s/o maternity leave... what obligations do I have?

silentsiren11 · November 2013

My company offers partial pay for 6 weeks, and I need to use up all my pto. My big fear, and I believe it is warranted with how much they call me at night and on the weekends, is that my CEO will be calling me all the time.

I will have no desire to answer his calls or return his emails for things other people can take care of. They've not talked to me about training anyone to do my job while I'm out.

I'm not obligated to work at home during this time. Am I? Because that sounds like Hell.

caz_mama · November 2013

Omg. I am so afraid of this too. The girl I am 'training' to 'take over for me' while im on maternity leave just isn't getting any of it. I have this fear that she is going to constantly call me while im on leave and ask me question after question even though I have made several training/step by step documents regarding how to do everything. And i'm worried that I will just wind up 'virtually working' through my whole maternity leave because this girl can't wrap her head around my job.

SunflowersBride · November 2013

Unless they are paying you to work from home, there is no way in hell I would do so. Why are they calling you now on nights and weekends? What kind of work do you do? If you feel this is definitely something you are worried about, I would have a conversation with them about how you either expect to not be disturbed while on maternity leave, or that you will do work from home, but you expect to be paid for it.

purplepenguin2011 · November 2013

i completely agree with SunflowersBride. Have the conversation and set clear expectations while you are gone otherwise you never know what's going to happen.

Rushley · November 2013

I know my boss is going to be doing this! She doesn't plan on hiring anyone while I'm gone for 6 months mat leave. I'm going to keep track of the hours I spend on the phone with her and either get paid for them or invoice them.

silentsiren11 · November 2013

They have no concept/respect for having a home life. I'm the marketing director and my role is not life or death, they just have no desire to figure things out on their own or wait. Unfortunately, they also are not at all approachable, so a frank conversation is out of the realm of possibilities.

In the past, when I've been out on vacation, I gave tracked my time spent working on the projects they've asked me to do and received that pto back, but I definitely do not want to spend anytime on these types of projects while on maternity leave. OR in labor.... Which I wouldn't put past them.

mrsjenni · November 2013

No, if you are on maternity leave you are not obligated to do ANY work unless you and your employer decide on a plan together. You need to get your maternity leave in writing. I submit a proposal and then get it approved so that everything is clear as day, with when my maternity leave will start and end, when I will be working from home and when I will be in the office. I suggest you do the same.

cpm1223 · November 2013

My work is also not hiring a temp replacement for me. I expect some that questions will arise when I'm out, but I'm fairly certain my boss will try and figure things out and worst case, email me with questions. That way I can get back to him on my time. Can you ask that they email you if they HAVE to but know that you may not get back to them for a couple of days. It's not fair that they'd expect you to be on leave and answering calls all the time.

LabPupLuv · November 2013

They sound awful...

cpm1223 · November 2013

Awwww @mrsjenni I love the new pics!!!

peanutmuse · November 2013

I'm kind of running into this problem too. But it's because I have a personal relationship with the director of the studio. She is the sister of my long-time (~30 yrs) best friend. I have set boundaries for when I am out on maternity leave, but I am honestly worried that she'll be a thorn in my side.

Luckily, I am stubborn and won't cave in to her demands.

sugarland726 · November 2013

SunflowersBride said:

Unless they are paying you to work from home, there is no way in hell I would do so. Why are they calling you now on nights and weekends? What kind of work do you do? If you feel this is definitely something you are worried about, I would have a conversation with them about how you either expect to not be disturbed while on maternity leave, or that you will do work from home, but you expect to be paid for it.

Exactly this. You should have a conversation with your boss about expectations.

silentsiren11 · November 2013

To give an example of being unapproachable, I wrote an email to my boss in early second tri bringing up concerns I had about the CEO and his dept calling me at home, calling me back from lunch, etc. He never acknowledged it and the only person to mention it to me was another coworker, who told me it wasn't well received. My boss doesn't do my reviews or approve leave, instead he has this other coworker do it, though this person is in no way my supervisor.

silentsiren11 · November 2013

And if I tell this coworker that I don't want to be disturbed at home or on leave, she says, "At least it's job security... We all have to do things we don't want to."

nbbride06 · November 2013

If you are receiving government STD at any point, you CAN'T work at all. It's against the "rules."

ScarlettDahlia · November 2013

nbbride06 said:

If you are receiving government STD at any point, you CAN'T work at all. It's against the "rules."

Not even government STD, if you are out on approved leave, you can't work at all.

Do you have an HR department? If your supervisor/CEO are not approachable, maybe talk to HR directly and have them convey to your supervisor and anyone else that when you are on an approved leave, you cannot do any work.

brideandbreve · November 2013

Not trying to be a smart ass or anything, but what about just not answering the phone, checking your work email, or responding to text messages? I know that's easier said than done, but honestly, it was the only way I was able to enjoy my maternity leave without feeling obligated to take care of work stuff.

silentsiren11 · November 2013

brideandbreve said:
Not trying to be a smart ass or anything, but what about just not answering the phone, checking your work email, or responding to text messages? I know that's easier said than done, but honestly, it was the only way I was able to enjoy my maternity leave without feeling obligated to take care of work stuff.

This is exactly my plan. It's why I wanted to make sure I wasn't obligated to answer...

mnfarmgal · November 2013

I would say you have no obligations whatsoever while on leave. That being said, I work in a constantly changing industry where new data on our products/research information is presented to us twice a month via web meetings. My boss and I decided that while I won't be "working", I will still attempt to listen into our web meetings to keep up with the information loop.

Piach · November 2013

I agree with everyone else. I get a very strongly worded letter from our HR department before leave stating that if I do anything work related while on leave, I am forfeiting my leave benefits. It also states that if anyone in my management approaches me to work while on leave, I need to report it.

I work for a big company that takes HR very seriously and my boss would never contact me on leave, but it is good to know the policy & have it in writing before going on leave.

brideandbreve · November 2013

silentsiren11 said:

Not trying to be a smart ass or anything, but what about just not answering the phone, checking your work email, or responding to text messages? I know that's easier said than done, but honestly, it was the only way I was able to enjoy my maternity leave without feeling obligated to take care of work stuff.
This is exactly my plan. It's why I wanted to make sure I wasn't obligated to answer...

Oh, gotcha! Sorry!

sugarland726 · November 2013

silentsiren11 said:

Not trying to be a smart ass or anything, but what about just not answering the phone, checking your work email, or responding to text messages? I know that's easier said than done, but honestly, it was the only way I was able to enjoy my maternity leave without feeling obligated to take care of work stuff.
This is exactly my plan. It's why I wanted to make sure I wasn't obligated to answer...

Unless you are being paid, you aren't obligated to anything, legally. The only time I'd change that answer is if you were the owner of a business. The rules are different from owners to employees.

HappyDoc · November 2013

My solution: Do not answer the phone. They can't bother you with questions if you don't answer.

umma4babes · November 2013

Definitely set up auto out of office message saying you are on leave and won't return until xyz date! For home/cell, set up the voicemail saying you won't be able to return calls promptly until xyz date (your return date). How rude of them!!

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