Notice period after maternity leave

[BathtimeDuck]

I’m contracted to return to work for six months after my maternity leave ends or else I have to pay back all of my enhanced pay. DH has just been relocated and changed all of our plans. Does anyone know if parental leave counts in this period or does it have to be six months actually in the office?

Parental leave would count but it wouldn't cover the 6 months, it's capped at 4 weeks a year per child, unless your employer agrees to more, I wouldn't bank on that option.

Best you can hope for I think is a repayment agreement. You could just dodge it, it depends on how much you owe and if it would be worth them taking you to court for it.

I’m due to return next week and we have to sell our house, which the estate agent thinks will be completed within three months (we are lucky to be in an area where people are buying and already have viewings booked, despite the photos only being taken today to go online). I have over a month’s holiday owed and two children so I think I can make it work (assuming, of course, work agree to give me the parental leave).

DH’s job is abroad, so a commute really isn’t realistic.

Without seeing the terms of the enhanced pay it's impossible to advise accurately but I would be astonished if your employer would count being on a different kind of family leave as being 'back at work' for the purposes of this.

Some employers allow annual leave to 'count' towards a set period someone has to return, others don't and require people to be physically back at work. It depends on the wording of the policy, but unless they are exceptionally generous and unusual they are not going to count parental leave as being 'returned to work'.

My bad, based my answer on a previous works policy. Apologies!