Maternity leave and notice period

[alessandra27]

Hi everyone,

In a bit of a quandary about the best way to go about things with regards to maternity leave and was hoping for a bit of advice.

So I’m a teacher and am due March. I’m scheduled to go on maternity leave February half term HOWEVER we have recently sold our flat and are have bought in a new area 2 hours away so although work don’t know yet, I won’t be returning after maternity.

We are due to be moved out of our flat by Christmas but can’t move into the new house until end of February so if I don’t leave work until February half term, we’ll have to stay in a cheap hotel which we can’t really afford, even if it meant keeping my pay. I considered handing in notice this October ready to leave by Christmas, but as this is before the 15th week before my due date, I would then be eligible for SMP.

So now I’m trying to decide which option to choose:

A. Hand in my notice at the 15 week point before due date so that I’m still eligible for SMP and then start maternity leave early in January - I prefer the idea of this as I can say goodbye to the school etc but can I hand in my notice period and then take maternity leave during my notice period? Do I have to work during my notice period? I’m scared that doing this will affect my SMP in some way or won’t be permitted.

B. Start my maternity leave early in January without handing in my notice and wait until I’m well into my maternity to tell give my resignation - a safer option to not jeopardise my SMP but there’s no good reason to start maternity so early so I know they’ll ask me difficult questions and I’ll have to lie about moving/quitting

I just don’t know what to do - it’s a small school so I just don’t feel comfortable lying to my colleagues and can’t figure out how to do the right thing while not sabotaging myself with SMP.

Sorry for the garbled nature of this and thanks in advance!

What a difficult situation. Personally I would go with option B, but that’s likely because I had a bad experience trying to be too nice to my employee during my last pregnancy and it didnt pay off for me... Do what your gut says!

I’m confused, where are you planning to live between Christmas and the end of February then?

@Darkstar4855

I’m confused, where are you planning to live between Christmas and the end of February then?

We'll stay with parents who are in the area for a month or so, until the house is ready. Means we won't be paying thousands to stay in a 1 star hotel which is our only option until I was intending to go on maternity.

@Izniz

What a difficult situation. Personally I would go with option B, but that’s likely because I had a bad experience trying to be too nice to my employee during my last pregnancy and it didnt pay off for me... Do what your gut says!

I agree with this - I'm a people pleaser so never want to disrupt anyone else, but I definitely need to do what's right for us. I think I'm going to go with B :)

Take your maternity early and resign at the last possible moment.

That's what I did when I didn't return after maternity leave. I'm not sure how it works with teacher holiday pay etc but for me it was worth waiting until the leave was over so I could have the whole years annual leave.

“ You do not lose your entitlement to SMP if you leave employment after the 15th week or do not intend to return to work.”

neu.org.uk/advice/maternity-rights

I don't think your SMP will be affected. I am no expert and you should check but this is what I think: I know a colleague who was due in April and left at Christmas. Have a look at the link above it explains it. You have to be working the 15th week before due date and you " do t lose your entitlement if you leave work" I was also due in complex situation and read up on it. You gain no advantage accruing leave in teaching Sadly. If you don't leave before you will have the complexity of repaying the occupational element back. Some one I know did this though and never paid it back as they never asked for it back. You could also finish properly at Christmas Day goodbyes etc and not
Leave things dangling- that would stress me out!

Your last day of work would be 31st December and you can claim SMP from 11 weeks before due date /ewc whatever it is called.

There is a good website called working families- I think - I last looked at mat leave it was really helpful.

SMP is calculated from your wages in week 17-25 of pregnancy so it doesn't matter if you then leave after that as you would still have qualified if you were still employed at the end of the 15th week before the baby is due

And you are still employed throughout your notice period too