Not returning after maternity leave and repaying pay

[Nowhippeppermintmocha]

Has anyone got experience of not returning after maternity leave due to sickness or other circumstances? I’m some way through a year’s maternity leave and have completed a period on full pay and then a further period on SMP.

My employer states that people have to return to work for 3 months post maternity leave, otherwise they have to pay back all or part of the maternity pay that they received.

What if you’re too unwell to return? Could a person satisfy the return to work requirement whilst on sick leave and then resign?

What if you have had a baby that has a disability and you need to care for them, would you be expected to repay the employer from whatever benefits you qualify for?

What if life circumstances have changed dramatically during the maternity period (e.g. moving away to escape domestic violence)?

I feel completely panicked. I didn’t foresee any of these issues before/during pregnancy or even during the full pay maternity period.

I’m sorry if this angers anyone who thinks I sound like some sort of work shy freeloader. I worked for my employer for 10+ years prior to the maternity leave and would intend to get another job, in the not too distant future, once everything has stabilised.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You will have accrued A/L so if you give your notice you will have at least 1 month of A/L then 2 months left to work.

If you're off sick then you're still employed so no repayment would be needed.

If you're caring for your child or you've moved away from an abuser, then you've quit and would need to repay. Terrible circumstances for anyone, but not a reason an employer would need to write off a sum of money.

Have these things actually happened to you?

It’s contractual so your employer can waive the requirement if they wish.

Not quite the same thing but I had a difficult pregnancy with my first with lots of time off, both because of the pregnancy but also stress related to work. I took all the maternity pay with the requirement to work 12 weeks’ minimum on my return but handed my notice in before the end of maternity leave. I got one letter saying “we will contact you to arrange repayment” and never heard from them again, never had issues getting references etc either. Obviously I wouldn’t bank on your employer being the same - but you can definitely have a dialogue about it.

Do these circumstances apply to you or are they hypothetical scenarios?

If you are sick and effectively return to work on sick leave and then hand in your notice you might still get paid although 3 months would be a long time to be off sick without triggering a company absence procedure and it will depend on your company's policies.

In the other situations many employers would still expect you to pay back enhanced leave or deduct it from any final pay e.g. if you have accrued holidays. You can only speak to HR and see how sympathetic they might be.

If you are part-way through your mat leave I'd try to save any enhanced pay (easier said than done I know) in case you do need to pay it back.

If you are experiencing some of these life events I wonder if you could ask to take a career break. I have seen companies offer career breaks of up to 4 years. Then you have potential to go back later.

You do not need to repay smp it is any enhanced maternity pay that is potentially repayable. To leave due to sickness would require you to be signed off as unable to work and your employer seeking to end your employment. Your child being born with a disability may mean your employer allows you to leave without needing to repay but this would be at their discretion so very much up to them. Again domestic violence may mean they are sympathetic but no guarantees

In this situation, I would contact your manager and/or HR person and explain you can’t return to work. If you can get signed off sick, then yes you are employed but sick and I would argue that you shouldn’t have to repay the money. As a bonus, if you are on sick leave you may still accrue holiday. To avoid this ridiculous situation arising, your employer might agree to let you leave without you going on sick, and as a compromise let you off repaying the maternity pay.

you have accrued holiday AND bank holidays on top whilst on may leave, so supposing you took a whole year, including the extra days for the queens death and the coronation, you might have quite a lot of days stored up. You could tell your employer you want to take all that holiday right away when you return to work - that might cover 5 weeks easily.

remember also you can use 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave before your child turns 16 and your employer must provide a good reason to refuse. If your job is already being covered during your absence , a good reason wouldn’t be “well you are supposed to come back”. So you could hand take your 5 weeks holiday, take 7 or 8 weeks of months of unpaid parental leave, and a month before you’re due back hand in your notice (assuming you are on one month’s notice).

be aware that the 18 weeks of parental leave entitlement has to last your child’s whole childhood, but if you can’t find another way round the problem this would work I think

Unless your contract very explicitly that “returning to work” means you have to be at your desk, working then I’d argue being on sick or parental leave or vacation is still “back at work” because you are no longer on maternity. The fact you aren’t actually working probably shouldn’t be an issue.

most employers aren’t awful about these things so if you do find you have to repay some money, just tell them you have no income so you won’t be able to make repayments for at least a year, or will only be able to pay of a small amount each month eg £5. I doubt they would pursue you for more, and you could probably manage a fiver a month if you had to.

OP I would speak to your employer but plan to "return to work" officially & go off sick for the 3 months.

Could you put in a flexible working request for eg 3 days per week then your holiday accrued at 5 days per week would last longer?

UPL is 4 weeks per year unless otherwise agreed.

what I would actually do, though, is talk to them. They would owe you accrued holiday if you resigned, so there may be a compassionate compromise

Depends if they have paid you the statutory minimum or extra on top. Take a look at pregnant then screwed website. As others have said you still accrue leave during that year.

Thank you to all who have replied and yes, unbelievably, all three scenarios apply to me. My DD keeps me smiling though!

Thank you to all who have replied and yes, unbelievably, all three scenarios apply to me. My DD keeps me smiling though!

Thank you to all who have replied and yes, unbelievably, all three scenarios apply to me. My DD keeps me smiling though!