Going back to work part-time after maternity leave - good or bad?

[LeBe]

I had previously decided not to go back to work after giving birth because i wanted to spend time with the baby and watch him grow up and although they couldnt give me a definate amount of help money wise i would recieve the estimate seemed good. I have now just been offered to go back to my job part - time and have not looked into this option at all, so wondering if anyone could help on whether this is a good option or not.

Part-time work is ideal if you ask me, the best of both worlds. How part-time is it though?

The best thing to do is to wait until after the baby is born and then decide. You might want to have a couple of days at work where you have time for yourself in your lunch hour etc. Your work don't have to have an answer until after you've had the baby. Also you are entitled to a year off now so that's somethign to consider. If you are going to use a childminder/nursery it is worth considering how much wages you will have after paying fees to see if it's worth it too. You will get child tax credits to help with childcare costs

I would do part time, i have gone back to full time work i love it but am missing out on DD growing up.. will hopefully have 2 in nov and am planning not to go back for financial reason being it wont pay me to work with costs of creche. I am working now and i really like having time to myself never though i would but i do like being back and i can see myself working part time after no 2 just to mix with people and get out..

Hope this helps

i think part time is great, im going to go back to work part time, even though i love my children so much, i need to go out and have a bit of me time! and i like earning a bit of money myself instead of relying on my partner

Thanks for the advice it all sounds really positive about going back. The problem i face is it is only a little company and things are not always done exactly by the book so my employer wants to know before i go if im coming back. It would be something like 10 - 2 5 days a week. I think i would like to come back and have a bit of my life back even though i know i will miss him terribly but does anyone nknow where to go to find out exactly qhat your entitled to etc.

Part-time can be fantastic. I have worked part-time since having my first nearly 7 yrs ago & it works really well for me.
It is hard to know how you will feel until after you've had your baby. Why not agree to part-time for now as that will leave your options open.
Good luck

I would have loved to go back part-time, but the new boss at my former place of work made it clear that they would not make it easy for me!

If possible, I would try to negotiate a couple of full days rather than half days as it is probably less tiring (according to friends), and will give you more opportunities to do fun stuff with your little one.

I worked 5 days a week, then had Lottie and I had to have 1 day off a week to do stuff with her as, as oyu know Lebe she was born with Down's syndrome. It was great having that day off with her. Then I had DD2 and while on materni9ty leave decided I wanted to go back 3 days a week. My boss agreed. Best thing I ever did. i love it. By Thursday I'm really ready to be with my girls again, and by Monday eveniong I'm really looking forward to coming back to work!
It works really, really well for me / us. Other than being generally richer (!) there's nothing I'd change about my situation.

Yeah that makes alot of sense actually to try and get atleast one whole day off to spend with babba, well you definatly all make it soundvery appealing! I am going to look into it i really want to try and persuade one of the family to look after him as i would feel better with that than a carer i think but we shall see.

Oh and Hi Thomcat thanks again for your advice, i left a message on your members profile cos you hadnt been on here for a bit.

If anyone does know of any good websites where they can calculate what help you get afterwards or of what places are best to help could you let me know thanks x

I used to work full time, had DS and came back to work 7 days a fornight, working different days each week, which was too complicated.

Had DD and now I am back 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) which is much better .

I used to work full time too before ds1. I went back full time with him, same ob and found it much more stressfull. After the birth of ds2, I now work part time.
For me advantages of working are :

• you retain some of the old YOU where you can an adult, not a mum or a wife.
• you still earn some sort of money
• you get a break from your child/children. not what you are thinking about when they tiny but a god send when you reach toddler stage! Disadvantages :
• You might not be as keen on the job you were doing before pg. I found that the sress of my previous job incompatible with being a mum of young children
• If the child is unwell but not so ill, it is difficult to still have to go to work All in all, I would strongly recommend to keep at least a part time job. It keeps your life more balanced wo the stress of a fulltime job. Also will give you the time & opportunit to spend some days with your child. Go for it!

I'd go for less days, rather than less hours per day, as you'll probably find it a lot easier to find childcare. The inland revenue site has a tax credits calculator where you can plug in different income levels and childcare costs and see what impact it would have. Depending on your overall family income (not just yours) you could get part of your childcare costs covered by tax credits.

Or if your income excludes you from that, try asking your employer whether they'd consider a childcare vouchers scheme - you can have up to £55 a week of your salary as childcare vouchers which you don't have to pay tax on (and the employer doesn't pay NI on them either, so they save a bit too). See here for one company you can get them from (there are others).

I work part-time (3 days) and love the balance but would have preferred to go back later (went back when ds was 6 months) as I felt I was just getting the hang of it! But you're honestly not going to know what suits you and your baby until he's been around a while & the law allows you to change your mind no matter what your employer thinks. Whatever works for you when the time comes, ifyou're able to keep your options open so much the better. would second the poster about full days, so much easier & cheaper to get a nursery place and also means full days with your baby.

I always thought I'd go back full time until I had the lo and then did a rethink. PT works perfectly for me as I get the best of both worlds - time to raise my child but something for myself as well. You have to do whats right for you. Also you will need to assess the availiable childcare options and work out what is going to suit you most - the extra money might not be there once you've paid the childcare!!

Thanks again guys i really do appreciate all the advice. I totally agree about doing full days and having whole days off but my employer wants someone here 10 - 2 everyday to cover lunch hours for the others (like i said before its a very small company) so i dont think he would go for it. Its good to know everyone seems keen on working pt definately something to consider!

I work pt and i think it is the best option for me. I have done mornings and whole days too. The benefit of doing mornings (I did 9-1) is that you get to spend a decent amount of time with your child every day, also I find when I have whole days off, I tend to waste the mornings and don't seem to do as much. However, you might find that most baby groups are in the mornings, so it can be difficult meeting with others. The other downside is that if your baby sleeps, it might well do so in the afternoons - so you might want to try and ensure it has any sleeps in the morning, so you don't lose even more time with your child (a childminder is probably better for that than a nursery!). Other than that, it has been a real success for me and I am really happy with my work life balance.
Good luck!