leaving without working notice?

[voyagerfan]

My line manager and I are not able to agree on a flexible working solution to return, as he will not go under 4 days, with working at home not allowed.
If I leave I must pay back my maternity pay (less SMP), unless I can move to another dept or job at the same place.
I've applied for a job in another dept apparantly with more possiblilites for flexible working.
However, although I've been trying to negotiate since April etc. I have to return mid-August, if I get an interview etc. I might well go over the date for giving one months notice to return.
Is this likely to be viewed as really bad, if I don't get the job and have to quit?

Checdk the fine detail of the terms of repayment of the maternity pay: if going back to work means, effectively, going back for a month of notice (minus whatever leave you've accumulated during your maternity leave) and that cancels out the repayment obligation, then maybe you could work out a way of doing that.

I should not an employment lawyer, or anything, but I looked into this with my employers on a just-in-case basis and that's how it would have worked.

am sure its 8weeks notice to return now.

how many months do you have to work to fulfil not paying back the additional?

mines three months but I've tagged 7.5weeks of annual leave owed onto end of mat leave therefore I technically could return to work and immediatedly hand my notice in, work one month and leave. have you got any accrued annual leave to take?

i am due to go on mat leave myself, and the uptodat info i have been given states 28 days notice to return, and also states that you do not have to work your notice as you can give whatever you are contractually obliged to give ( a week a month whatever) whilst being on mat leave. Ie if you were due back 30th august as long as you gave notice july you would have "worked" notice without working it physically as mat leave counts as employment. you would also be due to be paid any accrued holiday (inc bank hols). i am not sure hpw this works regarding enhanced mat pay and repayments but the process for notice would be the same it would just be a case of what you had to pay and when depending on your paper work.

havong re-read your post, if your notice was one month and as you say you hadnt heard from the job you have applied for within your company, you would sztill be obligated to give, (and work) any notice depending on when you gave it, however you could use holiday to cover these dates, or try an arrange something conditional with HR.

See here about returning from maternity leave. If you take your full year you don't need to give any notice of your return date. If you want to return earlier, or change a previously agreed return date, you need to give 8 weeks' notice. If you don't want to return at all you need to give your contractual notice period as usual.

I've got to work 6 months when I go back to keep the maternity pay and have accrued 30 days leave. So I suppose it might be possible to hand in my notice the first day I'm due back and take all the holiday for that notice period but I guess they wouldn't be all that happy for me to do it.

I assume you don't plan to work the 6 months needed to keep your maternity pay?

There is no reason that your employer necessarily has to agree to you spending your entire notice period on holiday, they could certainly insist you come in and pay you for outstanding holiday instead.

However if you've been off on maternity leave for months and have given notice that you are not coming back, it will probably make more sense for them not to make you come back in. Coming back after months off for a week or two isn't really helpful to anyone, so I'm sure you'll be fine.