WWYD? Would you change civil service dept when pregnant?

[beebop2020]

Hi - I have applied for a job at a new deptartment and found out I was pregnant after when i accepted the role. The thing is in the new dept. the maternity package is that it states you have to use your annual leave before your leave or before you come back. In the current dept. that i am in I can use my accrued annual leave how i wish to e.g. to phase into work when i return. additionally in the new dept. it states you have to come back for 3 months, and in my current it is only 1 month.I applied for a new role as i thought it would be something more interesting. What would you do, change roles or just stick where you are? Should i not move based on these differences, or in actual fact it won't make too much of a difference once you're there. I'm unsure whether i would return full time or part time... more then likely i think it would be part time. Should i make a change now or jsut stick to where i am ?

Do the rule differences really affect you? I would assume that using leave for partial days before you come back FT is the same as using it to phase into work? So no difference there. The key is commitment to return for 3 months instead of 1. Is the extra 2 months something that matters if you were planning to return anyway? I’d do a pluses and minuses sheet. If new department is higher pay, or better career progression, that might offset.

I did actually apply for, get and switch jobs while pregnant with #2. We sold, packed up the house, bought new one and moved cross country while on I was on maternity leave. It was ok. I don’t think there is any reason to turn down a job you wanted because you are pregnant.

Thanks for the message.

I would be transferring at the same grade and same pay.
What I mean by using my annual leave is that, if I wanted to use my annual leave to take a day off every week for 6 weeks when I return from mat leave for example in my current department, I would be able to do that, however in the new dept. I would be required to use all of the annual i accrued prior to come back to work. I guess a part of it is, is that we don't know how many days we would put the little one in nursery or have support with child care, just a bit apprehensive of the cost and being able to work around it all . Would it be really hard to transition back to work in my normal hours that i do currently? I guess a a part of it is, is that I am bit nervous about starting a new role and getting to know everyone again and doing it all remotely too.

It was more stressful to leave job A have a baby and then start at job B in a new city than it was to leave job A, have a baby, and return to job A.

Is this your first baby? That is just more stress too. So I’d understand if you chose to stay put because switching jobs AND having a baby are two stressful life events. If it’s your first baby, may not want to take all that on at once. For me it was my #2 baby and I was more confident about labour, recovery, being a mum, knew I’d definitely be returning.

And for same grade and same pay....not seeing any bonus to offset the extra stress.

Yes, this is my first baby. I mean I get a few more days annual leave.. but that's about it. I don't particularly enjoy my current department and the work I'm doing but I'm getting by, that's why I applied for new roles in the first place..I moved to my current role (a) only mid last year but I had to move from my previous department that I really enjoyed due to job uncertainty.