Maternity leave - wwyd

[Becca1818]

Hi ladies I need your expertise again!

So first baby is due 9th feb and I will only be entitled to smp. My manager has just asked when I want to start my mat leave (in front of my colleagues) and she suggested I start when we break up for Xmas (20th dec - 5th jan) but this will mean I will have to use 5 weeks before baby is born even longer if he's late. I want to start or aim for 23rd jan as long as I feel ok. Wwyd?

X

I would choose the date myself and work up as late as possible so you have more time after the birth.

It's completely up to you when you start your maternity leave.

With both of mine maternity leave started a couple weeks before due date, but used some annual leave beforehand to finish at about 35/36 weeks. I personally needed to finish then was exhausted!

I agree. As long as you are feeling generally well and managing OK at work, then working to a couple of weeks before the due date is perfectly do-able. The time off with baby is precious, and while it is lovely to put your feet up before the birth, 2-3 weeks is plenty. As you said otherwise it might be 7 weeks off before baby arrives which seems like wasted time. I hope she wasn't putting too much pressure on you to finish before Christmas?

My dates are fairly similar to yours, baby is due 29th Jan and I am planning to work until 9th Jan, 3 weeks before due date. (second baby)

Assume you are a teacher or similar?

I think it's quite common for teachers to start mat leave the day after a holiday/return from mat leave the day before a holiday. Def don't start your leave on 20 Dec.

I assume she needs to recruit your mat cover soon so you targeting leaving 23 Jan would potentially give a brief handover period, if that's allowed - sounds good to me!

Why would it be in your interests to finish just before the Christmas holiday? Surely you'd start on the 5th Jan as you'll have Christmas off anyway?

Thanks ladies.

She did kind of put me on the spot as she was asking this in front of my colleagues. I thought they couldn't ask when you were coming back and would assume the full 52 weeks or if you agreed another date.

I work in an office so it's fairly easy as I sit down all day. The office will be closed over Xmas with us coming back on the 5th jan. I don't want to waste any time and feel 2 weeks is sufficient if I feel alright. Can she dictate when I go? I haven't been with the company very long so not sure they were impressed when I told them

Another idea could be to work full time till Christmas and then do a few weeks part time till you want to go fully on maternity leave. Just use holiday to cover the extra days off. Could also help with the handover.

No, she can't dictate when you go!

They do need to assume the full 52 weeks off, unless you tell them otherwise, but that didn't seem the question you were asking in the OP?

Now I know you are in an office job, I'd definitely encourage the later start to mat leave. Will you have any annual leave accrued by then?

Approx when did you start?

Going at 38 weeks is v standard, btw.

Same question as ABlandAndDeadlyCourtesy Are you a teacher?

My baby is due January 9th and I am planning on starting my maternity leave on January 5th (and if baby comes sooner then ML will start sooner). But whatever you do, do not start on December 20th!

Smile sweetly and explain that when you hand in your Mat B form you will let her know when your leave is to start.

Definitely don't start until Jan at the earliest; but it's none of her business and very inappropriate to ask - and to put you under pressure by asking around colleagues.

I worked until 39 weeks.

Dont let anyone force you to finish before you want to.

Also...go for 23rd, as that's what you want. If you end up off earlier, so be it, but you can't predict how you feel, so why not assume you'll feel well?

If you go off sick after 36 weeks, mat leave can be started automatically. Looking at that the other way, even if you're unwell or need to take time off before that point it can't trigger mat leave. So don't let her pressure you.

I was due with DD on the 13th February and finished at the end of January. It was lovely to have Christmas off and then go back knowing I only had 4 weeks until I could finish. I was in an office job and this was just right for me.

And yy to using any remaining annual leave before mat leave kicks in.

Thanks all.

No I'm not a teacher, I work in an office.

Sorry I seemed to have digressed from my original question but either way they can't dictate what I chose can they.

I don't think going part time before will be an option. I'm not even sure they will allow if after my mat leave finishes but I could be wrong.

My annual leave accrues jan-dec so I won't have accrued any but I have asked how I stand with taking what I have accrued at the end of my mat leave to extend it.

Also sorry I have only been with the company since march this year.

I finished my office based job at 36+6 and used holiday to take me to the Monday of the week I was due (on the following Friday). My work didn't allow me to carry any holiday over - this is something you may want to check.

Also, just in case you aren't aware, if you usually get paid bank holidays these still form part of your holiday allowance and can be claimed and taken although they will be lost if they don't allow you to carry them over.

I returned to work in the January so also used any remaining holiday in December to get some better pay (SMP is a bit lame!)

I found working til then fine although the commute on the bus was rubbish. It wasn't enough time to get bored before the baby came that's for sure.

Sorry - xpost. You don't need to have accrued it, your holiday allowance is for the year and you can take all of it before you go on mat leave if you wish.

It's absolutely your choice so don't let her pressurise you to go early. With both of mine, I worked til 38 weeks. In hindsight, for me that was a little bit late as I only got 3 days off with DS2 as he was early! As others have suggested, maybe in January take a few days of leave to have 3 or 4 day weeks to ease yourself out. Ultimately, it's for you to see how you feel - you only legally HAVE to be on mat leave the day baby is born!

I worked till my due date and baby was 10 days late.

No way would I have started 5 wks early.

Obviously I had an easy job and pregnancy.

I will take all of your advice and stick to my guns.

Can I take holiday at the beginning of my mat leave to get extra pay/ leave even if technically I haven't accrued it yet? And the say start smp?

You should be able to take any/all of your 2015 holiday allowance once it's 2015 and before you go on maternity leave. You accumulate holiday while on maternity leave and it is assumed that you remain an employee for the duration.

Also, remember you (likely) get bank holidays off as well! So include those when calculating your annual leave for the year.

So you might well finish at Christmas, take a ton of annual leave and then start maternity leave at the end of January.

If you want to be paid for untaken annual leave or carry it over to 2016 to use when you return to work, you'll need to negotiate with your employer.

Just be careful as if you take holiday and the baby comes early, you have to start taking your maternity leave from the day after the birth. Your employer should (but doesn't have to) give you your holiday days back.

Not all employers let employees take holiday before it's accrued, I don't think it's a legal requirement.

What you could do is finish your maternity leave on, say, 30th November 2015 then take your annual leave that accrued during 2015 in order to start back in 2016.