On Maternity leave and fallen pg what do i do next?

[EarlGreyandVanillaSlice]

I'm currently into the 6th month of my Maternity leave and had taken a year out and am not due back until March 2010.

I had recently been offered a promotion and recieved an email two weeks ago whilst on holiday inviting me for an interview. (we got back from Holiday on Thrusday)

However i have just yesterday found out that i am pg again and am trying to get my head around this and calculate i am apprx 5 weeks.

Firstly i'm unsure what to say to work. Ie i need to withdraw myself from the interviews for the promotion as i have found out i am expecting again.

And also wonder if anyone has any advice on renewed Maternity leave as by the time this Materntiy leave finishes i expect to be apprx 33/34 weeks pg.

Also am i entitled to any Maternity pay for the 'new baby?'

It's all such a shock - i really was not expecting to fall pg at all.

Many Thanks

SMP is based on an average of earnings over specific weeks before edd so unless yours is an enhanced package it seems unlikely you'd qualify. Not sure about Maternity Allowance though. You are not obliged to disclose this pg yet but circumstances may make it more reasonable to do so rather than do so later and cause any ill feeling.

Why shouldn't you go for the promotion? Will you be going back to work before your 'new baby'is born?

You don't need to say anything at all to work, and I would advise you don't just yet. 5 weeks is very early anyway.

No reason to withdraw yourself from a promotion at all. Go for the interview (sorry it's not clear whether you've been offered the promotion or are applying for it), see how things go, and give your employer the opportunity to make a decision based on your skills, experience and merit rather than having it clouded by the pregnancy issue.

You don't have to tell them until you are 25 weeks, but most people do mention it sooner and for planning purposes it would be helpful to discuss it with them sooner so that you can together work out how your next maternity leave will be covered and how to best use the short period of time you will have between maternity leaves.

Unless you have a generous employer maternity scheme you won't be entitled to maternity pay. Statutory maternity pay is worked out based on your average earnings between weeks 17 and 25 of pregnancy, so as you are not planning to be at work during that time, you won't be entitled to it.

You may be entitled to Maternity Allowance though, have a read to find out.

Congratulations on both babies!

Many Thanks.

I've been offered the chance of promotion, but it was discussed i'd more than likely need to go back ealrier than desired atleast on a part time basis if they thought they couldn't manage until i returned in March.

I am the Assistant Manager and my manager left in August. They were planning on managing until i came back - but realised soon after i went on Maternity leave how much my absence had an impact on my team, and thought they could manage after they drafted an old team leader back to cover, but have realised they cannot.

It wouldn't be fair to go for the interview (this is a secondary i've already had the first), take the job and then drop the bombshell that i was pg again! There is no way they would be able to cope for another 6 months, the dept is in such a mess thanks to my manager (now they realise it was I who kept everything ticking!)

Suppose i will need to tell them sooner than later. I'll need to give a reason for my withdrawal. as it is so sudden, they knew i was very enthusiastic.

Well if you were planning to go back earlier part time anyway, why can't you still do that?

How they manage to cover your maternity leave is not your responsibility to worry about, you certainly shouldn't feel pressured into coming back sooner than you want to and definitely shouldn't pass up on your own career prospects because you don't think it will be convenient for your employers.

Depending on how much you want the job, could you take the promotion and return to work slightly earlier than you were planning, and then see how long you want to take for the next lot of maternity leave. Obviously that depend on how much you want the job vs how much you want the time on maternity leave.

If you are the only person realistically who can do the job then maybe a bit of you is better than no you, IYSWIM

You will get SMP if in approx the 8 weeks before your 26th week your average pay was at least £95 a week. SMP counts as pay or contractual maternity pay does too. If you don't quite get this average you will more than likely qualify for maternity allowance, check dwp. the only diff bet smp and mat all is that smp is paid at 90 percent of pay for the first six weeks and thereafter at flat rate of 123.06 for next 33 weeks whereas mat allowance
paid at this rate for entire 39 weeks

you could return to work early, so as it is in your smp qual period, could you take holiday owed or holiday you will accrue on next mat leave?

I wondered if I could ask advice on the same subject. Am 8 months into mat leave, was planning on taking whole yr. Am 10 wks pregnant (not planned). Have just had email from my boss asking me to confirm my return date as the dept is going through budget negotiations. I am in a panic. Am due to return when 25 weeks pregnant. They will go ballistic when they find out (it was bad enough when I got preggers the first time round). Was going to tell them after 12 wks but feel can't wait now. Don't know what to do.
If I go back to work may be difficult for DC as I work p/t but long hours - so will have to adjust to not seeing me at all 3 days a week and then to new brother/sister.
If I don't then wonder how this affects me - I know not eligible for SMP but we are buying a house at the moment and fear that may affect mortgage apps etc
Added to that is guilt that I know they need to lose someone so if I go back someone else cd lose their job.
Am so so worried and don't know what to do. Sorry for the rant....But what can I suggest to them???

Try not to stress, you are just in your childbearing years and a good employer should understand that. A few years out of a 40 year working life.

If they know you are pregnant it may buy them some time because they know they will not have a salary to pay out when you are on maternity leave for the second year. By the time you are due to go back their financial situation may have improved and so the person who might have lost their job may not in the end. It could be a good result for your employer.

E.g. you could 'return' when you are 25 weeks pregnant take annual leave owing or that will be due on the next maternity leave and then when that ends elect to go onto second maternity leave.

Check out if you will be entitled to maternity allowance.

If you returned to work when you are around 16 weeks pregnant, the next eight weeks would be the qualifying period for SMP so you could qualify even if you did not in fact return but just took annual leave.

go to a CAB or call Working Families, they know this stuff backwards, 0800 013 0313