6 hours of work per week post birth - realistic?

[rainand]

Hi,

Sorry, I'm not sure which section this should go in.

I've been offered work for six hours per week that I can do from home and doesn't require much work from me at all (i.e. it is easy, enjoyable and not stressful at all). I will be on maternity leave for a year and I'm wondering whether I should take this?

The pros are that it is well paid, its only six hours, and instead of browsing mumsnet when I'm bored, I can do that work instead (its very flexible with times etc so could be any time during the day/night), and it'll keep me entertained.

The cons are that I'm not 100% sure I'll have the time (I think I will but will I?), and I don't want to put undue pressure on myself.

So the question is, will I have time immediately post birth to work for one hour a day? Any advice/suggestions? Its my 1st baby and I don't have any other commitments.

^ Just to clarify: I will be on maternity leave from my full time job.

I would have loved an opportunity like that. I could have found an hour a day.

I think I'd do it. If its computer based you could balance the laptop somewhere while having baby snuggles.
Sounds like a great opportunity!

In my experience the first few weeks after the birth, the baby (especially your first) takes up roughly 27 hours a day.
You will wonder how you frittered so much time away before your baby arrived , you will see every single hour of the 24 hour clock
Do you have help? Have you someone that could sit with the baby while you worked one hour a day? Of I'm honest, certainly to start with, all you will want to do is sleep (and ignore the enormous pile of washing) if you have ANY time to yourself.
Fair enough after a month or so, but I would not commit to anything at all at this point. Unless you are absolutely dedicated to this project, really really need the cash etc then I'd say no.
But that's just my experience!
Why don't you ask on a post natal thread that's maybe 6 weeks old?

I think so.I am doing something similar.ds1 is now 4 weeks and while I haven't had a lot of time (it's amazing how much time i spent just looking at ds) I have had time when he is sleeping our just not fussing to do work.the first few weeks will be hardest!

I could certainly have done this, and would have enjoyed doing it.

You should check the implications on your maternity leave though. Working may mean that you lose maternity pay.

Yes, easily, especially if you cna be flexible about when it is done, but don't start it for 2 or 3 weeks after the birth, if you can help it.

It is difficult to say in advance. With my DC, I could have easily done this as they both slept during the day for a while, and were relatively easy going babies.

Since you can choose when to do the hour of work, I would say that it should be doable.

If you commit to this, can you give it up if you find it too hard going?

it depends how much you already do: do you clean and tidy a lot, do school runs etc? stuff you already prioritise?
I do rather little in the house (it s a tip) so I manage approx 2-4h of work per day, intermittently. Very few long stretches of time, and mostly one handed (DD2 is 4wo).
When DD1 was a bit bigger, I managed approx 4-5h per day.

i'd go for it!

Yes it sounds good - you may need to take two weeks off all work just after baby is born. If you are working more than 10 days a year and still claiming maternity pay there are tax implications - you need to work out if its worthwhile. And if you are claiming government benefit - maternity allowance then you will be claiming it illegally as you will be working more than 10 days (a day being 7 hours) over your mat leave.

Thanks everyone, keep the replies coming :)

MmeLindor, as there's no contract, I can give it up any time (I'm not tied down). PrincessOfChina, no implications on maternity leave as its freelance work that I would have done normally in my spare time/weekend.

pepperrabbit, my dh would probably volunteer to look after baby after work for an hour if I asked him.

CareerGirl01 Thanks, I'm not claiming maternity pay or benefits :)

Well I thought I could do an hour or two an evening every few months once ds arrived.

Ds had other ideas....

It might take a few weeks or months to settle down, your baby might not nap well at first, they might want to be held. You could stick baby in the sling while you work - that's an option? So maybe go for it!

I didn't think you were allowed to do any paid work while claiming SMP? I am no expert but I did a bit of Googling on the subject as I would love to top up my crappy hardly worth having SMP but all the answers I found indicated that you can't do it.

rainand I might be wrong but I don't think that's relevant. If you do any work then your usual employer could claim you could return to your normal role. I think you're either on maternity leave from all work, or you're not.

Just saw you're not claiming mat pay. So do you mean you're just taking unpaid leave from your normal role? My company requires me to inform them of any other work I am doing, but yours might be different.

Usually the law requires that you don't work for two weeks after the baby is born, but that may not apply in your case. Be aware though that if things don't go according to plan and you end up with a more complicated birth, this may change things.

I could have - DS was a really, really laid back newborn (after a stint in nicu then hospital) was a bit bored when he slept lots during the day and could def have fitted in some work .