Advice on negotiating return to work after baby

[Uptown2022]

Hopefully posting this in the right place.

Just wondering if anyone has any advice about how to go about negotiating dropping some hours/ one day when you return to work after maternity.

is it best to start the conversation early on, put it in writing first, or request a meeting?

I’m not planning to go back until the summer, but I’d like to firm up plans with both work and nursery, so I can mentally prepare in plenty and of time!

thanks

I can't help with the discussion on return as I went from mat leave to sick leave.
I had some conversations around 9 months and discussed on return working from home more. At this point I was returning 5 days a week.
In the end I did a phased return and used this to find out what I could manage. I then used annual leave for the month between putting in a formal request to go down to 4 days a week.
I would probably raise it around the same time a raising your return to work date. Do you have access to HR files to find out what the process is for your company? Most of my friends went back part time but of 7 of us 2 were unable to go back part time. One quit and set up her own business and the other has had a continued battle with work load and having flexible working requests rejected. So most had a good experience but it isn't a given. The two that had difficult experiences knew ahead time that flexibility was unlikely to be approved so what's your gut instinct about your company?

It's tempting to use your accrued annual leave to extend mat leave. I would caution using it all. I definitely benefited from having nearly double my normal amount of annual leave during my first year whilst she picked up every bug going during the first 8 weeks of nursery and allowed me to take days for catching up with life as I adjusted to working life again. I would probably save 5-10 days if you can to boost your leave during the first year. I would take an extra day when going away as I got in to habit of traveling with 3, little things like that to make month to month life less stressful!

Hello! Like you, I was worried about it and wanted to plan early for piece of mind.

I simply emailed/text my manager and arranged a time for a call. Used call as an opportunity to discuss return dates and coming back on 4 days. Manager supportive and requested I put in a formal request; which I did. All was sorted in a month.

Hope that helps!

I had an informal check in phonecall with my line manager about four months before I was due to return which was roughly half way through my leave. I told him then I wanted to formally request dropping a day. He told me it would likely be fine and he'd be happy but the final decision would be his manager's. He told me how to submit a formal request and that I'd have to attend a telephone meeting with himself and his manager. He emailed me the request form, I completed it and sent it on, arranged telephone meeting with the managers which by then was about 3 months before my return was due. Had a chat and was approved in the meeting and then got it in writing from HR a week or so later.

I wasn't worried about any of it though as there were a few other people across our teams who had done similarly so I was as confident as I could be that the request would be approved whenever I made it.

I spoke to my manager about 3 months before I planned to return. I agreed my return date and said at that point what hours as I looking to do. I needed to know at that point for nursery days.

One word of caution on 4 days. Make sure someone else is taking up the hours (and therefore the workload) you're dropping.
I've seen too many friends returning 4 days and basically being expected to do the full time job in 4 days, and obviously for part time pay!