Decisions on going back to current workplace or accepting new job on maternity leave

[Firsttimemamm]

Hi 👋🏻
First ever post, will try to keep this short as possible 😬 lol
Just after others opinions/advice really….especially those who have been in a similar position or even work in a school!

I am stuck between going back to my current workplace or starting a new career inside a school (potentially have 2 job offers for school admin)

For context, I am a first time mam on maternity leave with my 6 month old LG I am very anxious at the thought of leaving her to go back to work but know she is in good hands with my close family who are her childcare when I do need to work.

Going back to my current workplace would mean I have 11 months of maternity leave before returning 4 days a week Tue-Fri, office based 9am-5:30pm getting home for around 6pm each night.
Salary around £1,300 per month with deductions of parking (£50), pension (£30) and travelling to work is 20-25 mins drive.
I am in an assisted manager position with a team of 5 under my management so it is a lot of pressure and pay isn’t great, however I am comfortable there, boss is friendly and lenient I’ve worked there almost a decade, though I have lost my passion for the job in all honesty.

The potential 2 school positions want new starters potentially as early as mid April, could be May though, meaning my baby will be 7 or 8 months. They are the same hours of Mon-Fri 8am-4pm (term time only + 5 days), 10 minute drive from home with a salary of £24.5k per annum so take home of approx £1,700 per month. Free parking, pensions are better as it’s via the council.
I would be in an admin assistant position so no management roles.

Suppose my question is, is working 5 days a week but having the term time off and additional pay a no brainier and I should accept any position that is (hopefully) offered as it will benefit me a lot in the long run when my baby is in nursery/school or do I stay put to have a guaranteed 3 days off with her every week but miss out on some school holidays and quite a lot lesser pay…

thank you if you read this far!
xx

I would totally go for the job at the school. I started a new job when DD was 4 months. My DH had shared parental leave so was with her until 8 months when she went to nursery full time. It was absolutely fine, she loves nursery and I love being financially solvent. It helps that you will be back for 4pm ish as there are plenty of hours to do fun things especially in the summer.

My DH is a teacher and we are the only ones not panicking about school holidays now that she is nearly ready for school. The 4 years go by so fast.

Do you have to pay back any maternity pay if you quit within a certain period after your pregnancy?

Thank you so much for this, I can well imagine the time flies by it already is x

@moonlight1705 thank you so much for this, I can imagine the time goes so fast it already is, I suppose I’ll be grateful for the change even more so once she is in school x

@Clusterfunk luckily my current companies annual leave begins in April so I may offer a small amount back but not too much x

@Clusterfunk but I won’t owe anything back maternity pay wise just any annual leave I’d of accumulated from 1st April

New job for sure - while it might be harder going back sooner and learning the ropes of a new role, it sounds like less pressure overall and you'll be so well set up for when your LO goes to school (plus more money!)

Take the school job, no brainer. Managing five people for £1300 a month?!

Just check that the 24k is not pro rated as that seems very high considering the job is term time only.

I would go for the new job but like someone else said check the salary as that seems high for term time only
Your current jobs take home pay is very low for the hours worked and having to manage a team

Definitely take the job in the school - I love term time and don't want to lose that until my kids are at least secondary school age (they're not even in school yet!) but I would check the salary is/isn't pro-rata as 24k does seem quite high so I'd imagine that's for a full year position rather than term time

@AddictedtoCrunchies I know, the company is known for not paying loyal staff well, another reason I want to leave!x

@PutinTheFuckingBasket
Yeah you’re right, maybe learning new things will make the days go quicker so I don’t miss LO as much too 🤞🏻 x

@gohomeroger1 Thanks for that, I have looked into it and also know a family friend who works at another local school doing the same job and the pay is what it says, though I would make sure of this again when/if offered the position - still it wouldn’t be much different from my current workplace by time petrol and parking are paid for monthly!x

@Jmaho thank you, I know and that salary is after fighting for a pay increase last year too, another reason to leave that place haha x

@BridieConvert thank you, yeah I do think regardless of if the pay wasn’t as much as that, having the holidays off for when LO goes to school will be worth it.. I am fortunate that my partner has a good paying job so don’t need to worry too much about that thankfully x

@Firsttimemamm definitely, the benefits of being term time outweigh everything for me personally. The first term time job I had was £11000 a year and my husband encouraged me to go for it even though it was a huge pay cut as he has a decent paying job and was willing to support me. It makes all the difference!

@BridieConvert thanks for that, that’s lovely and glad it’s worked for you, it definitely seems like term time job is the way to go!x