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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Maternity leave - Is what I being offered a good idea.

32 replies

DueInJun23 · 15/01/2023 20:06

I am 33 pregnant with my first child due in June, I have worked for my company since I was teen part time and full time since my twenties.

I told them I was pregnant last week, I was offered full pay for 3 month with the agreement I would not be available for any work related reason in that time, then for the remaining of the maternity period I can work from home with flexible hours as long as the work was being done.

I and my partner think this is fair, we live in London and rent privately with no chance of social/cheaper housing once the baby is born and currently the statutory maternity pay is less than my half of the rent let alone anything else, my partner is on a decent but nowhere near high wage and if he was to take on more of the financial burden there wouldn’t not be much left at the end of the month after rent, bills and the new unknown (for us) expense of the baby.

As I said we think the offer my work made is fair but this is also my first child so I feel a little jaded, although I may think this or that will the reality be different? Has anyone ever been in a similar situation and gone either way? I know a lot of this comes down to me and how I feel, but is three months enough time? Working from home a looking after a small baby is one aspect of that going to suffer?

There is also another woman at my work a few months ahead of me in a much senior position who’s work is much more demanding and time consuming than mine, she has been offered the same and is taking it, she also when we were discussing this reminded me that I have rights and nothing is set on stone. Any advice especially if you’ve been in a similar situation would be appreciated.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Hercisback · 15/01/2023 20:07

How much do you get paid?

LittleMrsPerfect · 15/01/2023 20:10

the “as long as work is done part” really worries me. What if this clause is used to get rid if you? How much do you trust your employer?

Lewiscapaldiscat · 15/01/2023 20:12

Are you in The uk?

Back to work at 3 months???

stat pay is 6 weeks 90% and about £650 a month for the remaining up to 9 months. Are you saving? Can you cut back - how were you going to manage?

depends what you earn and your outgoings but you can’t work at home with a baby - that’s insane! How will you parent? How will you work? Sounds rubbish on all counts - very stressful for you!

NoSquirrels · 15/01/2023 20:12

Does the company not have an official policy? When you say you’ve been ‘offered’ it, it sounds like negotiation is possible but most companies have agreed policies that they don’t deviate from.

12 weeks at full pay, then return to work FT from home - for the rest of the 12 months? What are your plans for childcare?

A lot depends on your job. I would say I would not have found it possible to WFH with a baby without childcare, and going back FT would have been hard.

Original poster

DueInJun23 · 15/01/2023 20:12

I’m on around £31,000 a year so clear over £1,800 a month so I will looses quite a bit if I take the statutory pay, my partner is on a bit higher £36,00+ (I think) with the promise of a pay rise sometime this year.

OP posts:

gogohmm · 15/01/2023 20:12

Comes down to whether you need to shorten your maternity leave?

VivaVivaa · 15/01/2023 20:14

I think it completely depends how much work you were going to be expected to do and how challenging that work is. A couple of hours a day of relatively easy work that you can do at literally any time of the day - potentially doable (although, I’d still say pretty dependent on your baby, how they sleep, how they feed etc). More than that? Very difficult, without someone else being on hand to care for your baby.

NoSquirrels · 15/01/2023 20:14

You need to be clear on what your DP earns and takes home, and you need to agree a joint budget.

MrNook · 15/01/2023 20:18

I'd really struggle to work from home and look after a 3 month old!

If you will still have money left after rent and bills then I'd do the standard mat leave, your partners income is what I'd consider very high and would manage ok on but of course depends on your housing costs

MandaLynn · 15/01/2023 20:20

I think it depends how much work you're expected to do from home. I think trying to do a full time role with a baby - would be extremely difficult and cause burn out. Unless you know your role is actually quite light and could condense to a couple hours a day while baby is napping.

AwkwardPaws27 · 15/01/2023 20:21

All babies are different but there's no way I could work from home & look after my 7 month old. He doesn't have long naps and needs a lot of entertainment/ interaction while awake. I tried and failed to fill out a couple of forms for work the other day while looking after him - I had to wait for DH to finish work instead as I just couldn't get him settled enough to focus.
I can get some tidying or laundry done with him in a sling as I'm moving around but he won't tolerate me sitting down to use the laptop. If he's in a good mood I can get 15 mins while he's in the jumperoo, but if he's teething or under the weather then it's not happening.

Overthebow · 15/01/2023 20:21

Personally I wouldn’t have been able to look after my DC when she was 3 months and work too. She was demanding and didn’t sleep well in the day or at night, I was constantly exhausted and there was no time in the day where I could have worked so it would have had to be in the evening.

In your situation I would decline, and work out how much mat leave I could afford and go back properly at that point.

alark · 15/01/2023 20:26

Work out how long you can afford to be on mat leave and take it, then go back to work and use childcare.

There's absolutely no way I'd have been able to look after a baby and work at the same time, even more so when they're older and taking less naps/crawling around etc.

WelshNerd · 15/01/2023 20:27

Could you clarify if there is anything written in your contract or associated terms & conditions regarding maternity pay?

You are entitled to 12 months leave and I don't think they can vary occupational maternity pay based on your return to work date.

Hatscats · 15/01/2023 20:28

I wouldn’t want to work and look after a baby - it’s too much. I took the full year, once your stat maternity pay runs out you can do your 10 kit days, then use any carried over holiday.
Childcare is so expensive I just maxed out the year!

Rosesandteacups · 15/01/2023 20:30

No way would I have been ready to do any kind of work with a 3 month old at home. Unless you have a nanny or plan on putting them in nursery I don’t think this would be a good idea.

lookslikeabombhitit · 15/01/2023 20:30

Sounds like a hideous plan tbh. I have 3 DC. No way I could have done any work at home with them from 3 months old, none of mine slept, all refused a routine and the second especially was the screamiest baby I'd ever met. I'd have had to work all night to try and get anything done! I worked a day from home last week and my 8mo nephew was with us (DH was minding him). He's honestly the easiest most laid back baby in the world but I still couldn't get anything done around him when DH got a shower/ made lunch. Absolutely no idea how anyone managed to WFH with a child during lockdown. Magic maybe?

What are your plans for the end of maternity leave re. Childcare? Will your DH be able to do shared parental leave? Or will he be able to condense hours to give you time to work? Have you checked UC to see if you will be entitled to anything whilst on maternity leave? This manual calculator is far better than the entitled to calculators etc. www.uc-advice.co.uk/calculating-your-universal-credit

Screwedupworld · 15/01/2023 20:32

Sounds horrific tbh. No way would I consider working from home with a 3 month old.

MajorCarolDanvers · 15/01/2023 20:33

Not a chance I could have worked and cared for a baby at the same time. You will be exhausted

MuggleMe · 15/01/2023 20:35

That's a recipe for a breakdown and permanent resentment imo. You'll need some childcare when you go back or you'll end up working all the hours your child is asleep and totally sleep deprived yourself. Not sure it's worth it.

mynameiscalypso · 15/01/2023 20:36

So you effectively end maternity leave after 3 months? I wouldn't have wanted that at all. I had quite an easy baby but I still was all over the place at three months. And there's no way I could work without childcare in place.

PurBal · 15/01/2023 20:45

You are legally entitled to 52 maternity leave. 39 weeks SMP. You can’t get SMP if you’re working. So whilst 3 months full pay is good, being forced to go back to work at that point is not only bad it’s not actually legal: it’s your choice. 3 months full pay then SMP is quite good (coming from someone who only gets SMP, others will disagree).

Lkydfju · 15/01/2023 20:46

Personally I wouldn’t do this as I wouldn’t have been able to work when my baby was 3 months and I’d be stressed trying to fit it all in.

babynoname22 · 15/01/2023 20:47

I think there is so so many variables here.

You have no idea what your birth will be like. My first babys I had a traumatic start and delivery. Baby was fine but I was a mess. I could just about remember my own name at 6 weeks. Still in a state. Second birth and recovery a breeze (admittedly an ELCS!)

Then you have no idea what kind of baby you will have. Some will tell you it's fine as they sleep all the time. Some will tell you they don't. My first was awful with reflux so needed to be upright 90% of the time. He also as a consequence slept like shit and so I felt like shit 90% of the time. He slept through the night at 17 months.

What are you planning on doing with the baby whilst your working? Putting them in a bouncer and ignoring them? Putting them infront of tv? (Have you seen the thread re 12 week baby and 10 mins tv! ) working whilst sleep? No rest for you. No washing being done. Clothes being washed food being eaten?

No baby classes to go to. No walks with the pram. Basically no maternity leave. Sounds dreadful to me.

What was the financial plan pre pregnancy? What is your companies official policy? They may be trying to fiddle you out of a better deal. How much work? I'm assuming for £31k it's not going to be an hour a day. Also. How taxing? You won't be able to concentrate when the tiny human is screaming at you.

I would cut back on absolutely everything first and see if you can take longer leave. If you can't and you absolutely have to return to work then unfortunately you are going to have to pay someone else to look after you baby. You will not cope 'working' from home and looking after a baby.

Wishing you luck with your first baby.

dementedpixie · 15/01/2023 20:48

Does your partner get a good shared parental pay deal? Would he take advantage of shared parental leave/pay if you're having to end your maternity leave early? That's effectively what your employer is trying to get you to do I.e. end maternity leave after 3 months.

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