when did u tell your job and when did you go on maternity leave?

[TotallyAndUtterlyPaninied]

I know it's been done to death but humour me.

I'm telling work at 17 weeks. Very nervous. I might only get 6 weeks off.

If that's the case, I won't be able to be off until the day I give birth!!

I would like to put my maternity leave in for either 33 weeks or 36 weeks, that's if I get longer on Maternity leave- as I get a very bad SPD. Had it with DS and have already got it and 16 and a half weeks with this babba.

Interested in what any/every one has to say.

Why would you only get 6 weeks off? I told work (my boss only) at 9 weeks simply to explain why i seemed to be half asleep in the afternoons and was struggling to stay in the office beyond 4pm (i work flexi hours)

I am an hourly paid (ie contractor) lecturer and I can't make head nor tail of the maternity policy, but my sister only got 6 weeks.

"As an 'employee' you have the right to 26 weeks of 'Ordinary Maternity Leave' and 26 weeks of 'Additional Maternity Leave' making one year in total. Provided you meet certain notification requirements, you can take this no matter:

• how long you have been with your employer
• how many hours you work
• how much you are paid

You continue to be an employee throughout your Ordinary and Additional maternity leave"

info here

does this mean statutory maternity pay though? Which is about £400 a month? My mortgage is beyond a joke, had to get a very high percentage as needed 90% mortgage in the credit crunch- so in quite a mess as couldn't afford to pay it on £400 a month.

Beanieb, I'm not sure the OP is entitled to OML/AML (if she works along the same lines as hourly paid lecturers at my institution.) If so, you have my sympathy OP; the way Universities/FE Colleges use and abuse hourly paid teaching staff is abhorent. Are you a member of a Union? They should be able to advise you of what you're entitled to. Don't expect your insitution to know the law/tell you what you should get.

To answer your question, I left with DD at 38 weeks (was still marking essays beyond my due date.) I'm leaving at 29 weeks with #2 (due in January).

Totally - I don't think you are an employee, that is why you might not be entitled to much maternity leave. I agree you should talk to your union. good luck and congrats

I don't know the law inside and out, but surely they have to give you more than 6 weeks? that seems completely unreasonable, do you contract via an agency or do you have your own company that you contract under?

But in answer to your question I told my employer at 17 weeks, mainly to explain why I was being a bit of an emotoinal idiot (I work with all men), I'll be starting my maternity leave in my 38th week, but I do have some annual leave to burn so will have 2 weeks of that off - so I stop working at 36+3

I just work for the college. But hourly paid. Urghhh it's so much fuss, I just want to go off for a while and have my baby, get to know it, enjoy being a mummy, and then go back

I would contact CAB and check out your rights, I don't know enough about how the laws work, but you surely must be entitled to more than 6 weeks.

You may be entitled to maternity allowance from the government instead if you don't qualify for SMP (this is around the same rate as SMP but better than nothing). see your hr dept if you can or contact the dept for work and pensions (benefits agency) they should be able to help (as i usually fine the CAB are pretty shite!)

MrsMc82 is correct as long as you worked at and got paid in the 26 weeks prior to due date you can always get Maternity Allowance paid by the goverment. Your HR department or the CAB can tell you how to do this - in any case the minimum time off you get is 26 weeks so you may just be thinking 6 weeks is the local policy of your work place. I would go and find out properly