Maternity leave question

adawn1981 · May 2013

This may be something that is different for all plans, and I have to sort out with HR, but I figured I would just ask anyway. What happens if you decide not to go back to work during maternity leave? My mat leave is actually a Short Term Disability plan by Liberty Mutual. Do you just call and give your 2 weeks when you are on leave, do you have to go back to work for 2 weeks after your leave? Does anyone know or have experience with this? Also, how would you word that question to HR to ask without implying that you are not coming back? I would hate to imply that and then something does not work out and I have to come back to work here. Thanks!

natleilynn · May 2013

I guess it depends on your job, but you're not required by law (here at least) to give 2 weeks notice. It's more of a courtesy. If I get into maternity leave and decide I'm not going back, I'll let my boss know as soon as I make my decision. I'd probably go back part time if they needed me for transition, but otherwise, I don't think you have to give 2 weeks. If you're on maternity leave they've already got a short term plan for covering your position anyway so they're not totally blindsided.

adawn1981 · May 2013

Loolaide:

I actually did decide to leave mid-leave. I planned on going back, but I had a douchey boss that I decided I didn't want to spend 9+ hours a day with. I was not asked to pay anything back - STD pay or health insurance. Oddly, I kept accruing vacation on my leave (and the rate increased while I was gone) so I had a ton of that paid out to me too.

If you know you're not going back, just tell them. Otherwise, if you decide to leave while you're out, you can call and talk about notice, whether you'll come back for two weeks, whether you'll pay anything back, etc.

I looked this all up last year when I decided to leave, but I thought companies were not able to ask for repayment of STD pay, just health insurance if they contributed to your premiums. I could be wrong though.

Great, thank you! My H is covering me on his insurance so my company does not cover me so that is a non issue for me. Thank you for sharing your experience, I plan on going back to work as well, but my company is a little douchey and I might decide it is not for me after LO arrives. Then again, I might feel like I need to be at work instead of at home with a LO. It's not a choice that I can make yet. I'll check into it a little more, just to have all of the info no matter what choice I end up making.

ChicagoWeded2007 · May 2013

I dont think it's unethical to not return after maternity leave. You have already earned that leave. It is your right to take it and your decision whether or not to return. Do you think your employer would hesitate to lay you off if they didn't need you anymore? You should be looking out for yourself and taking the benefits that you deserve and have earned.

ChicagoWeded2007 · May 2013

superspecialsnowflake:
ChicagoWeded2007:
I dont think it's unethical to not return after maternity leave. You have already earned that leave.  [...] You should be looking out for yourself and taking the benefits that you deserve and have earned.

I feel like Short Term Disability is different.  It's not like vacation or sick time that you work to accrue.  Short term disability is a benefit provided by companies directly (or through a contracted insurance provider) to compensate workers companies want to have back, when they're able to work. To take this benefit with the predetermined knowledge that she is not going to return is unethical, and it takes advantage of an "unearned" benefit. 

I'm sorry. I don't get the difference. Don't they all want their workers back? Can you explain more what you mean? How is it unearned? She earned it by working there.
I left my last company at the end of my maternity leave because I got a higher paying job. My old boss wished me all the best and I feel zero guilt for it.

waTracy · May 2013

superspecialsnowflake:
ChicagoWeded2007:

I'm sorry. I don't get the difference. Don't they all want their workers back? Can you explain more what you mean? How is it unearned? She earned it by working there.
I left my last company at the end of my maternity leave because I got a higher paying job. My old boss wished me all the best and I feel zero guilt for it.
At least at my job, we accrue vacation and sick days based on hours worked.  They are not automatically given to us.  If we quit our jobs, we're paid out for our remaining sick and vacation time because it's something that we've worked to earn. 
Short term disability, by contrast, is something that we don't pay into, or work to earn.  We don't accrue it.  It's simply there, if employees need to take an absence from work for semi-long term medical reasons.  It's like a "gift" - something the company just give us in case we need it.

My STD is not a gift. I've been paying into it for over a year. That being said, I don't get money back if I don't use it. After I have this baby I'll be canceling my plan. I'm a teacher and if god forbid I need to take extended time off and I'm out of sick pay, we have a program where people can donate their sick days to me.

MelbaCat · May 2013

add me to my SDI (that's the actual abbreviation for short term disability) was not a gift. I paid into that.

I did not return after my 2nd child. Where I was maternity benefits were earned (employee contribution) and then there were state benefits. I did not know I wasn't returning until after she was born, so I didn't tell them until I was already on leave. I felt awful about it, but circumstances were what they were.

But my feeling is, if your benefits are earned (as in you get X amount for having been there a certain amount of time--including vacation days), or paid into SDI, or accrued sick time, it's YOUR time that you earned.

In fact some people will tell you NOT to tell them until you are on leave and protected by the state. It's not unheard of for a company to cut off all benefits, not pay out your time, etc b/c you decide you're not coming back. It's an awful thing to do, but it's why many people wait to tell their employer. I've been through this twice before and I've seen a lot of people get screwed. I was lucky to work for an amazing company who never would have done that, but I know many girls on this board cannot say the same.

you know your employer, I'd make my judgement call that way.

ChicagoWeded2007 · May 2013

Interesting replies. But I still don't understand why it is unethical to take your leave and then quit. What difference does it make whether it's technically a gift or you earned it from each paycheck, it's still a benefit that your employer offers to you. They can't make you come back if you don't want to. Most employment is at will. You can leave when you want and your employer can fire you when it wants.

robbie3982 · May 2013

Personally, I think it's smart to not make any final decisions until you're already on leave, no matter what you think you'll want to do at this point in time. Keep all of your options open. What if your H loses his job and you HAVE to go back? What if you hate staying at home?

Some women think they'll love staying at home and end up hating it. Others think they'd never want to and then can't bring themselves to leave. It's one of those things that you won't know how you feel until you're there.

notkateanymore · May 2013

lisa1129:
I think it depends on your employer and the benefits plan. When I had DD, I knew I wasn't going to come back to work afterward. I just told my boss when my last day would be, and she said that I would have to come back to work for a week in order for the company to not make me pay everything back. I ended up just giving my notice before having DD so they could hire a replacement instead of being short staffed for 3 months, and then having to hire and train someone new when I left after only a week. I missed out on a lot of money and benefits that way, but I didn't want to leave my boss and co-workers in a tough situation.

I commend you for doing it that way. You are like the first person I've ever seen to do it in what I consider the right way. You're a great employee.

adawn1981 · May 2013

Thanks ladies

I will talk to HR and get all of the info that I need. A big thanks to all that shared their personal experiences. Also, I do pay into my STI and I work for a huge company, so if I decided not to come back a backup plan would already be in place. I would like to stay at home after LO arrives, but it is too early to make the decision on if I will stay home or have to go back to work. Anything can happen and I want to have all of the info I need either way.

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