When to talk to boss about maternity leave?

ditzydi_2000

There are a total of 5 of us at my office.  I am the office coordinator so unlike some more specialized jobs, I wont' have the luxury of working from home and only showing up when I have an appt.  I'm worried about how this whole talk will go.  I'm just curious when some of ya'll were planning to have this talk with your office.  They all know and are super excited.  Just not sure how excited they'll be when I have to start discussing time off. 

izziebee

This is a huge issue for me as well... I expected that when I told my boss about being pregnant she would want to know how long I planned to take off. Well, she didn't mention anything about my time off. Once it was announced to the office a few weeks later (I let my boss in early just to give her time to prepare) our  HR rep told me we would meet in January to go over the details. I'm due 3/17 so it shocked me when she said January!

I work in an office full of women and there is always someone having a baby, normally you see their names on the time off calendar right away and although I work in a different department than where the pregnancies usually are I figured it would be the same way.

 I just hope it's not a huge shock to anyone when I tell them I plan to take 12 weeks and not just 6!

Krisann79

I know how you feel.  I think you should wait until you've reviewed all of your options/benefits that are available to you through your job as well as decided how long exactly you'll be gone.  Maybe even come up with a plan on how you'll be covered if necessary.

beckerella

When I first told my boss and HR, they didn't mention anything about maternity leave. At 20 weeks, I talked to HR to see what the standard was for setting it up and was told that basically we'd work it out when I go on dr. ordered disability either pre-due date or after the babies born. Of course my office is like 80% male and all the ladies have kids my age so it's not a terribly common issue.

ditzydi_2000

Krisann79:

I know how you feel.  I think you should wait until you've reviewed all of your options/benefits that are available to you through your job as well as decided how long exactly you'll be gone.  Maybe even come up with a plan on how you'll be covered if necessary.

Benefits?  What a strange concept.  Ha.  My office is so small that I don't think we have benefits.  I think I could look into STD through DH's insurance but not sure how he'd feel about paying that extra on the premium.  I work in a real estate development office so we're slightly worried about them axing my job period.  I guess if worse comes to worse I can just bring baby to work with me since my office is very family/kid friendly.

Anna&Matt

I'd probably start talking about it now so you know ahead of time what's going to happen. Definitely be prepared to ask for however much time off you and your DH have decided on but I think sooner is better in your situation and hopefully they will appreciate your honesty and not axe your job.

jhoanna.delgado

I work in a small office and I spoke to my boss already just b/c she would be going into her maternity leave soon. We discussed how many sick days and vacation days I would have by the time it was my turn. She also reassured me that whatever I decide is fine with her. We are going to meet again once she comes back and it's closer to my time to discuss how much time I will take off, if I plan to return full time or part time and for how long.

ditzydi_2000

Ahhhh...it just hit me.  I have one week of pto off this year and I'll get two more at the begining of next year.  Maybe my boss will be nice and let me roll my week of pto from this year over to next year and then I can live with 70% of my normal pay for that last week.  From talking to people who have been pg at this office from the past, they said the standard was 4 weeks.  Wonder how my doctor will feel about that since it's looking more and more like I'll be having a c-section.  Am I crazy to think about coming at 4 weeks after having a c-section?

jenny1980

My boss actually asked about my plans when I told him I was pregnant (around 9 weeks, I think...I had bad M/S so there was no hiding it). At that time, we decided I would be off from late Dec-early June.

I think as soon as you have a clear idea of what you would like to take (and perhaps some suggestions for how to manage your work while you're out), I would set-up a meeting with your supervisor. I feel better knowing I have work details pretty much ironed out.

 

jenny1980

ditzydi_2000:

Ahhhh...it just hit me.  I have one week of pto off this year and I'll get two more at the begining of next year.  Maybe my boss will be nice and let me roll my week of pto from this year over to next year and then I can live with 70% of my normal pay for that last week.  From talking to people who have been pg at this office from the past, they said the standard was 4 weeks.  Wonder how my doctor will feel about that since it's looking more and more like I'll be having a c-section.  Am I crazy to think about coming at 4 weeks after having a c-section?

Yes.

The minimum you should take after a c-section is 8 weeks (or 6 weeks for vaginal).