Extending maternity leave

[Hangrybump]

Has anyone ever taken longer than a year off?

I know I can tag on my accrued holiday at the end, but I mean like an extra 3 months maybe…. Just don’t know if I’ll get told to P off or not 😂

Due back to work end of April, but after having twins I’m really not in a rush to be paying for 80hrs nursery fees (as opposed to 40 for a single baby😩) and I know the first of the childcare changes come in September so my babies would get start go get a few hours free at least

I think you would need to have a specific request mapped out and pitch it appropriately.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/maternity-and-parental-rights/check-your-maternity-and-parental-rights/maternity-leave-and-pay/maternity-leave-what-youre-entitled-to-and-how-to-get-it/#:~:text=If%20you%20want%20to%20take,leave%20rights%20for%20that%20time.

"You don’t have a right to more than a year of maternity leave, but your employer might agree to let you take extra time away from work. Any extra time won’t be classed as maternity leave, so you won’t have your maternity leave rights for that time.

If you’re thinking of asking for more than a year away from work, you’ll need to talk to your employer about:

whether you’ll be able to return to your job after the extra time
whether the extra time will count as a break in your employment
whether you’ll be paid anything for the extra time
Make sure you have any agreement in writing.

You might also want to talk to your employer about flexible working and returning to work but taking unpaid parental leave."