AIBU to think I should have mat cover by now….

[Aappleaday]

Hi all!

I am due to leave work at the end of this month for my mat leave. A few weeks ago I requested to bring my mat leave forward two weeks, which my manager was shocked to hear, management have been aware this whole pregnancy has been difficult and my MH hasn’t been great, also a Mum to a 3 year old and trying to run a household…. it’s been tough and I’ve been very vocal about it. However the new date was agreed.

I was told plans would be put in place soon and the handovers will start, however there is still no plan at all. I’m still working up to my eye balls with stress levels through the roof. AIBU to think plans and handovers should have been discussed by now??

Of course I don’t expect the lead up to mat leave to be a snooze but my work load is still as crazy as ever with a handful of weeks left.

I wouldn't normally advocate this, but it sounds as if they're being extremely unsupportive, so screw them... can you go to your doctor and tell them you're really struggling and you might find they sign you off early - which depending on your company you'll either be there sick until your ML starts or they can start your ML early.

The stress won't be doing you or your baby any good. If you don't want to get signed off, can you talk to your manager and ask them to confirm that you will be starting leave in a couple of weeks and when handover will be starting? Did you put your request in writing, or was it verbal? If only verbal, email and say "as per our conversation on date x, I would like to start handing over to my mat leave cover as I am due to finish in 2 weeks time" or something similar. Word it as if, in your mind, the new date was agreed. Obviously if they said no, you can't - but if they didn't answer either way, it's not unreasonable to have assumed that was ok.

Good luck!

Oh and stop trying to run a household. Get your partner to step up and do this. Get them to do more with your existing child! You should be taking things a bit easier these last few weeks, and your partner should be doing more to facilitate this. If this isn't an option, choose one room to keep up to standard, and do the bare essentials on everything else.

You shouldn't have to, but you need to cover your own back.

Email your manager reminding them of the date you're leaving. Ask when you will be training up/handing over to your mat leave covers. You also need to seek clarification on winding down/ handing over unfinished work/ projects. Give them a dragline to respond by. If they don't respond, follow up and cc their manager in.

In the meantime, start prepping some handover docs - flow charts/instructions for key pieces of work. What needs doing, when and how.

Make a list of key stakeholders and their contact details so a new person knows who to talk to.

Make sure you send these by email to your manager cc'ing their manager in so it's obvious you have done everything you can to make the handover go smoothly.

Good luck....and don't worry. Be aware though that your manager will most likely plague you with phone calls whilst you are on mat leave as they are obviously unprepared for your departure. If that happens, nip it in the bud - refer them to the handover docs you prepared and don't engage further.

If you need to hand over then it would have been helpful for your cover to be in place. No doubt it will cause problems when you’ve left if the new person isn’t up to scratch. I never had my workload reduced before maternity leave though, nor would I expect it to be.

My mat cover didn't end up starting until after I'd left. But it made no difference to me, I wasn't there to pick up the mess so why would I care! Record things centrally that absolutely have to be passed on to whoever and let your line manager know where that information is and forget about it. You wont be at work to worry about it.

Get signed off sick. You are mentally suffering so you shouldn't be at work. Not your fault, not your problem.

Not your problem OP.

I did the same and my manger told me it put her in an awkward position - she had known about my pregnancy from when I was 5 weeks. I hadn’t put her in an awkward position, her own lack of planning had.

Agree with PP that it's not your problem. My work wasn't even going to hire cover for my role. Said they had no budget for it. Cover your back and go on leave with a clear conscience.