How long do most people take as maternity leave?

[Gangle]

Are most people going for a full year? People I have spoken to really vary but get the impression 9 -12 months is average. Not many seem to take only 6.

I took about 9mo with ds1 - the max I could take at that time, and went back when he was just shy of 7mo.

With ds2 I was off 15mo in total - going back when he was nearly 14mo.

I don't see how I can possibly take more than 6 months. £100 a week is not going to feed my family for very long - 8 weeks will be a push as it is.

I'm amazed that anyone who needs to work for primarily financial reasons can afford to take more than 6 months tbh.

I have taken 6mths all three mat leaves in 2005, 2007 and 2009

Lots of people seem to afford it gaelicsheep. Perhaps they save up. I went back after 7 months with DS for a combination of financial reasons and career reasons but know of others on lower salaries who saved up/budgeted to that they could take longer. Or they work for companies like BT or the BBC who give very good maternity packages.

We afforded it because ex was well paid and we don't have an expensive lifestyle.
I only got statutory ML.

If only we had any spare money for saving up . All our disposable income is going on making the house safe and habitable for a newborn (plus our toddler). Perhaps if my re-grading decision ever comes through.

I guess it would also depend whether the woman is the main breadwinner (I am).

BBC give exceptionally good packages! (i hear)

It must depend on income before/during mat leave. If you're used to £100 a week and that works fine with you family earnings, then you can afford longer. Or, obviously, if you have a wealthy DH. If you're used to living on £100 a week then it's no different.

I had an average mat leave pay, ie, 6 weeks 90% pay, 20 weeks (?) 50% pay, and took 9 months and 7 months.

BUT, if I had another (by accident probably), I would take less because it was much harder than I anticipated.

I took 9 months the first time. If I manage to get pg again I think I would take the full year as I would rather not put a future dc in nursery quite so early if I have the choice.
I get 6 months full pay for ml, so am v lucky.

Saddo that I am, I would also worry very much about leaving my job for more than 6 months - both from the pov of my career and the wellbeing of the system I manage! But I am in the fortunate position of having a DH that is a SAHD so I'm not talking about having to put a 6 month old in full time nursery.

I didn't set out to be a working mum and breadwinner, it's just kind of how it turned out. I am definitely the exception at work, even in working full time. But now that I am in that position, I'm kind of stuck with not having the luxury to take a year off. It sucks actually. I think also that if I did take longer than 6 months it would be that much harder to leave my children and return to work full time.

That's my main worry too - being out of the loop for that long plus letting down my boss who really expects me to return at 6 months. I agree that it's harder to go back the longer you leave it but at the same time you never get that time back so I'm thinking that I should take as long as we can afford.

It's funny - everyone at work, including my manager, seems really surprised when I say I will be back after 6 months - all being well obviously. When they extended paid mat leave to 9 months I really really which that work had extended the half pay part of the mat leave, or preferably the 9/10ths bit at the beginning, and not just the minimum SMP.

I took 6 months but really wish I could've taken a full year. DP is just about to start working, but until now I've been the sole earner so we rely on my salary. A little over £100 a week is just not going to pay our bills. I lumped all my annual leave on to the 4 months on full pay my employer gives to get 6 months on full pay. Going back has been very difficult though.

I don't get any full pay period at all. 6 weeks at 9/10 pay, 18 weeks at half pay plus SMP and the rest SMP only. Is that unusually mean or the norm do you reckon?

Oh I see that LLW had the same. I guess it's pretty normal then.

I only took the statutory 18 weeks plus 2 weeks holiday 10 years ago with DD and regret it now - but I really couldn't afford to be off for longer.

Thank goodness things have improved since then, but I do feel it's very difficult - most of my friends who've had babies recently have felt under pressure one way or another to either stay off longer or go back sooner

With dd1 I took 12 weeks as that was all you got back then.

With dd2 I took my full 6 months then added my holiday leave onto the end of it,so I was off for around 7 months.
I could have taken a full year off but the second 6 months were unpaid and I couldn't afford to do that.

You're right about pressure both ways bluejeans. I didn't properly realise until this thread that I actually feel very guilty for only planning 6 months when I could theoretically take 9 months "paid". But that's one hell of a lot of lost income to cover and when you're paid a pittance to begin with it is very very difficult to save anything like enough (especially if said pregnancy is, um, unplanned).

I think for most people that statutory is the norm.

"I'm amazed that anyone who needs to work for primarily financial reasons can afford to take more than 6 months tbh."

One word gaelicsheep -

mortgage holiday!!!

(Sorry that's two words isn't it!)

Many mortgages will let you not pay for 6 months when you're on maternity. I only found out about this by accident. If I hadn't I'm not sure what we would have done.

I've just gone back to work at just over a year.

We've been pretty skint but it's definitely been worth it.

I do think women come under enormous pressure to return to work earlier than they might otherwise.

Also, for those of you who are worried about not being able to afford time off - do you know about Child Tax Credits and Working Tax credits?

We didn't claim these till much later than we should have done (stupidly!) but for those of you on a relatively low income, these really can make a noticeable difference.

We get over £100 a week from CTC and WTC, at the moment, for example.

I am rather inebriated so have not read all the posts except the OP - so....

I have my friend here who is a HR bod. She says...

"most people end up taking a year. Don't forget you accrue holiday throughout, so will get the money for this."

first pg I took the whole 12mo. I got paid full pay for the first six, then stat until 9mo (extremely good benefits at my job)

If I am pregnant, then next time I will go back after 9mo, if not sooner.

gaelicsheep - are you ok? from other posts of yours you semem stressed x

I took 4 months with my first but went back 20 hours and similar with my second.
It makes a difference if you work part time I think .
I found that by then I needed something outside of my babies to challenge me and felt that I was a much better mum on the days I was home,I'm not sure how I would have felt going back fulltime and how much time I would have taken as maternity leave.