason for this is to safeguard myself in case the situation changes, I think it's far more sensible, even if you think you won't be returning, to not actually make it known until the end.

OP posts:

HauntedPencil · 20/02/2021 22:31

Yes it's the sensible thing to do, you still huge notice as if you'd resigned from a job it's not different

Keep your options open

Raffleyourdoughnut · 20/02/2021 22:31

As a manager I mentally presume they are not coming back for maternity. I wouldn't say anything to anyone but I'll be mentally preparing for covering their job until a replacement is found as we don't get maternity cover when someone is off. I'm sure that is standard practice.

There is nothing wrong with doing what you plan. You never know what will happen in a years time.

silverbubbles · 20/02/2021 22:38

totally normal thing to do.

katienana · 20/02/2021 22:40

You know anyone can hand their notice in at any time. A company won't compromise profits etc to keep staff they don't need so you should always look after number 1. Nobody would look at a 35 year old man who handed his notice in and say well that's the last time I'll employ a 35 year old man because they might leave.
Good maternity policies build loyalty, I didn't look for a new job before getting pregnant so I could qualify for enhanced leave, and I returned after that leave finished. Without the enhanced leave I'd have made a move much sooner. 3 men came and went in the department during the same time period.

WhoStoleMyCheese · 20/02/2021 22:40

Employers are more than prepared to make women on maternity leave redunant /change roles etc - so why should there be any loyalty the other way round?
It would however be a pisstake if the company was paying for the maternity leave (in OP's case SMP is covered by the government) ... or if the position required specialised training...

mathanxiety · 20/02/2021 22:41

...contributes to the discrimination against employing women of child bearing age at interview...

I don't think we should be kidding ourselves that anything we do or don't do affects sexism in the workplace.

WhoStoleMyCheese · 20/02/2021 22:41

*sorry didn't mean to type the last part.. only if the company's paying for maternity leave

homeschoolingyay · 20/02/2021 22:42

Happy to be corrected, but isn't your employer still paying your holiday, pension and NI for you while you are mat leave? If so it IS costing them. That's a fair amount.

Voice0fReason · 20/02/2021 22:48

@dementedma

Shit for the employer though, and contributes to the discrimination against employing women of child bearing age at interview. Just be honest

Rubbish. Women are discriminated against for being women.

There was more discrimination in the days when it was easy to fire a woman when she announced she was pregnant.

There is nothing that women could do to make it less likely that women would be discriminated against.

DuggeeHugPlease · 20/02/2021 22:50

My company give a generous enhanced mat pay and the policy states that if you don't return you don't have to pay any of it back.
In spite of this I don't know a single woman who has not returned from mat leave.

I'm sure this is down to the way they treat their employees and promote a good work life balance. Instead of losing quality staff they nurture them and those staff feel loyalty and choose to come back.

Anothernameanothertime · 20/02/2021 22:52

100% do what you need to do within your legal rights. I actually prefer employees (make/female) to avoid giving hints about their future plans to eg apply for another role internally, go travelling, take a career break as their plans might change (as in your case) and you can’t really deal with anything until they have officially submitted resignation

youvegottenminuteslynn · 20/02/2021 22:55

@pollylocketpickedapocket

Because they have to shell out a wage for someone who isn’t there, plus paying out for someone to fill the role. Are you a bit thick?

Oh the irony when OP has stated clearly she's on SMP!

Are you ok? You sound like you've backed yourself into a corner and instead of acknowledging you didn't really understand the ins and outs of maternity pay, you've lashed out.

It's ok to be wrong and to be gracious about it. OP's employers aren't 'shelling out a wage for someone who isn't there'. That's not how it works.

From a small business owner

ancientgran · 20/02/2021 22:55

@Elouera

Are you just getting regular mat leave, or an enhancement? My previous job had an enhancement in additon to regaular mat leave, BUT, if you didnt return for 6mths working post mat leave, you had to pay the extra money back! Check your contract.

If they were a good employer, I'd give slightly more notice than legally required, but equally, you are under no obligation to do so.

I had to go back for 3 months to avoid repaying enhanced maternity pay. As it was close to the end of the holiday year I took my 6 weeks holiday as half days plus I got three days leave at Christmas. I would have been mad not to do it as the maternity pay amount to quite a bit of money.

My boss was OK with it, they recruited someone new and they worked with me for a few weeks so I could show them stuff and they also got time without me to find their feet.

PogoTheClown · 20/02/2021 22:55

My husband did this at the end of his paternity leave.

ThatWasThat · 20/02/2021 22:56

I am a manager. I fully expect people do this. I am not confident that they'll back until they shortly before they're back. It's fine, don't worry.

Ditheringdooley · 20/02/2021 23:00

@alltoomuchrightnow if you have been asked questions about your family plans etc at interview, that isn’t ok. You have been discriminated against. I’m sorry to hear that.

That isn’t the fault of (nor is it made worse by) another women ensuring she makes use of her legal entitlements.

No one criticised people for taking their full holiday - because it’s not a gendered issue.

ancientgran · 20/02/2021 23:03

[quote Twizbe]@pollylocketpickedapocket you know SMP is from the same pot as our national insurance contributions right? So these taxpayers (you included I assume) are also paying for sat sick pay, stat adoption pay, pensions and the NHS ..... or is that not ok either? [/quote]
Most employers can't claim SSP back, currently they can claim for up to 2 weeks for corona virus. Employers can usually claim 92% of SMP/adoption leave, very small employers can claim more.

MrsJBaptiste · 20/02/2021 23:06

FFS some of these replies... entitled much...?

If I was an employer, I'd go out of my way not to hire women who might get pregnant. Talk about taking the piss...

Beverley71 · 20/02/2021 23:07

I did exactly the same with my 2nd. I was really worried about letting them down when it came round to actually telling them I wasn’t going to return over a year later. However, I didn’t need to as when I contacted my manager to let him know, he had already moved on. It was a huge corporate bank so I clearly didn’t matter that much.

Beverley71 · 20/02/2021 23:08

@MrsJBaptiste

FFS some of these replies... entitled much...?

If I was an employer, I'd go out of my way not to hire women who might get pregnant. Talk about taking the piss...

That’s actually discrimination

htgawm · 20/02/2021 23:08

@MrsJBaptiste

FFS some of these replies... entitled much...?

If I was an employer, I'd go out of my way not to hire women who might get pregnant. Talk about taking the piss...

Apologies if your post is sarcastic, not great at telling...

But if it's not...that is illegal.

buzz91 · 20/02/2021 23:08

I had every intention to do this when I went on maternity but my Dh lost his job just before I was due back so I went back pt. Ttc now and the thought of just staying on till I get pregnant is getting me through the job. I would never hand my notice in until asked because you don’t know what’s going to happen.
My job gives enhanced with no need to pay back too - massive company. I’ve told my male manager that this is ultimately my plan when I “eventually decide to have a child again”, and he says he doesn’t blame me.

Original poster

YuHu · 20/02/2021 23:10

@MrsJBaptiste

FFS some of these replies... entitled much...?

If I was an employer, I'd go out of my way not to hire women who might get pregnant. Talk about taking the piss...

Can you explain why it's entitled to simply give what you are contractually obliged to give your employee i.e your contracted notice period... but it's not entitled for an employer to expect you to give over and above that at a possible detriment to yourself?

OP posts:

ancientgran · 20/02/2021 23:11

I always had an open mind about whether women would return from maternity leave. If asked for advice I would advise them to keep their options open, I was the senior HR manager in a medium sized business.

I have had one occasion where a woman was on maternity leave and the baby died soon after birth and women whose partners left while they were on maternity leave. All sorts of things can happen in the course of a year and why should someone commit to something when they don't know what might happen.

Original poster

YuHu · 20/02/2021 23:11

Contractually obliged to give your employer that should say**

OP posts:

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 ··· 9 10