Help!! Really need some advice on return to work/maternity issues

[tokentotty]

Here goes: I'm due back from maternity leave on the 7th July after my first baby and have found out that I'm already pregnant again. I'll be about 14 weeks when I return. Now, what do I have to do to ensure I qualify for full maternity pay and leave again ? I've worked for the company for 11 years and they're a big investment bank. I'm a little confused about the whole business of having to be employed for 26 (?) weeks in the previous year or something to qualify and whether being on maternity leave counts etc.

Actually, to be honest I'm tying myself up in knots about this dilemma so any help and advice would be really appreciated

TIA

Token- There are two aspects to this. Your statutory maternity pay (SMP) and any enhanced pay.

SMP will not be affected by having been off on previous maternity leave. You will still have the entitlement. Time on maternity leave is still time as an employee. As I am sure you know, SMP is 90% of pay for the first 6 weeks and then the statutory amount of £117 (90% of pay if less). What can be affected if you have two pregnancies close together is the level of this payment, as it is broadly calculated on your pay in weeks 18-26 of your pregnancy. If you are not earning much during that period (e.g are in the unpaid period of maternity leave), you may not get much SMP. You are going back to work at week 14, so should be fine.

Any enhanced pay will depend on your company policy. Some say that you have to be actively back at work for a set number of weeks before qualifying. On the positive side, most do not.

Congratulations!

Thank you so much for clarifying about the time on mat. leave counting, am getting very stressed about this !! Am desperately hoping to get the enhanced maternity pay package as it means SIX MONTHS full pay !! This is what makes such a huge, huge difference as I'm sure you can understand. It's worth me going back full time for a few months if I'm going to get that. Also, I only wanted to go back part time but they're being such wotsits to a friend of mine who's worked for the same bank for 19 years and they say there's no part-time work for her.... This is why I was planning on starting back and then telling them I'm pregnant again as they really aren't going all out to help us returning mums which I think is dreadful.

Good luck tokentotty.

Also don't forget that you should have accrued annual leave etc.

thank you !!

By my reckoning, I'll be 14 weeks on return as I'm going to take a week's holiday at the start, which will leave me 4 weeks leave. Add that on to the 14 = 18 and then, is the earliest I can leave still 11 weeks before due date ? If so, then it seems like I should only have to work for about 11 weeks. Sound right ?

If you're taking a week's holiday, you have 'returned', so you will return at 13 weeks, just not be in the office til 14. Doesn't affect your maths though.

Rest of it sounds right, but 15 weeks before the birth is early to go off. If 11 weeks of that is maternity leave, you will have about 9 months' leave left after your due date. Especially if the baby is late, that is quite a chunk of leave to have used. Of course, not a problem if you don't plan on going back after number two...

What RB says is important if you're hoping for the enhanced maternity pay package, as generally you have to return to work for a few months after maternity leave in order not to pay extra company maternity pay back. Again, annual leave would count but I would try not to go on leave too early.

I'm also having a second baby about the same time as you, only slightly larger gap but I am back at work already.

Thanks again for the messages. I wasn't planning on packing up until 11 weeks to go as I thought that was the absolute earliest you could finish (?). I'm not overly worried about using up a large chunk of leave before the baby as if/when I do go back next time I'll still want part-time and hopefully situations will have changed and there'll be an opening for me to do so, unlike now. Then, if there's still no opportunity for p/time work I won't go back and I'll just have to think of some other cunning plan....

I am going 11 weeks before as that is indeed as you said the earliest you can go on maternity leave.

But if you have holiday to take first, you can actually leave the office earlier...

Ahhh...but I was thinking of doing a combination of that and using the leave time to take a day off most weeks so will be virtually working part-time ! Add to that the time off for ante-natal appts and scans....