Are there any maternity leave resources - for preparing to handover?

[Biscotti76]

Hi,

I'm keen to know if anyone has found/used/created their own checklist/guide for preparing to go on mat leave from work - not issues related to the pay and leave itself, but a good guide for steps to take to prepare your team, do a good handover at work before you go? Have only got a couple of months left and am starting to feel a creeping panic...and would really appreciate a toolkit/guide. Have googled extensively, but just keep finding things related to the basics around notice and entitlements etc.

Let me know - thanks!

It surely depends on your job. You may have better luck looking for a handover if you were leaving your job as it is essentially the same thing!

Thanks nc060 - I have searched for job leaving handover resources too, I was just hoping for something specific to maternity - seems odd there is so little (that I could find anyway), when so many of us go through it.

In the months leading up to my leave date (yesterday) I have been keeping a detailed diary of all my tasks/duties. I have done my handover over a 2 week period and delegated the more complicated jobs to the best suited colleagues within my team rather than my temporary replacement with agreement from my manager. In my handover I've provided a task checklist, screen shots, notes, an "idiots guide" and a list of useful contacts.

They have my home and mobile number should they need it and i'm intending to keep involved using my KIT days.

I've tried to handover in the way I wish I'd have been handed the job. You can't prepare for every eventuality but you can certainly try and cover as many bases.

If you have any questions relating to your pay/contract/hours etc put them all down in writing when you think of them so you make sure you've covered all HR bases before you leave. Also if you have outstanding expenses then get them submitted :-)

What I hadn't banked on was how emotional I'd be actually walking out the building yesterday afternoon. I've had a job since I was 11 (i'm now 30) without ever being unfortunate enough to have a gap in employment, even as a student, so its hit me hard.

Hope this helps :-)

That's really useful SouthDerbyshireMamma - great advice. I know - 'stopping work' feels really strange - will be odd to be without the routine. Previously I was thinking 'the leave date can't come quick enough', but now it feels very strange to hand things over to someone else and mentally let go. Even though I know we'll have a different kind of routine on our hands soon enough