Not returning to work after maternity leave

[kerry070217]

Hi, I'm completely new on here so not sure if I've put this post in the right place or not but I'm looking for some advice if anyone knows if I would be entitled to claim any money if I choose not to return to my job once my maternity leave finishes. At the moment I only get child benefit plus maternity pay my husband works full time but it's only a minimum wage, i have about 2 months left of maternity but I am feeling like I'm not ready to leave my baby yet but I know we couldn't manage on his wage alone

I believe they would class this as leaving work voluntarily so you wouldn't be able to claim anything like income support etc for 13 weeks. Will state benefits be enough to live on? I felt the same way when ny first was 6 months but by the time she was a ywar old I really missed work so think carefully. I didn't wait so long with 2 and no 3 is 7 months now, I've been back 3 weeks. Maternity leave can get very lonely/boring after a while IMO.

Kerry you may be eligible for tax credits, depends on your household income. The best way is to do one of the online benefits calculators, or if you can tell me your DH's annual salary I can give you an idea.

Justmum she wouldn't get IS anyway, if she was a single parent she would however she would be leaving work to care for a child under 5 so wouldn't have to wait 13 weeks.

@kerry070217 Hi, I'm completely new on here so not sure if I've put this post in the right place or not but I'm looking for some advice if anyone knows if I would be entitled to claim any money if I choose not to return to my job once my maternity leave finishes. At the moment I only get child benefit plus maternity pay my husband works full time but it's only a minimum wage, i have about 2 months left of maternity but I am feeling like I'm not ready to leave my baby yet but I know we couldn't manage on his wage alone

Kerry, I mean this as kindly as possible, but...get real. Claiming state benefits because you "don't want" to go back to work? You are not the first woman to have a child, nor the first to not want to leave them alone to return to work. But with a partner who is on min wage, you are already low income and babies don't come cheap. You need to do (should already have done) actual sums in relation to childcare and living costs. I wish you well.

Thanks for all your advice guys much appreciated and just to be clear i've never been under the impression that I'm the only person to ever have a baby I was only asking as I normally work 60+ hours a week and as I'm the main earner until my husband finishes his qualification I was just seeing if there was anyway of delaying going back to work until he's 1 that's all

You'll have accrued leave and bank holidays whilst on ML so in theory they'll owe you say 24 days leave and 6 bank holidays so if you take all of that it should give you an extra month and a half off (on full pay) so you could potentially take the full 12 months with some unpaid leave (because you took the bit on full pay as leave)

As well as adding on your paid leave - could you fit in some keeping in touch days (KIP) days during the next two months? You get paid for those which will help the bank balance but it would also give you the chance to decide if you do want to go back to work or not.
In every single thread about this I always say the same thing - go back to work because you never, ever know what might happen. Your partner could become ill or lose his job. Staying in work helps with pension payments and staying current/career progression. Staying in work helps you be independent- it's like future proofing yourself.
Using up KIP time, paid leave and then asking for unpaid leave will maximise your money situation, maximise the time spent with your child and let you see what living on a tight budget will be like - maybe then you could decide?
#biased

Just noticed comment re 60+ weeks - ask to go part time?

If you are the main earner, why doesn't your husband be the SAHP?

(I am assuming that by the 60+hr and main earner comments you earn a good salary that would be enough to support you all)

I have known too many women who put themselves in financial and career difficulties when they are in fact the breadwinner and had good careers pre-baby (I know one who has a lump who actively refuses to get a better paying, better prospects job just because he likes the easy one low paying one he has), so forgive me if I am making incorrect assumptions.

If you do not return after maternity leave, you may also find that you owe money back - my employer required me to return for a month in order to keep any maternity "enhancement" that they gave (anything above statutory amount had to be paid back if you did not return).