Maternity leave ?

[GemGem97]

Hi all. 25 weeks with my first. Just spoke to my grandmother who has made me doubt what I'm doing...

I am planning to finish work exactly a month before I'm due. I'm taking 2 weeks of holiday then going on maternity leave. I've just been told if I go off sick at all in the 4 weeks before Mat leave starts then I automatically get put on mat leave - this will mean I could lose around a month of pay!

I am very petite and have to drive half hour each way to work, so I have to sit quite close to the wheel as it is, let alone with a belly! I am worried I am leaving it too late to go on leave? I can't risk going sick in those last 2 weeks, and my nan thinks I should think about going a bit earlier - although this would mean I do lose a couple weeks of pay anyway...

Do you think I should stick with going on leave a month before due date? Or am I going to struggle moving home and driving that much in those last few weeks.?

Thanks :)

Hi @GemGem

Yes, if you are sick in the last four weeks before your due date due to pregnancy your maternity leave will then start.

However, the two weeks holiday you have booked are still yours and can be added to the end of your maternity leave.

My plan was to use two weeks holiday and then start my mat leave two weeks before my due date. Unfortuanatly I became very poorly with a number of pregnancy complications. I was put on pregnancy sick leave at 29 weeks. My maternity leave then kicked in early - the w/c four weeks before my due date. But all my holiday that I was going to use, is being used at the end of my maternity leave (which actually staggers my finances better).

I'm confused about your comment about no pay? Are you entitled to statutory maternity pay? If not, are you entitled to maternity allowance?

I finished work 3 weeks before my due date and that was fine for me although I could work from home a lot and I did end up being 12 days over due , I think 4 weeks is a good amount of time

4 weeks should be fine for work. Moving home might be rough that late in pregnancy.

@Bibijayne I'm not planning on going back to my job, and even so HR told me that holiday must be used before end of this year otherwise I will lose it.

Yes I get 6 weeks of pay then 33 weeks of statutory pay, so I want that to kick in as late as possible

Thanks guys nice to have a bit of reassurance :)

I finished 3.5 weeks with both and it was plenty of time. Especially if you end up going overdue!

I'm renovating my flat. Started at 33 weeks, am now 37 weeks. What I can do to help has decreased massively but I'm still just about capable of doing stuff. I stopped work at just short of 36 weeks - annual leave until my due date. I certainly do not regret it!

@GemGem

HR are not being entirely truthful with you! Worth having a chat to ACAS and maternity action who can help with this.

I was going into the office right up until 2 days before my due date. No issues. It’s nice too keep occupied in those last few weeks! (Although a holiday sounds like a much more fun approach!)

I think HR are perhaps misinformed OP, you are forced to start maternity leave if you are sick for pregnancy related problems 4 week before the baby is due, not when you start maternity leave, therefore you will be absolutely fine since the first of those 2 weeks you will be on holiday anyway. Congratulations on your pregnancy

If you are off sick with a pregnancy related illness after 36 weeks of pregnancy then they can start maternity leave from then so I think there is a bit of confusion there. This obviously wouldn't apply to you as you would have finished work by then anyway

Im due feb 5th? Planning to work the first 2 weeks in january up to the 19th and take the 3rd week as a holiday and officially start mat leave on the 28th.
My place works on a monthly bonus structure on top of my normal wage but to qualify you have to of worked 3 out of the 4 weeks so itll mean ill still get januarys bonus and my smp wont technically start until juneish when my actual wage ends. (At my place we get 100% wage first 2 months, then 50% next 2 months then smp after that)