Quitting after returning to work from Maternity leave

Newmomnewme · 2026-02-09T20:03:37+00:00

Hi fellow moms, I would love to have your thoughts on this topic. I have recently returned to work after one year of maternity leave. Upon returning to work, my manager informed me that the team had been impacted by restructuring. Given the reduced headcount, she plans to maintain the workload during my maternity leave (they managed to have 2 people covering 3 people’s workload during my absence). This arrangement is not mentioned at any of our keep in touch days and comes as a surprise (I thought I would simply be going back with a similar work arrangement to the one I left). I have tried to get myself up to speed in the past two weeks, but between the chaos of handovers and introductory/welcome calls, I often find myself unable to eat lunch or express milk. My child cries a lot because I am away for long hours of back-to-back meetings. This was not what it was before, when I could usually find downtime in the day, which I imagined I could use to settle my child. My manager is no help, since she's drowning in work herself. Now I am considering quitting. I feel that if the work no longer provides the flexibility to balance life and work, I should prioritise my child, especially at this age when she needs me the most. I would rather retire later than miss out on her early years. (We are in an okay financial position.) Can anyone give me suggestions on this? I heard the company may ask you to return the enhanced maternity pay. Is this true, and what should I look out for?

Overtheatlantic · 09/02/2026 20:08

I would find and read their policy. Have a conversation with HR.

Parentingconfusing · 09/02/2026 20:10

The thing that jumps out to me is where is the child?

Working in the same house is hellish.

OnlyMabelInTheBuilding · 09/02/2026 20:10

You’d need to read your maternity policy to see if there are any conditions for the enhanced pay. Some firms have a minimum time period you must return for.

Also wondered how you planned on settling your child in the day, is it a WFH role? WFH with child in situ is a recipe for disaster.

superking · 09/02/2026 20:10

Is your child at home with you during the day whilst you are meant to be WFH? That's clearly not going to be acceptable to an employer and nor should it be. So if that is what you were expecting then yes you should quit. As for whether you have to pay back your enhanced maternity pay then you will need to check your policy as a PP has said.

ThinkAboutItTomorrow · 09/02/2026 20:12

Why is your baby crying when you’re not there? I found even working from home with a baby and nanny it was key to stay out of the way during the day so the baby wasn’t confused. You shouldn’t need to settle your child while you’re working.

yes, most contracts expect any enhanced maternity to be paid back if you leave within a certain time after returning. You’ll need to check your contract for how long that is.

Figgygal · 09/02/2026 20:13

superking · 09/02/2026 20:10

Is your child at home with you during the day whilst you are meant to be WFH? That's clearly not going to be acceptable to an employer and nor should it be. So if that is what you were expecting then yes you should quit. As for whether you have to pay back your enhanced maternity pay then you will need to check your policy as a PP has said.

Edited

Absolutely agree
You should have childcare in place and enhanced pay is subject to your own company's policy so need to check with them

PensionPuzzle · 09/02/2026 20:17

I am inferring that you do not have any childcare in place whilst you are working (forgive me if this is not the case). This is highly unlikely to be acceptable to your employer. Do you think you would be able to cope with your workload if you used childcare as most other people need to during the working day?

WhoStoleAllTheUserNames · 09/02/2026 20:24

It’s only been two weeks, you’re still getting up to speed. I’d give it a bit longer - give yourself 3 months or something like that.

Who is looking after your child? And you are WFH with your child being looked after in the home by someone else? Popping in and out settling your child in the day can be really confusing for the child and undermines whoever is caring for the child. You need to shut yourself away, or better go to the office.

greencheetah · 09/02/2026 20:31

What do you mean, your child cries a lot? Are you trying to take care of a baby and work at the same time?

Original poster

Newmomnewme · 09/02/2026 20:32

OnlyMabelInTheBuilding · 09/02/2026 20:10

You’d need to read your maternity policy to see if there are any conditions for the enhanced pay. Some firms have a minimum time period you must return for.

Also wondered how you planned on settling your child in the day, is it a WFH role? WFH with child in situ is a recipe for disaster.

Edited

Yes, it is a WFH role. Husband is also half WFH, and we hired a nanny. Our roles were fairly flexible (for me that was the case before I went on mat leave), and as long as work is done, no one cares about what you do during the day. Managers promote work-life balance with examples like encouraging us to take walks during the day, parents getting off early for child run, no-meeting fridays …

OP posts:

Mumofoneandone · 09/02/2026 20:33

Get some advice from somewhere like pregnant then screwed, as so many companies break maternity protection rules.
You need to ensure you have the breaks you are entitled to and check rules about expressing at work.
Also if you are forced to resign, it maybe a case of maternity discrimination/constructive dismissal.

Original poster

Newmomnewme · 09/02/2026 20:38

PensionPuzzle · 09/02/2026 20:17

I am inferring that you do not have any childcare in place whilst you are working (forgive me if this is not the case). This is highly unlikely to be acceptable to your employer. Do you think you would be able to cope with your workload if you used childcare as most other people need to during the working day?

Sorry I had not mentioned. We have a full-time nanny, and I WFH full-time. Husband also works from home 3 days a week.

We hired our Nanny two weeks before I went back to work so they could get to know each other better. I think she is naturally slow to warm up because whenever we took her to activities or classes, she was always the last to leave mom/dad, while all the other babies were already roaming around the room. She only started letting the nanny hold her after two weeks, so nap times have to be handled either by husband or me. It is for the same reason we opted for a nanny and not a nursery.

We tried leaving completely and letting the nanny take care of everything to not “confuse” her, but it didn’t work. She cried for an hour straight and wouldn’t eat. So these days one of us would come to the reception room every one to two hours to reassure her.

OP posts:

Original poster

Newmomnewme · 09/02/2026 20:44

Mumofoneandone · 09/02/2026 20:33

Get some advice from somewhere like pregnant then screwed, as so many companies break maternity protection rules.
You need to ensure you have the breaks you are entitled to and check rules about expressing at work.
Also if you are forced to resign, it maybe a case of maternity discrimination/constructive dismissal.

Thank you. I will look into it.

OP posts:

PensionPuzzle · 09/02/2026 21:06

Ah sorry OP then that is different, I've no experience of working while baby is cared for at home but I can imagine it's really tough.

I think taking advice is a sound one because ultimately everyone is entitled to their breaks and with you returning from maternity there are additional protections. Once the handover side of things has settled do you see the workload becoming more manageable? You could definitely justify working to correct breaks etc and seeing what happens as they wouldn't be able to challenge you for taking those legally mandated breaks etc.

I hope things settle down for you as it seems a shame to have someone that wants to work feel like they are unable to do so due to issues they haven't made themselves.

Original poster

Newmomnewme · 09/02/2026 21:28

PensionPuzzle · 09/02/2026 21:06

Ah sorry OP then that is different, I've no experience of working while baby is cared for at home but I can imagine it's really tough.

I think taking advice is a sound one because ultimately everyone is entitled to their breaks and with you returning from maternity there are additional protections. Once the handover side of things has settled do you see the workload becoming more manageable? You could definitely justify working to correct breaks etc and seeing what happens as they wouldn't be able to challenge you for taking those legally mandated breaks etc.

I hope things settle down for you as it seems a shame to have someone that wants to work feel like they are unable to do so due to issues they haven't made themselves.

Thank you for the kind words.
I liked this job and have been in it for 8 years but the restructuring has changed it. A lot of people was let go. I will try for a few more weeks and gauge how it will be like after the handover, but I am not optimistic.

OP posts:

Original poster

Newmomnewme · 09/02/2026 21:32

superking · 09/02/2026 20:10

Is your child at home with you during the day whilst you are meant to be WFH? That's clearly not going to be acceptable to an employer and nor should it be. So if that is what you were expecting then yes you should quit. As for whether you have to pay back your enhanced maternity pay then you will need to check your policy as a PP has said.

Edited

I don’t see a clawback clause stated on my contract and company policy. I am afraid if I ask HR it will open a can of worms.

OP posts:

AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti · 10/02/2026 19:34

She only started letting the nanny hold her after two weeks, so nap times have to be handled either by husband or me.

This is 99.99% likely to be in breach of your employer’s policies.

LIZS · 10/02/2026 21:50

I suspect it is more confusing for your dc to have mum or dad pop in sometimes during the day and settle them rather than leaving it to your nanny. Surely not eating for an hour should not be an issue and hard as it may be to hear her upset it won’t change if you takeover. You do need to schedule meetings to allow breaks to express or eat lunch though. There is often a condition of working so long before resigning to avoid repaying omp. If so, you should have been told on the letter setting out your mp.

Stickytoffeetartt · 11/02/2026 19:53

Aw op it probably feels difficult right now as you're only settling back in. I promise you that it will get easier as your baby gets older. The months won't be long flying by. I would try to stick it out another while if I were you. But if your heart is set on being with your baby as a sahm and you can afford it then you should do that ❤️ And for the poster saying that naptimes are going against employment terms, you are probably very wrong. A lot of wfh jobs allow flexibility , shock horror!!