To be annoyed colleague is taking two months off?

[galleo]

My colleague (and friend) is expecting. She is going to take July-January as mat leave, then she is taking July-August next year off as split mat leave.

Our team is very thinly staffed and manager isn’t getting someone to cover maternity. That’s fine we will manage. However, it does mean that there’s not enough staff to cover holidays. So we are being discouraged from taking more than a week at a time off during the time my colleague is away. We are very busy in the summer months so only one member of the team can be off during the school holidays - but as colleague is taking the split mat leave in July August, that means for next summer holidays, I can’t take a single week off to spend time with my kids!

It’s a pain but it’s on your employer to find cover.

You need to be annoyed at your manager, not your colleague.

Are you annoyed with your colleague, or the poorly organised employer?

Your colleague is perfectly entitled to take that time off, as you were when you had maternity. It’s nothing to do with her, take it up with your manager, it’s their problem.

Your colleague is entitled to take whatever maternity leave she likes, and it’s none of your business.
Your title should read “AIBU to be annoyed that my manager has not organised mat leave cover”

YANBU to be annoyed but it sounds like your manager has not managed properly.

It’s not your colleague’s problem.

This. Your frustration is misplaced.

Yanbu. I think it is entirely reasonable to be annoyed at your manager for planning to cope without cover during a long term planned absence. What happens if someone else is sick?

it is totally unreasonable to be prevented from taking two weeks’ holiday in one go. How does the rest of the team feel? I would tell your manager that you will be looking for another job and point out that hiring someone will be tough if no decent summer holidays are available.

what the heck is split mat leave? Do you mean her dh is taking the last two months of the statutory paid leave as Share parental leave, and she’s just taking two months unpaid leave? Clearly she’s planning a FABULOUS summer off at your expense, probably going to be swanning around on vacation with dh and baby while you’re sweating it out at work. But the manager should have just said no to the unpaid leave on the basis that the cover cannot be arranged in the team.

Be annoyed at your manager not your colleague
yes it sounds shit

See thread re being a feminist. The employer's attitude/approach re other colleagues may fall short but the colleague is within their rights

Someone should be employed for the period of maternity leave, just means 13 months not 11 (perhaps should be a bit longer to include September given there may be more outstanding leave than usual).

Women have babies, don't blame them.

This. I also hope that how she is taking her maternity leave was shared by her in conversation and not discussed by the employer as that is highly inappropriate for reasons such as this thread.

Your colleague is just being very savvy with her maternity leave and seems she’s perfectly entitled to it. What you should be angry about is management not getting any cover in at all when you’re already short staffed and losing a team member to mat leave, so take it up with them.

i would object to calling the post selfish and stupid - one persons actions mean that others are much more restrictied ( isn’t that a definition of selfish ?) and it’s easy to blame the direct cause when you ard upset

it is a management problem and the splitting of maternity does make it much more difficult - ie expensive- to recruit temp cover - two processes , two ads etc

but I think management need to suck up the cost because one extra person off sick and things could go very bad very quickly and it sounds like it’s too tight anyway

Assuming you also took some type of maternity leave for your children then your anger is misplaced. You should be taking it up with your manager, not resenting your colleague.

What a perfect example of a person focusing their anger at the wrong target. You are being ridiculous OP. Take this up with your manager and leave your colleague out of it.

Why is it your colleagues fault?

Yup, hate the game, not the player as the saying goes!

The person whose actions (or lack of) are restricting others is the manager, not the person on leave. Doesn’t matter why anyone is off, once it’s agreed it’s on the manager to cover it.

How on earth can you not see that this is on your employer, not your colleague? You should be talking to HR (and maybe even ACAS) about this rather than just accepting terrible management and blaming the consequences on your colleagues.

Be annoyed at your manager or company not a colleague taking less maternity leave than some.

Bloody hell it isn't her fault it is your managers fault for not getting cover. I hope the lot of you aren't being arseholes to a pregnant woman. I also hope your manager isn't taking more than a weeks annual leave like they are expecting from you.

Yup

Management problem not colleague's