pregnant again and still on maternity leave! can i go back to work?

[RWT]

i have just found out i am 4 weeks pregnant however i am on additional maternity leave and am due to return in september for 3 days a week, can i still go back even though i will be pregnant? will i still be entitled to maternity pay?

How long have you worked there?

You can usually roll two lots of mat leave into one without going back - but it does depend on lenghth of service and the employers own rules on it.

Do you want to go back ?

This happened to someone where i work actually. She came back from mat leave and then suddenly a couple of months later, she had a huge bump! I'm not sure what she is entitled to tho as i dont know her that well so i wouldn't like to ask really. Not much help there, sorry!

If you were entitled to mat leave last time then you will be entitled to it this time too - congratulations by the way.

Best thing is probably to ring your HR dep't -not right now but in a few months and explain - you'll be about 6mths pg by the date of your return so you can ask them if they want you to come back for a couple of months or do they want you to roll the two mat leaves together ?

Often it is worse to go back for a very short time - they might prefer you to stay off.

Ive just recently went back to work after materninty leave and found out im pregnant again. My magaer said i would probably not be entitled to the same maternity benefits as last time as i hadnt been back at work long, so i rang hr and they said that i will be and that people often are pregnant before they are due back to work and they still get the same allowance again even if they dont return to work in between. I would check with your company and see what the policy is.

Yes it's not the lkength of service EACH time - the qualifying period is before first pregnancy - so if you were eleigibel first time you will be this time too

i was pregnant going back- no problems here.

I too was already pregnant when I returned to work after maternity leave and received the same pay/benefits as before. It may depend from one organisation to another though - best to check with HR.

i am supposed to be going back in sept which would make me about 5 months so i suppose i could work for 3 months before finishing again if thats allowed, or i suppose the other option is to put my first daughter in nursery sooner and start back earlier, early days yet though, thanks for the congratulations not told anyone else yet as partner is at work and dont want to put him off his job!!

congrats! I went back to work 5 months pregnant after my first mat leave. you're eligible for all the usual rights. it was quite nice going back knowing it was only for a short while - and i made the most of meeting work friends for lunch etc while I was there. easier than childcare!

I went back from 1st ml 20 wks pg. I think that if your company has an enhanced ML scheme you may have to have been back for a certain amount of time although you'd qualify for regular maternity leave anyway. Best to check with your hr dept. In my case, I managed to qualify for the enhanced scheme by taking all the holiday I had accumulated while on 1st ml as the end of my additional leave, so it was as if I was back at work earlier, iyswim.

iirc both statutory and additional materintiy leave count as "service" so, essentially, you have been EMPLPOYED for this time.

so you will easily get maternity pay. it would be straightforward for someone who was not entitled to materinity pay first time round due to not having worked long enough, to get it SECOND time, even if they had never been back.

Call the hr dept by all means, but I am pretty sure that you are ENTITLED to go back, if you want, as usual, for those months before the birth.

women have babies, fact of life. You need to do whats best for your family, work will cope.

oh yes there MIGHT be rules re contractual materinity pay. can't rememebr if this is possible or not-might be discrimination. sorry, not sure.

what you might NOT be emtitled to do is to take those months off

esp if you have contractual materinity pay

they might prefer you to though

Hi

Yes you are entitled to 52 weeks Mat Leave (26 Ordinary & 26 Additional). As a previous poster said, you are still employed even when on mat leave.

In Sept you will be between 17-20 weeks pregnant. So, (depending on whether you return at beginning of Sept or end) you will be able to go back for a minimum of 9-12 weeks, but don't forget you will need to use all of your Annual Leave entitlement before you go, that you have accrued, as you won't be returning to work again before April 2008.

The only consideration is that your SMP is calculated "in the 8 weeks leading up to and including the 15th week before your expected date of delivery". Basically, they will average the pay you receive between when you are 17 weeks pregnant and 25 weeks pregnant, and if that is over £112.75, you get 90% of average for 6 weeks then £112.75 for 33 weeks. If it is under £112.75 but over £87 you will get 90% for 39 weeks. If under £87, you qualify for Maternity Allowance, but not SMP.

So, you need to make sure that you go back to work at 17 weeks pregnant if you aren't earning masses, to maximise your average over the 8 week calculation period (So, for you, the beginning of September).