Can I arrange maternity leave mainly through HR, not my manager?

[ByPoisedTurtle]

Hi all,

FTM here, 19w along, not told work yet. In the 6 weeks or so my line manager has changed to someone i don't particularly get on well with, and can't imagine discussing anything private or personal like being pregnant. For example, when being told about my payrise they made additional comments that weren't necessary/ justified, if it were up to him something different xyz. Comments on using holidays too often/ too much, being able to have a lifestyle to do that which he cant with his workload.

My preference for dealing with all things mat leave is to go through HR as much as possible, rather than my line manager, is that possible/ allowed? Or how is it normally done?

With my workload and type, they wont hire anyone new or need to retrain anyone as cover. I'd be happy to tell my line manager i'm pregnant, and when i'm expecting to finish, but can i have all other conversations and discussions through HR only? Happy to deal with my line manager nearer the time about project handover, but anything to do with leave / pay / rights/ holiday etc, i'd rather go through HR.

Hope that all makes sense. Really just trying to preserve my day-to-day working relationship with my line manager, and for it to stay as minimal as possible so we can both focus on work alone.

Thanks,

It depends on your workplace. I told my manager and even though we have a great relationship, all conversations were with HR and all he wanted to know was my plans around dates.

It will be HR that sorts leave / pay / rights anyway. Sort all the logistics with HR, then tell your manager what they need to know I.e. I’m 23 weeks pregnant, HR are aware, my last day is September 4th, but in my last two weeks I will be going down to four days a week. Let me know as and when you want a meeting to discuss my handover.

That's all pretty normal. HR are the experts about applying your company policy to thinks like leave accrual etc. I don't think I really discussed anything much with anyone. I filled in the form, I discussed dates with line manager. That's about it. How much do you think you'll need to talk about?

It does depend on your workplace, but it definitely seems pretty common for those discussions to be through HR. Mine was: they were the ones who dealt with leave etc, and I just did a handover with my manager towards the end.

As PPs have said, it totally depends. Mine was all through HR, and even then it wasn’t with a person, it was all through a portal where I submitted dates and MatB1 etc.

I needed adjustments as I work in emergency services so I did need to sort that side out with my manager and do risk assessments etc. He was really lovely so that was easy enough. All the admin side was HR. If you do need to speak to your manager and he’s not professional about it I’d just report that to hr

Report the shit your manager spouts at you to HR in writing too. He sounds the type to try and get you sacked when you tell him you are pregnant

It’s normal for HR to sort things like pay and leaving/returning dates anyway. Your boss will need to know if you need any adjustments, and if you’re taking time off for appointments. Don’t assume you won’t need adjustments, I do a standard office job and had to change my hours to avoid travelling at rush hour.

As a manager, my direct reports kindly tell me their good news and everything else goes through HR. There is no need to tell your manager first; that’s not legally required. I have a good relationship with my team hence they KINDLY let me know first but they don’t need to (2 pregnancies so far). Congratulations xxx

I would also make sure your new manager is actually aware of maternity policy and law. For example, you are entitled to time off for antenatal appointments and you shouldn’t be asked to work those hours back. And someone should be doing sending you a risk assessment.

Neither of my managers had a bloody clue what they were doing, regardless of how nice they were

@Nearly50omg this is slightly my worry with comments that have already been made about other new mums working/ pregnant employees. I'm planning to keep a note of any calls or emails which i find inappropriate and report as needed.

Thanks all, it's really great to hear the majority have went through HR rather than line manager. With not having a great relationship, and my line manager being a male of a certain age within a male dominanted company, i'd much rather tell him when i'm leaving/ any extra leave etc, and that be the jist of it. Try to minimalise unneccessary work stress.

Thanks again for all the confirmations.