When did you discuss your maternity leave with boss.

Rilly1212 · February 2011

I work for a small company and I have not discussed my maternity leave time frame with my boss yet. Since the new family leave insurance act was put in place in 2009 I intent to take full advantage of the 6 weeks short term dis. as well as the 6 weeks family leave. No one in our office has been on maternity leave since my last pregnancy in 2008 when the additional 6 weeks was not available. The only concern I have is with the FLI I do not have job protection and I am so nervous to approach the conversation with him.

I should just go in a tell him what I intend to do, right. But when is the best time... my due date is May 27.

Side note: my boss asked me a couple of weeks ago how long I intend to work before going out on disability. I told him I would work until my doctor says I should go out. However I kind of want to take the 4 weeks before my due date. Why do I have a feeling like I am taking advantage of my maternity leave. I am entitled to it.

LisaFrank2011 · February 2011

Family Medical Leave Act doesn't apply to anyone that works for a company with under 50 employees. Does your company have 50 employees?

I work for a small company as well and I talked to my boss about it at 9 weeks with my 1st pregnancy and at 12 weeks with this pregnancy.

LisaFrank2011 · February 2011

Also, the 6 weeks that you would be covered under FMLA doesn't mean that you get paid during that time. So, if you wanted to go out 4 weeks early under disability, you would only get 2 weeks of paid time off (at partial, I'm assuming) after baby is born. Just something to think about.

NJMom050911 · February 2011

I work for a large corporation and HR will not meet with me until a month before my due date. I think that's pretty silly and my supervisor has contacted them but I haven't heard anything. I did tell him that I plan to work for as long as I can and will take the 6 weeks maternity and then the 6 weeks on top of that. I'm still debating about the additional 6 but that is not paid and I don't think we can swing it.

SweetieD21 · February 2011

My boss and I tentatively discussed it around 20 weeks. We will set the plan in stone in a few weeks. But, she knows I plan to take at least 8 weeks, and when my due date is.

everam01 · February 2011

I told my boss around 10 weeks because at the time my high risk dr told me I might be put out of work as early as 24 weeks, so I would be on unpaid leave for a while and no longer protected under FMLA after the first 3 months. I wanted to make sure my boss was aware so we could train someone to handle my position, plus I wanted some reassurance that I wouldn't be let go since he won't be legally obligated to keep me.

Rilly1212 · February 2011

LisaFrank2011:

Family Medical Leave Act doesn't apply to anyone that works for a company with under 50 employees. Does your company have 50 employees?

I work for a small company as well and I talked to my boss about it at 9 weeks with my 1st pregnancy and at 12 weeks with this pregnancy.

What I am talking about is not Family Medical Leave Act it is Family Leave Insurance Benefits which we all contribute to in our paychecks. It is not restricted on how many employees the company has however there is no job security unlike a company with 50+ employees.

Who is covered for Family Leave Insurance benefits?
Employees of all private and governmental employers subject to the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Law are covered.

Top
Are employees of small businesses covered for Family Leave Insurance benefits?
Yes. All employees working for covered employers are covered for Family Leave Insurance benefits, regardless of the number of employees in the business.

Top
Who provides the funding for the Family Leave Insurance program?
Beginning January 1, 2009 employers are required to withhold 0.0009 from employees? taxable wages as defined in the Unemployment Compensation Law. This is the same wage upon which the withholding for unemployment compensation and temporary disability insurance is based ($28,900 in 2009). The withholding rate increases to 0.0012 beginning in 2010. Employers do not contribute to the program. Visit the website for the Division of Employer Accounts for information regarding the withholding and remitting of contributions.

LisaFrank2011 · February 2011

Okay, well that looks like it's state specific. Not something I'm aware of.

Personally, I'd get to talking about it soon. Setting expectations as early as possible is smart, IMO. I'd go in there with a written plan of how you see your maternity leave going and present it to him that way. That's what I did with my boss, since there aren't other women here taking maternity leave on a regular basis and it's not something we have written up in our handbook either.

I think the longer you wait, the harder this conversation might be.

Rilly1212 · February 2011

LisaFrank2011:

Okay, well that looks like it's state specific. Not something I'm aware of.

Personally, I'd get to talking about it soon. Setting expectations as early as possible is smart, IMO. I'd go in there with a written plan of how you see your maternity leave going and present it to him that way. That's what I did with my boss, since there aren't other women here taking maternity leave on a regular basis and it's not something we have written up in our handbook either.

I think the longer you wait, the harder this conversation might be.

I agree.

cindydee · February 2011

My work provides me with 6wks paid leave & the other 6wks paid will be from disability. the FMLA covers my 12 weeks. I did this last time. if you are going to be out for 12 weeks I really encourage you to try to work up until you can (instead of taking off 4weeks before like you say) this way you can have more time at home with your newborn instead of waiting at home waiting for him to be born. just my opinion though

MrsDL · February 2011

LisaFrank2011:

Family Medical Leave Act doesn't apply to anyone that works for a company with under 50 employees. Does your company have 50 employees?

I work for a small company as well and I talked to my boss about it at 9 weeks with my 1st pregnancy and at 12 weeks with this pregnancy.

I know there are exceptions for a few states - Ca and NJ being two of them when it comes to maternity. I'm not sure the under 50 applies in those states for FMLA like it does for other states and I know those states have paid family leave via disability where in other states - it depends on whether the employer wants to give those benefits - otherwise you get the 12 weeks but it can be unpaid. She is from NJ so it is different there.

In any case op - you are entitled to what the law provides and what your employer provides re your benefits - don't feel guilty. The only thing I would say is that you may want to consider taking less time off before because it means you'll have more precious time with your baby while on leave and we never know what might come-up during delivery - you might actually need more of that time after the birth should you or LO experience unforseen complications and the law protects you for 12 weeks - that's it - so if your waste 4 before LO is here and you don't have to - you are down to 8 when you might need more. Just something to think about as I had a co-worker who did that and her baby had meconium aspiration causing RDS at birth - her LO was in the hospital longer than expected and she really regretted less time at home with him because she took the 4 weeks off prior to delivery.

I'd start getting the ball rolling know - I've talked to my boss early on but I'm doing the HR paperwork which is a PIA this week - just in case LO comes early I want to have it taken care of.

melgrady · February 2011

I let my boss know how many weeks I am requesting off last month. I also gave her the tentative date range that I am planning on going out on maternity leave. We are going to meet soon to discuss how we are going to divide up my duties while I am gone and I will make sure to reiterate my plans during this meeting.

Temp38995750004016 · February 2011

My company requires mebto turn in paperwork 12 week before my due date. However my boss and I discussed my plan a couple of weeks ago and I start training coworkers on my various responsibilities in March. I will be off almost five months though.

Raquellyo · February 2011

We discussed it after my first ultrasound at 8 weeks, which is when I told her I was expecting. I told her the due date was estimated at May 26 so I would plan to be off the months of June, July, and Aug and return in Sept.

The projects I manage typically run 6mo - 1yr+, so I didn't want to waste any time planning ahead to ensure there was coverage on my upcoming projects.

I will confirm the maternity leave dates again when my due date is closer, given everything continues to go smoothly.

kristennd · February 2011

I told both my boss and the director of HR about the pregnancy (in separate meetings) at around 22 weeks. At the time I told them I only intended to be gone 4-6 weeks and they urged me to consider taking more (although it would be unpaid) and said we'd work out the details later and that is the last we've discussed it. A little early yet to get more specific, although I have started cross-training my assistant on some of the day-to-day stuff.

NeverEnoughTime · February 2011

It's kind of different in Canada, but I told my boss when I told her I was pregnant. I basically gave her a letter that said "FYI I am pregnant. I intend to take my 12 months Maternity Leave starting ____." (obviously it was more professional that that). Then we verbally discussed that if things didnt go well I would go off sooner, or if I was feeling fantastic I might stay an extra week. I just told her I would always keep her in the loop as best I could.

mzsparklepdx · February 2011

I told my boss I was pregnant at 10 weeks, but we left any discussion for maternity leave for later. She just finally asked about it this week (I'm 28 weeks) and asked to have my leave proposal to her by next week. I did let her know already that I will be taking the 12 weeks of protected FML and hope to come back at reduced hours for some time period, before I submit my formal proposal. We'll have to come to an agreement and get HR's approval before it's settled (we're union and a huge college, so there are lots of hoops).

Want a personalized experience?

When did you discuss your maternity leave with boss.

Re: When did you discuss your maternity leave with boss.

Choose Another Board

Search Boards