Asking for a Pay Rise After Maternity Leave

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Has anyone asked for pay rise before returning to their job after maternity leave? What case did you make for it?

Is it a good idea to ask for a pay rise before starting to work or would you wait 6 months or so until you have achieved something i.e. evidence for why you deserve more money?

I'm going back to my old job in the autumn and wondering how to approach the issue, if at all...

Thanks.

I'd be interested to see the replies to this - if I hadn't gone on maternity leave I almost certainly would have had a payrise (but didn't want to make an issue of it because the circumstances weren't great) and kind of expected one upon my return. That was 10 months ago. Kind of wish I had raised the question earlier (but also grateful to have kept my job!)

Think you need to think carefully about why you personally think you deserve a pay rise now. Have you just passed a professional exam or would have been due a bonus which you didn't receive when you went on maternity leave? If it's just you have extra expenses - childcare - then I would forget it for now and go back and prove yourself first.

I would tend to agree with LadyLapsang, you would need to prove yourself first.

Having said that, if there has been a bonus or payrise which has been awarded to all other staff while you were on mat leave then I believe you are entitled to that and it should be at your "normal" salary, not the rate of SMP you are receiving.

I think you'll struggle in the current climate. Better to wait 6 months and prove yourself.

I would wait and get settled after the return. You may find it takes 3 or 4 months to adjust to new working life with a child and it will give you a chance to get settled.

Good luck with the return.

I would wait. You don't know how you'll feel juggling work & children, you may feel you want your job to take more of a back seat - if you ask for the pay rise and get it, you'll probably be expected to do more for it, just at the time you'll be feeling most frazzled.

I'd definately wait. How could you justify a pay rise if you haven't been at work?

I asked for a payrise about a month or so after I got back from mat leave. I took in justification for why I thought I should get one, it wasn't on a whim and they agreed to it.

In my case the salary scales had changed when I was on mat leave and they had also advertised a very similar job to mine at £5k above my salary so I felt justified in asking!!

Depends what the reason is why you feel you deserve one. If it's something like you are going back to a more responsible job, or everyone else has had a percentage increase across the board, or something similar, then fine. If not, then of course they are more likely to agree an increase if you can point to recent high performance and specific achievements.