Returning to work pregnant again!

[Picklesmummy]

Hello all. I'm currently on maternity leave with baby number one and plan to start trying for baby number two in December(!). My years maternity leave is up in Jan so I am planning to go back to work on 2nd Jan - New Year, new start and all that!

I wondered if any of you mums know where I would stand regarding maternity leave and maternity pay if I am lucky enough to fall pregnant in Dec/Jan? I have looked at the govs website but it doesn't highlight terms for going back to work pregnant as such and confuses me with its talk of xx weeks pregnant by xx blah blah!

Would very much like to her it in plain English if anyone can help or hear your tails of returning to work pregnant!

Hi

Short answer is that your maternity rights are unaffected. It's not about having worked, it is about being employed. SO you keep all your rights as if you hadn't been off with your first baby at all.

Oh that's good to know - thanks. So that's the case for rights to maternity pay too then yes?

yep

If you have enhanced pay, do just check the terms of the policy. I've never seen one that says you have to be actively back at work x months before you qualify again, but it is technically possible.

Also look out of the leaving conditions (if there is any chance of that being relevant). Some policies say that you have to repay some of the enhanced money if you leave within, say, 12 months of coming back and that, if you go off on maternity leave before you've completed it, you have to finish it off when you get back (e.g. if you're back at work for six months between DC1 and DC2 then, you still have to come back for at least six months after DC2 not to have to repay some of the DC1 enhanced maternity pay).

None of this is relevant to statutory pay, so don't worry about that.

I went back to work when dd1 was 8 months and I was 2 months pregnant with dd2 (was still breastfeeding...bit of a surprise!).

Your rights to statutory will be completely unaffected but in teaching you get enhanced maternity pay at half pay for 6 months, because I couldn't come back for two terms between the pregnancies (the required period)I had to pay this back. Ouch!

Good luck...its lovely having them close x