Did anyone quit their job after taking maternity leave?

monicarosega

My husband and I are discussing me maybe not returning to work once this LO is born and I am not really sure how to go about quitting my job, if we decide that is the right option.

If I tell them before I leave that I plan to not return, do I lose that 6 weeks of paid time?  On the other hand, I would feel awful to take the 6 weeks and then tell them that I am quitting.  I would feel like I played them, but that extra 6 weeks of pay would be great.

If I take the leave and then quit, can they go after me to get that pay back or for insurance or any of that stuff?

I really don't want to screw them over, but they are a huge company and I am sure this happens all the time.  Does anyone have any experience with this??

jamacattack

yes, they can come back and get your pay and insurance premiums back. You would be better off either quitting now OR go back for a week or two after maternity leave and then quit.

kappanole

There was a bunch of discussion of this when TG was asking about it last month, expect a bunch of responses about how you're hurting all of women if you say you're going back and then don't.

I work at a very very large company and the policy here is that you have to come back for 2 weeks or you have to pay the insurance/STD back.

 it's probably better to quit in advance if you can jump on your husband's insurance, that way you leave on good terms and will have a good reference for the future (if you decide at some point you want to go back to work at your current employer or with someone else). 

andrea922

jamacattack:

yes, they can come back and get your pay and insurance premiums back. You would be better off either quitting now OR go back for a week or two after maternity leave and then quit.

Agreed, they can come after you, big company or not. And this is really just not a professional thing to do, if you ever want to return to work I wouldn't want to burn any bridges.

JustOne

You can take the 6 weeks, but many companies will require you to pay the money back if you do not return.  If you do choose to quit, you would have to do one of two things.  Either tell them now and loose the 6 weeks (which is what I would do) or return to work for a week or two and then quit.  

erin3182011

I know with my work that I get paid for 6 weeks.... When I come back, I have to work for at least 6 weeks, or I have to pay them back for the 6 weeks they paid me!

thebigmare

PP, how can she go back to work for 2 weeks and then quit? Get daycare for 2 weeks? 

Can't you take extended childcare leave (that's unpaid)? 

realisticdreams

I plan on going back PT (1 shift a week) and dropping from FT status.  My specific store won't care and I too work for a huge company.  I've worked my ass off for them for 9 years which is why i'm not quitting.  I'm not going to lose my pay grade.  I will work the 1 day & use whatever vacation i've earned thus far before dropping to PT status.

 

DesignsOnYou

My advice would be to check your company handbook to see if this issue is addressed. While I think legally they could recoup any benefits / salary paid during the 6 weeks, I've never heard of it being done BUT definitely check around a bit inside your company.

This is a sensitive topic because people believe you are intentionally misleading your company which doesn't sound like the case.

With my first baby, I did not tell them whether or not I was coming back but was advised by my boss to go ahead and take my six weeks and decide then.

At the time, my husband's company was going through massive layoffs. While I was fairly certain I wouldn't be returning to my job, what if my husband got layed off? Then we would be in real trouble because I had already relinquished my position and it would have been filled immediately.

The fact of the matter is, you have to look out for your best interest in the same way your company looks out for their best interest.

What if you intend to return but (God forbid) something is wrong with the baby requiring an extensive hospital stay? What if you say you won't return, but quickly realize being SAHM isn't what's best for you or an unexpected financial crisis hits requiring you to return to work?

There are several scenarios to consider but I think as long as you have thought it through and are doing what you feel is right, who cares?

Good luck with your decision.

LynsiBHM

OP, I'm in a similar situation. I know I will be coming back after leave, but I don't know for how long.  My leave will end at the beginning of July. My mom is a teacher (has July and Aug off) so she will watch the baby over the summer while H and I are at work.  I will need to make a decision by September whether to get childcare or stay home.  I really don't know what to do.  Financially, it would be great to stay at work- at least for awhile. But I (and hubby) work far from home (1-2 hr commute) and that scares the crap out of me if there were ever a reason I needed to get to my baby ASAP.  I am going to see how it goes...

nickelbabi

I think you should talk to your HR department, tell them you think you are coming back but have recently considered staying home and ask what their policies are. At my work, you only have to come back for a day, and several women have come back anywhere from a day to two weeks and then quit, and I don't think it impacted their reputation here or their future careers. People can understand that you may not know what you are going to do or how you are going to feel once you have a newborn at home.

If the policy is that you have to come back for a short time, you could have DH take time off or have a relative watch the baby, instead of daycare. You have to do what is best for you and your family and your work has to look out for their own best interest, so as long as you are following their policies correctly (i.e. putting in a two week notice if necessary), I don't see an issue with it. Another option would be to see if you could work part time or go back permanently and if you begin to feel like it is not worth it, then quit. My work will pay my insurance premium while I am out, and then deduct it from my future paychecks once I'm back at work full time, so if I quit, that is something I would have to pay back. FWIW, I am going back to work.

MrsCarroll.6-10-07

I did! I was able to take 12 weeks as per my company policy and then I quit. I did not have to pay a cent back. I talked to my HR department and asked them about either situation...me coming back or me not coming back. They are the only people that can tell you what will have to happen for you to not owe money or whtaever. I did give my boss the courtesy (becuase he is my friend) of letting him know I wasn't coming back and he was able to get me replaced within a couple weeks.

At my company I didn't have to tell them about my plans until the week or or before I was to come back (can't remember exaclty).

Good luck to you!!

akklotz0810

yes if you quit right after you are scheduled to come back to work that can re collect your pay and can be a problem with the insurance because they will back date the day you quit so may things after delivery will not be covered. also it is messed up since they will need to find a replacement for you in a short amount of time. i would just talk to your boss and maybe you can work out a deal. i know one of the ladys in my office didnt want to come back and she got three weeks of pay instead of the six but the insurance was still running for the six weeks. it is better to be honest.

azzyberry

If you tell them of time that you don't plan on returning to work then you do not get paid leave.  They should pay you out any vacation time you have accrued but that's it.

If you take leave and decide not to return, they can legally go after you to repay those benefits.  Whether they will or not is up to them.

I did leave my job after my leave.  I had every intention of going back to work after my leave but once my DS was born I had no idea how hard it would be to go back to work.  When I was still on leave, I had a meeting with my boss and asked if I could work from home.  I had an entire proposal of how it would work and I didn't think they would deny it because I was a good/hard worker who constantly went above and beyond my job to make sure things got done while half of the office sat on their a$$ess gossiping all day.  My boss was all for it but it had to be approved by the director.  On the day I returned to work she let me know the director denied my request and was unwilling to work with me or compromise in any way.  It was all or nothing and I chose nothing.  I gave my two week notice.  I finished out my two weeks and I left.

on_the_move

I did this with DS.  I was concerned about the company requesting my pay back so I made sure we didn't spend it and held on to everything for a few months to be sure.  It wasn't official until I gave my 2 weeks notice (2 weeks before I was due to return) but my boss kind of already knew I wasn't coming back.

The company didn't request the money back, but that could also have to do with the fact that we found out DH job was moving us during maternity leave so there wouldn't have been any reason to come back anyway.  The one thing I would suggest is for you to do is really search your company handbook to see what it says one way or another.

laurakaz13

If you plan to leave, I would do it in the most professional way possible.  You don't want to burn bridges. 

I manage 25 people and as a manager I would prefer honesty than being told an employee would be back, and having them change their mind at the last minute. 

I do think you need to check with your HR dept for your own good to see what your company policies are.   Good luck!

sugarfingers

I agree with what DesignsonYou said.  

This may be unpopular but I just don't think it's that big of a deal to decide what you want to do while on maternity leave.  I took maternity leave, knowing I wasn't going to come back full time, and then near the end of my leave I talked to my boss and said I only wanted to come back if I could do part-time from home, otherwise I wouldn't be coming back.  He said no and I said bye.  We still have a great relationship and stay in contact with one another.  

Your company looks out for themselves and you need to look out for you and your baby.

(Oh, plus your company only gives 6 weeks maternity leave!?!  I think that's terrible so that's an added reason I wouldn't care about telling them during your leave.) 

Nurselorie

I am not planning on returning to work at all and have not told my boss.  I do not trust this company at all at this point, or my boss, so there is no way I would risk telling them and having something happen before my leave. 

I talked to HR- my short term disability gives me 5 weeks of pay (at 80%) for maternity leave.  This is a benefit I have earned and would not have to pay back if I do not come back.  I am not covered by their insurance so not sure how that would work out for you but I believe they can not stop your insurance if you are on disability. 

Ferris1013

Well they don't know if you made the decision before or after. I am going to be looking for a new job when I am on maternity leave so I am not going to tell them one way or the other and if I find a different job I am going to just say i decided not to come back. I don't know about the insurance and stuff do you have a handbook or anything that you can read up on all of that? Your in a tough position because you don't want to ask or they will know you are considering this. I would just take the time in case you change your mind and want to go back to work. 

SnoopyLuv

I resigned the week before I was due to come back and was not made to pay back any premiums or short term disability. I was planning on coming back but had a daycare fiasco and they couldn't extend my already 16 week leave (PTL/bedrest for 4 weeks).

I agree that you should ask HR what the policy is on paying it back(you should be able to ask anonymously) and then make your decision. I would not tell them beforehand because you never know how you will feel about staying home, some women really can't handle it and want to go back to work.