Returning to work after maternity leave pregnant - any advice?!?!

[philly82]

Hi everyone...this is on my mind alot at the moment and I thought I would ask for some collective advice

my dd is 10 months old and I have taken 12 months maternity leave, which originally i thought was the best decision, now I actually think that I could have gone back sooner but now I'll stick to my original date to return to work because I'm too late to change the date anyway (you need to give 8 weeks notice of your altered return date), and i've only just recently been feeling that I could go back so I might regret it..

Anyway, the thing is that I have just found out I am expecting dc2..which is wonderful as we had a long hard wait for dd1..and my dh and I are thrilled!

So..if all goes well this baby is due in June, and I go back to work in Feb. Hopefully I can work 4 months. I'm a concerned just how my work colleagues and bosses will react, how much use I'll be at work as I'm starting in a new department in an area I have no real experience in, and I know it takes folk at least 6 months to settle in, and am also a
bit concerned about maternity pay and what to do about planning maternity leave for the next bubba..

Sorry this is a bit of a ramble..has anyone been in a similar position and what did you do? When did you tell your employer? And does anyone know what happens with maternity pay etc?

Thanks so much! :)

In similar position but no advice really.

DS is a year old (tried for 2 years) and I started back at work yesterday! Found out I was expecting 4 weeks ago. Complications I have are that I was very ill with ms during my last pregnancy and was basically off sick through it all. I hadn't been at work for 18 months before yesterday!

Thankfully I don't seem to be as sick (at least not constantly) so hoping I'll make it without absences. I had 1st mw app today and scan is next week. Will probably tell them after the scan if all goes well.

Interested to see if anyone knows about mat pay though as I can't understand it either!

Congratulations too btw

I did this. Tried for years for dc1 then got pregnant when she was 6 months old so went back to work after 11 months already 5 months pregnant.

Actually work were great about it. Someone said to me (not at work) that they basically expect people to have 2 kids so they're really waiting for it in a way. Gets it out of the way quickly (that's the theory, am actually now expecting number 3 but anyway...)

I went back for 12 weeks, using up accrued leave to work part-time during that time. Was fine, really lovely to go back, worked on tidying up some projects before going off again. Same person ended up covering my mat leave again.

The only problem was I hadn't earned enough at hte qualifying point (15 weeks before due date) to qualify for SMP as I was still on leave at that time and unpaid. So I didn't get SMP but I was advised to apply for something else (think it was "maternity allowance" or something, not quite as much as SMP but nearly). That helped a bit but it will depend how dependent you are on having money coming in. You might try going back a bit earlier to overcome that problem, plus your two pregnancies are not quite as close together so it might not be an issue but I'm not sure.

Good luck with the pregnancy

Congratulations

DD is 15 months now, I returned to work when she was 12 months and got pregnant straight away.

I'm 3 months now, returned to work in August and will be off again in May.

I told my boss immediately, firstly because I would need time for maternity appointments and also so he could plan accordingly. I have said I will be off for 12 months again. However I have also made it clear that when I return I will be concentrating on my career again, as basically I will have had 5 years either off or pregnant.

Have a chat with your HR department if there is one once you have told work, or have a look at your contract to make sure you return at the right time.

Your SMP is based on your average earnings between weeks 17 and 25 of your pregnancy, so if you want SMP you will need to go back earlier.