Standard time to take maternity leave

[keeppassingtheopenwindows1]

Hi,

I was just wondering if there was a standard time to take maternity leave? Should I provisionally say two weeks before due date or would you advise more/less.

My first son came two months early so I had no choice over the matter.

I work in an office based job so low intensity.

Can anyone give any tips please?

I worked until 39+3. I wouldn't do it again- I thought I'd be fine but that last week was a killer.

Suffolk my employers know she arrived early, I've been in contact with them. I know from previous experience that they don't pass on birth dates to the accountants - employers aren't exactly on the ball so I would be surprised if they knew they were supposed to. If they choose not to then that's up to them, I can show evidence if anything does come back that they were aware. I'm friends with the lady who does payroll who said she would let me know if by chance they asked her to let the accountants know, I've asked her to let me know so I can get union advice on my 'lost' annual leave if I needed to as work originally said if it wasn't used in this year (October-September) I would lose it.

39 weeks with DC1 - went into hospital day after I finished for induction.

38 weeks with DC1 - also went into hospital very next day for induction.

I worked until 38 weeks but used holiday to take a day off a week from 32 weeks in my first pregnancy and 0.5 extra days a week from 34 weeks in my 2nd (had gone down to 4 days a week after no 1). If you have the leave I recommend it - it's a lot easier to cope if the most you have to work is 2 days at a time. I went overdue and had 4 weeks / 3.5 weeks off each time so am very happy I didn't finish earlier.

Well as long as you are friends with the lady who does payroll it's not fraud

Tomatoes don't worry yourself about it. I'll come back and let you know if I get locked up for fraud. Like I've said, my employers are well aware the baby arrived early, my manager and MD know. When my colleague in payroll works out the figures every month she has to send them off to the manager of every department to get them authorised so she can send them off to the accountant who will then pay us. Being friends with the lady who does this has no bearing on it - I haven't asked her not to tell the accountants, I've just asked her to tell me if she is told so I'm prepared. She will only do what she is told by each manager. If she isn't told (and she hasn't been so far) then that's an error on the part of my manager, not me.

Trust me, I'm not worried about you

I just don't want other people to read this thread and think they should base their maternity plans around this being an option if they don't understand the (il)legality of it all.

For future reference though, in case you should ever be caught up in a serious crime, complicity Is a shit defence. You might wanna work on that one.

Why would your employer even bother to lie about when your baby was born? Genuinely baffled. There is no financial reason for them to do so. The only benefit is to you in using your holiday before maternity leave starts.

JFC is there not a single thread on MN at the moment that doesn't descend into a bunfight?

Cop on to yourselves FFS.

Also, your mate in payroll sounds shit at her job!

This is exactly why I booked all my annual leave at the beginning of the maternity leave to finish so early. I did the same last time and when baby came early my mat leave was automatically started, meaning I would have lost my leave. My employer agreed to carry it all over to the following year as I'd already booked it and so shown the intention to use it. I have booked it again this time - either I'll have a nice long summer with 4 year old ds before baby arrives, or if baby comes early as it seems consultant fears he might, at least I'd shown willing to use the leave beforehand so it should be carried over.

There has been a recent case at my workplace whereby an employer didn't inform HR of giving birth and was classed as dishonest. She had informed her immediate supervisor but not followed full procedure to inform HR.

I got signed of at 29 weeks due to very high risk, spd, pgp, hg, small baby weight.and sch. I worked as a dinner lady so rushing around and lots of bending and children accidently running into me.
I was hoping to stay until 38 weeks to have a week of rest before elcs at 39 weeks.

When I was pregnant with my son, I was due to work up to the Friday before his Sunday due date but ended up going into labour on the Thursday so I missed my last day. There was no reason not to as it was a physically easy office job and a commute using public transport. The mile walk from the station to the office and back each day kept me feeling fit and healthy and ready for labour. It was so nice not to have to go back to work until after he turned one. That felt like the right time for us as he developed quite a lot in the month beforehand.

This time was very different. I commuted by train and tube an hour and a half each way to work and as my son attended the workplace nursery there, he did too. I carried him on my back for the walking parts of the journey as he only started walking recently and still can't manage that on foot and as my joints were loosening and theweather is getting warmer, I was finding it quite hard.

Luckily I still had some of the annual leave I accrued during my last maternity leave and all this year's leave to use up, so I went on annual leave at the start of June for seven weeks and will start my maternity leave straight after, which is ten weeks before my due date. I am really enjoying having the summer to spend doing nice things with my son before his little brother or sister arrives, probably around the time he turns two. I still do plenty of walking as the park, antenatal clinic, town and most playgroups are about a mile away, so I'm not worried about lack of exercise.

I'll probably not return to employment this time as our family would otherwise spend more on childcare and travel than my work would bring in so I'm not worried about starting my maternity leave early from that point of view.

Not starting your mat leave when the baby has arrived is fraud. It is your responsibility to make sure that's correct.

I'm glad that my company allows carrying over annual leave. I started my maternity leave at 38wks and I have tagged my accrued annual leave at the end of maternity leave so really no difference. It just takes away the confusion of if baby arrived while I was still in annual leave period.

I'm nearly 37 weeks and I'm planning on working until due date. I have a short commute and the hospital is very close to work and home. My job is emotionally demanding but not physically, bar a bit of driving. If the baby decides to arrive sooner, then that's fine.

Oooh I love planning maternity leave

My first is nearly 2 now and I took off the full year with her, and left about 6 weeks before her due date, 2 weeks of that being annual leave.

This time as I came back part time and when back full time the same time roughly as getting pregnant with my second, I don't have as much holiday and will also be only taking 9 months off, but have still decided to take off six weeks before the birth. I also work in a low intensity office job.

However I think it comes down to your personality. Some people say they get really bored not working but I loved pottering about, relaxing and nesting before DD came. Im also due in November and the 1st October doesn't seem that long away now, I can't wait!

Cherries that does sound great! I'm also due beginning Nov and al October to prepare would be amazing!

Where I live you have to start your maternity leave between 5-8 weeks before due date so 35 weeks at the latest. I just renewed my contract at work to finish end of November but might ask to add on December too as I'm not due to the end of Jan, depends on how I feel by then.

I couldn't carry annual leave over, and DD was due a couple of months after the beginning of our leave year, so I went off at 34+2, with maternity leave due to start at 39+5. I ended up needed an elcs for medical reasons, which was carried out at 39+1, so I lost a few days holiday.

In short, check whether or not you can carry over leave, or if you need to take any before starting your mat leave.

You should in most cases be able to carry over annual leave that cannot reasonably be used due to maternity (e.g. if business needs dictate so before you go on ML, or if your AL calendar finishes too close to your ML end date). Your employer doing otherwise can leave them on shaky ground.

From maternityaction.org.uk:

Your employer can refuse annual leave where it coincides with a busy time of year or a lot of other employees are taking leave at the same time but they should not refuse to allow you to take annual leave because you have been absent on maternity leave, as that may be maternity discrimination.
If you have returned to work early you and/or your partner may be able to take some shared parental leave within the first year from your baby’s birth. For more information, see Shared parental leave.
If you are unable to take all your annual leave in the leave year because of absence on maternity leave, shared parental leave or other types of parental leave, the government advises that employers should allow you to carry forward up to 28 days statutory leave to the next leave year. The government intends to amend the Working Time Regulations to allow 28 days to be carried forward if a parent cannot take it, see www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/calculate-leave-entitlement.
If your employer offers more than the statutory minimum of 28 days annual leave, it is up to your employer how much of your contractual annual leave you can carry forward so you should check your contract or talk to your employer.
If you are not allowed to carry forward your annual leave you should seek legal advice.

I finished at 37 weeks last time and ds was born at 41 weeks. I'd saved my annual leave so mat pay didn't kick in until he was born.

Oops ds knocked my phone before I'd finished. I was going to add that I loved my month off. It was completely relaxing and I did lots of reading and prep first the baby. Hoping to do the same this time.

I finished at 34 weeks because I couldn't handle the hour and half drive anymore, the heat was really getting to me and the office chair (despite it being the best health and safety could offer) just made it so painful to sit down due to SPD.

I did have a few comments from work colleagues saying I was being selfish taking so much time before due date and others who said I was going to be bored. But then others pointed out that you can take 11 weeks off before due date and so six weeks isn't that excessive before due date.

I haven't been bored either yet, been really busy round the house and seeing family.

Guess it's just up to you. Your work might even let you give a date which you want to leave on but if you end up finding if difficult and you want to leave earlier then they might let you x

They have to let you, providing you give sufficient notice. Anything less is technically at their discretion (but they'd have to be massive bastards to not play ball you felt you needed to finish earlier, rather than on a whim).