To ask how honest I should be with my employer?

[anon1312]

I'm currently 25 weeks pregnant and my employer is wanting to know my plan for my maternity leave.

However, I already know that I'm not going to return after baby is born. I know people on here have different views on this, but I'm planning to be a SAHM for at least a couple of years. I already have one DC who has SEN and very high needs so it makes sense for us a family currently.

I don't want to be in a situation where I take maternity leave then have to pay it back. My company offers enhanced pay for the first couple of months, so in my contract it does say that I have to return to work for a minimum amount of time. I've also been told going part time isn't an option so it's not like I can return PT then hand my notice in.

What should I do? I don't want to mislead them, but then I also don't want to hand my notice in just yet. Need advice as I'm so stuck on the best way to approach this.

I don't understand from your posts if you are planning to come back and work the 3 months to keep the enhanced pay? And if so, do you know WHEN you are planning to do that - ie are you planning to take the full year then come back for 3 months then resign? If this is the case, then I would tell them something like, "my current plan, obviously not cast in stone, is to take the full year then return". There is no need to tell them that you will then be shortly resigning. Also, the truth is that you might change your mind.

If, however, you are planning to abandon the enhanced pay and not come back at all, then you need to think about this because SMP is paid by the government, via your company, and you cannot receive it if you have resigned. So I think you have two options:

1. Say nothing, then resign at the end of the your SMP period. Keep the enhanced pay aside and pay it back or
2. If you have a good relationship with your boss, explain that you are not likely to come back and that they should consider looking for your replacement but that you won't be resigning until after your SMP is over.

I'd tell them you're either unsure or planning to return (they shouldn't keep asking tbh)
Then bank the enhanced pay (premium bonds - unless you have a high interest savings account).
Let that be the test to make sure you can live on the lower amount. Then pay it all back when you hand your notice in.

The problem with quitting before is that circumstances can change. What if you change your mind about returning? What if something happens with your husbands job.

You don't want to be in a position where you either have no job, or end up returning but didn't take the enhanced pay.

Also, you say there is no chance of PT. But you're legally entitled to request it. They don't have to say yes, but they do have to provide a legitimate business reason why the answer is no.
No harm in requesting what you want towards the end of your mat leave, and assuming they say no then you hand your notice in and pay back the enhanced pay.

Keep your options open.

To add - overall, while you are legally not obliged to tell them anything, I think where you can, you should. It generates goodwill when you are honest and allows them to plan much more effectively. Obviously, in the case of a company that regularly screws people over or whatever, that might not be an option.

For example, I planned to just take the 6 months enhanced leave. I told them that. I also reiterated that obviously that was my plan but I couldn't 100% guarantee it. They were appreciative of the fact that I was willing to be upfront.

They may request you give them an idea of the date you will be returning but that can change while you’re on maternity leave.

I think you need to speak to your HR department as it doesn’t sound like the situation is straightforward and if you say the wrong thing you could lose money.

Surely you tell them you are leaving on 28 February, and planning on taking the whole year.

If you quit before ML starts, will you not loose your SMP - which you don't need to pay back even if you don't return.
You will also loose out on a years worth of holiday pay and pension contributions.

Legally they’re not allowed to ask you that and I would remind them of that..

I casually mentioned in a conversation at my work, something like ‘ I didn’t know this, but I recently found out that employers aren’t actually legally allowed to ask employees about their maternity plans.. I mean obviously it’s too far off for me to know what I’m going to do, but I found it really interesting’

However, I already know that I'm not going to return after baby is born. I know people on here have different views on this, but I'm planning to be a SAHM for at least a couple of years. I already have one DC who has SEN and very high needs so it makes sense for us a family currently.

This is your Plan A. As PP have pointed out if something unexpected happens you might need a Plan B to go back to work, so saying you don't know for certain isn't being dishonest - it's keeping options you might need open.

Another factor is whether you might want to return to this industry or work with your colleagues again down the line in a few years. If so, it's wise not to burn bridges.

Also, I had a friend who had no plans to return. It was a big company that didn't necessarily always treat their employees brilliantly, she didn't tell them her plan in case anything changed.
They made her redundant.
She kicked up a stink about the amount as she was the only person being made redundant (funny that - absolute arseholes), and walked away with 6 months full pay - £30k untaxed.

If you don't want to outright lie and say you're planning on returning, at least say you're unsure but will take the whole year and let them know closer to the time.
They prob just want to know your leave date.

They can ask what your plans are all they like, but you are under no obligation to tell them. (Coming from someone who manages a team of largely women in their 30s, so this is a scenario I'm very familiar with!)

Whatever you do, don't hand your notice in before you go on mat leave. You accrue holiday on mat leave, so it's in your interests to take the full year. You can either (nominally) take the holiday at the end of your leave (and be paid for it), or they'll have to pay your holiday pay. Plus your employer will be paying employers' NI contributions, which is particularly important if you're planning to have some time out of the workplace (re your state pension when the time comes).

Save the money which makes up your enhanced maternity pay, so that when they want it repaying you have it to hand straight away.

If they are insistent on an answer about going back, just tell them you're planning to take the full year and leave it be.

It's just the months on reduced pay which I can't afford. As I said, we get UC at the minute. Couldn't survive on my half/no pay if UC doesn't adjust to take that into account. If I don't work, my total amount of UC after deductions along side child benefit & other income, is not much less than my full time wage. I wouldn't be missing much in total

100% don't tell you work earlier than you need to. Save your enhanced pay to pay it back if you need to.
ANYTHING can happen in a year. Don't lose your job security before you need to.

That’s such good advice

@goldfish90 Does it? I was under the impression that it doesn't

Say you plan to take x amount of months but want the option to extend. So I said I'd take 9 months (so if things were tight I could return then and they advertised my mat cover as such) and then I extended to a year. I did go back but it might also be worth exploring whether your job offers career break as an alternative to leaving altogether if you're thinking you might want to return at some stage?

I would normally advice not to say anything (you don't have to, you can just say you intend to take your legal entitlement to maternity leave which is 52 weeks), but I don't know how it would impact your benefits entitlement.

If you get enhanced mat pay and have to pay it back, would you lose any benefits you could claim during that period?

I thought there was a period of time when you wouldn't qualify for benefits if you had voluntarily made yourself unemployed?

@Lookingatthesunset Is there? I'm not aware of this. Thought I'd just have to submit a change of circumstances to UC. My son receives middle rate DLA so I could claim carers allowance for him

I suppose there's no harm in submitting a part time working request to my employer. They can only say no. I know I wouldn't want to work full time, it would be too difficult with a SN child and another one.

I didn't realise UC would adjust on SMP. Is this definitely true? It changes a lot if so..

Tell them you intend to take the maximum leave allowable and then intend to return to the current status. When the relevant time comes you give notice, you are not required to provide a full years of notice or whatever just because you are pregnant. Put aside the enhanced pay and pay it back when you need to.

You do not have to tell them when you will return from mat leave. If they pester you, say you will take a year off.

Stash the enhanced pay away. I know you say you want to be a sahm buy we do not know what is around the corner. By the end of your mat leave, you may be grateful to have a job to return to. If you really don't want to, hand in your notice and and return the money but I would probably be tempted to do the 3 months and keep the mat pay. You will accrue annual leave when on mat pay which would be around one working months. Can you not muddle through with DH taking some time off and some short term childcare? In any case, I would not resign now but leave that for the end of your mat leave.

Do exactly this.

Many employers don’t ask for it back, and you can pay it back in tiny instalments.

This.
You never know what will happen, and where you'll be, in a year.
Also, if the worst should happen, you will have death in service/pension payout to dependents, if you remain a staff member.
If they keep asking, you say you're not sure yet; and you take your year's Mat Leave, but put in your notice a couple of months before the end of it. Definitely keep the enhanced pay to one side, so you can pay it back, though!

You don’t know what the future holds, anything could happen, you want to be sahm…fair enough but something could happen that means you have to return. So just keep saying you will know closer to the time and tell them when you definitely know.