Maternity leave letter..

[Anna Marie]

Hi Everyone,

Anyone have any examples of letters to advise employers of taking maternity leave etc... do we have to say exactly how long we are going on leave for and what date to return etc or can it be vague just giving a date of when we are starting it..

And what happens if doesn't go to plan and we need to leave earlier etc..

Finally.. anyone know what happens to holiday .. do we accrue holiday during maternity leave? If so do we need to comment on that in the letter ?

Sorry if ignorant but I want to get it right so my boss cannot mess me about in any way!!

Ta very mucho !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kelly G]

Hi Anna Marie,

I work at Next and when i did mine i just wrote a letter letting them know the dates that my maternity leave would be starting! I also used up my holidays and left a little earlier!

Before i did this tho i had to send in my MATB1 form to the head office and they sent me a form asking when i was planning to start my maternity leave! I didnt say when i was planning to go back! Head office sent me a letter telling me when my year's maternity leave would be up and just to give my store manager a months notice when/if i wish to go back!

We are also entitled to our holidays still while on maternity leave! If i take a year off i will be using some of my new holidays, which start in april and adding them on to my leave so i get longer off !

Every work place is different but this is how it worked for me!

Hope this helps a little!

 

[nicki]

Hiya,

I told my manager that I was pregnant, he then informed HR who rang me to discuss what happens. I had to send in my MATB1 form then they sent a form clarifying what had been talked about on the phone i.e when baby was due, when I wanted to start my mat leave etc.
I had loads of leave to use up so decided to take it before my mat leave, I will also accrue holiday whislt on mat leave, as far as I know you should still get it as you are still employed by the company.

When I had Jamie I had to send in a form telling them and had to say whether or not I would be returning to work, i've told them yes but won't be unless something drastic happens! so will hand in my notice a month before i'm due back.

I would just say that you are pregnant & it has been confirmed by your doctor & that you would like to commence your maternity leave from... and return to work on...all being well.
If you have your bubs earlier than your desired mat. leave then it will start from them, what can your comapny do?

Hope this helps.

Nicki.x

 

[Amanda]

We have a pre-printed form to fill out from HR, and don't have to bother with a letter. But, I should imagine it's pretty much the same as what you would need to write in your letter. I'll use my dates as examples for you as I've just sorted mine so it is fresh in my mind.

My HR department rep filled it in with me to make sure I had the dates right. I have put down that my maternity leave will start on the 5th August, so that means that my last working day will be on the 4th. She did say that this was not set in stone though. If I want to finish earlier than this, I should legally give them 28 days notice. But she admitted that is a stupid law, because we all know that pregnancy can change daily, so has said that if I need to change it and finish earlier, I just need to give them as much notice as possible. As I have worked here for longer than 2 years, I am entitled to the Additional Maternity Leave, which gives an extra 6 months off work with no pay, and you will be entitled to this as well. So they have taken my date to return to work as 5th August 2007. If I need/want to return to work earlier than this, I need to give them 28 days notice in writing, but if they don't hear from me, they will assume I will return 5th August. The law states that you accrue holiday as normal while you are on maternity leave. So I still have 13.5 days to take before the end of this year, but my company has just changed their policy, and I don't actually have to take it before I go on maternity leave, I can request that it be paid in any of my monthly wages. It may be worth asking your employer if this is possible (and obviously getting it in writing!!) if you are worried financially. The good news is that come January 1st 2007, I will be entitled to all of next years holiday, so have another 27 days to take if I don't feel ready to return.

Blimey, I've waffled - hope that makes sense!!!!!

 

[katastrophic]

Hello lady,

I have attached a link here to the Government website that we use at work to advise employee's, it's got loads of info on it. I don't want to scare you but you really need to get your letter in as soon as possible as part of the reg's is that you advise your employer by the 25th week of pregnancy where possible, though this is normally just red tape at the end of the day and most employers are not too bothered.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/Parents/Employ ... chk=JZIIAc

Kat x

 

[hayley]

the others have said everything already... my situation is similar to Kelly's. I am using up all my holidays before maternity leave starts (inc holidays i will earn whilst being off). I get 27 days holiday a year... as my maternity leave (26 weeks) wont be up until the end of Jan 07 - i am entitled to my full 27 days holiday. When your on maternity leave your classed as still working. I gave estimated dates of my return but you don't have to actually inform them of your return until a certain week (can't remember which one) of your matermity - 26weeks...

x

 

[Anna Marie]

Thank you so much everyone for all your replies and advice / expert knowledge!!

I have just completed my letter.. if all goes to plan my last work day will be 6th July [one month from now YIPPEEEE!! ] as I have holiday to take and then mat leave will start 17th July.

Just need my boss to read the letter [and gasp no doubt!] when he comes in tomorrow

thanks again
x

 

[hayley]

Anna marie you finish the same week as me. I finish the next day fri 7th... taking 3 weeks holiday and then start maternity leave 31st... can't wait now! hope it flys... i'm off next week - taking a week break.. then i only have 3 more weeks in... what date are you planning to go back? I'm going back the begining of december and working dec and jan - 3 days a week... i'll still be on maternity leave so i'll work 3 but get paid 5... The baby will only be 4 months so i don't know how i'll feel.. i definately don't want to put the baby is nursery so young... might have to do one day a week thou! my folks are going to have the baby 2 days a week for me.

x

 

[Anna Marie]

Well my boss has read my letter but not said a word.. don't think he is too impressed that I am leaving so soon and taking the full year off!!! Oh well..

So what happens next? Do we need to fill out any forms or do the payments just come through from our employers? Sorry.. I haven't a clue!! I am very cynical and unfortunately don't trust people to do the right thing and want to be sure that my boss does it all by the book!!

Hayley... I am taking the full year cos I don't know if I will come back to work here... lucky you having parents around to help out.. if we were close to our folks we would do the same and I would defo return to work after the 6 months.

Have no idea whether or not I will enjoy being off all that time not using my brain as much but if I get bored maybe I can choose to come back sooner

 

[SarahH]

My last day at work is this friday - I am using 2wks holidays first so my maternity leave really starts on Monday 26th June. Anyways, I am STILL waiting for my confirmation letter from my employer. They all know I'm leaving and all wish me well but whenever I remind them they just say it's ok we know.

It's such a pest!! I've kept a copy of my MAT-B1 form and the letter I handed in - all with dates of when I handed it over!

S. xx

 

[Amanda]

This makes me so glad I work for such a large company.

Anna Marie - you should get paid your maternity as you would normally get your wages. IE, I'll be getting mine paid monthly straight into the bank. Oh, and apparantly they shouldn't assume you are only having 6 months, they should assume you are taking the full year, and then if you want to come back earlier, you have to give them 28 days notice.

I'll be only having 6 months because I am the major wage earner. LO will have to go to nursery fulltime. I'm sure I could have help from family if I wanted, but based on past experience, I prefer professional care. I had family help me with my daughter, and it caused auguments. We had disagreements about different things (food, naps, playtime) and then when they took holiday, I had no-one to look after her. Plus, I was made to feel that I had to be grateful, which of course I was, but didn't need to be made to feel guilty about it. Sorry, that was a rant completely off the subject!!!

 

[Anna Marie]

Tankett thanks for that info.. currently my boss gives us cheques at end of every month [only 4 of us in co!] so he will hopefully just send them to me at home. Not sure what he assumed but if he really thought about it he should not be surprised after what happened last year.. don't think I will miss working here too much.

I am pretty certain that OH and I will suffer a bit due to lack of money without my contribution but I don't have family or cheap childcare to hand so I would only clear a little bit of my salary if I had to pay full time nursery etc.. to me my job / career is not important / fun enough to warrant that sacrifice.. if I earned more I am sure it would be a different story.. I appreciate that most women don't have the choice and have to go back to work asap.. I will just see how we get on while I am on leave.. like I said.. will come back early if necessary.

I understand about family - my parents help out with my young neices cos they live 10 mins down road.. and OH's parents have his neice 3 days a week.. I would use them if closer but 3 hours away is not particularly convenient!!!
And I agree.. issues arise and my mum and I fight at the best of times so wouldnt want to cause further unrest.. we are both stubborn women and to be honest I would be so jealous if a family member were with my child instead of me.. different when its professionals somehow.. [does that sound weird?]

x