Maternity Leave

richsports29 · August 2015

Afternoon All,

I am Trish and I am expecting my first 4/1/16 and of course all questions are coming to mind. A big one is when to tell my boss? Another is, how much time should I take for maternity leave?

Has anyone been thinking about this or have any suggestions? Or even a suggestion on HOW to tell my boss.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

AliSummer · August 2015

I'm not going to tell my boss until I start showing. Then I'm going to be "Obviously, I'm pregnant. What are our next steps?" I'm really afraid of being passed over for opportunities or promotions because of being pregnant. I know that's not legal, but people still do it.

imrachellea · August 2015

You don't have to tell your boss until you want to. With my last, I told at 7 weeks because I worked at a school, some other teachers found out, and the rumor mill moves fast there. This time I probably won't say anything until I'm showing just because. I still work at a school, but I'm not as connected to them and can keep my own mouth shut.

Your doctor should prescribe 6 weeks off for a vaginal delivery, 8 weeks for a c-section (paid or not is up to your employer). As per FMLA, you can take up to 12 weeks if your company has 100+ employees and you've been there at least a year.

klingonboxer · August 2015

We only get the FMLA 12 weeks unpaid, so I'm going to try and spread out whatever sick and vacation time I can earn between now and then to make at least a little money during that time, and start working around 2 months part-time (most places will let you break up your FMLA and do it that way). Most people I know who've had babies recently have done this kind of thing. And I won't tell them until I'm obviously showing, because I'm an overly-private kind of person.

richsports29 · August 2015

That is what stinks.... My due date is April and my work 1 year anniversary is June

This little bundle was a surprise and a miracle baby. I was told that if i wanted to get pregnant I would have to do in vitro based on my reproductive system and my SO's as well.

emiliothetall · August 2015

richsports29 said:

That is what stinks.... My due date is April and my work 1 year anniversary is June This little bundle was a surprise and a miracle baby. I was told that if i wanted to get pregnant I would have to do in vitro based on my reproductive system and my SO's as well.

Hopefully you can explain this to your employer and they will be understanding (like any rational human being should be!) and let you have your 12 weeks. I have no advice as our system is so different here, but I hope it works out for the best for you.

richsports29 · August 2015

Thanks!

MrsCayEye · August 2015

My plan is tell my boss in December or January, prob when we are back from winter break. I don't work with my supervisors so they won't see me to know. That will give them 4 months to find a long term sub to finish out the school year for my position.

olivemomma · August 2015

I think it depends a lot on if you are planning on returning to work and how noticeable your absence will be. If your shoes will be really hard to fill and you will leave coworkers in a bind I would tell your boss on the earlier side so they can come up with a good plan. I had a great relationship with me boss and told her Aroind 15 weeks bc I wasn't planning on returning. She appreciated the heads up and not waiting until it was blatantly obvious I was pregnant. and just because your boss knows doesn't mean the whole office has to

mumidi · August 2015

I'm a teacher so I'll tell my principal sometime between 8-12 weeks but before I tell any of my other teacher friends.

alexvause · August 2015

I will wait as long as I can to tell work. I guess it all depends on how quickly I show. I will take off 12w and then I am going to try to negotiate a reduced workweek when I first go back.

geminioftwo · August 2015

I plan on taking the 8 weeks recovery (hopefully my doctor will extend it another 2 weeks) and then the 12 weeks FMLA. So hopefully 22 weeks. I'd take longer if I was allowed!! I enjoyed the time at home with my DS SOO much after he came. It was so special to be able to bond with him and watch his curiosity grow with each passing day.

imrachellea · August 2015

geminioftwo said:

I plan on taking the 8 weeks recovery (hopefully my doctor will extend it another 2 weeks) and then the 12 weeks FMLA. So hopefully 22 weeks. I'd take longer if I was allowed!! I enjoyed the time at home with my DS SOO much after he came. It was so special to be able to bond with him and watch his curiosity grow with each passing day.

FMLA is not in addition to the wweeks prescribed by your doctor... Did you get that with your DS? If so, unless you're at the same place of work, I wouldn't anticipate that again.

yodiggity · August 2015

I'll just do the Short-term disability which is 11-weeks. This baby was not planned nor expected so we are kind of scrambling. I will save up as much sick/PTO as possible before the baby comes to buffer the 15 day period before the STD kicks in.

cryscaulfld · August 2015

The nonprofit I work for only offers short term disability pay for maternity leave but you can use some of your sick time so that's what I want to do. I'm debating being out for a full 8 weeks and using the other four weeks as needed throughout the year for doctor visits and extra bonding time throughout the year.

worldsokayestmom · August 2015

I'll hopefully be taking the full 12 weeks this time. 8 weeks will be covered by ST disability and 2 will be covered by work. The other two will just be unpaid. I'm hopefully not telling work until the second trimester, unless I have to before.

GridIronGrrl34 · August 2015

I'll definitely take the 12 weeks and am thinking about using another couple of weeks of vacation time at the end so I can have 14 or 15 weeks (I have 4 weeks vacation). I already shortened my hours to 32hrs after my son, so I won't decrease my work week any more. My boss is a good friend and can keep a secret, so I'll probably tell her after my first doctor's appointment.

mountainsmama · August 2015

If you are into podcasts, I listen to a career/productivity podcast called Career Tools that has a decent episode about Maternity Leave. It was recorded in July 2014. They give advice about how and when to tell your boss (come prepared with a plan about length/coverage!). I am hoping to work with my boss to be out for 3 or 4 months and ease back into it with email/ part time work at home. However my job doesn't require me to physically be in the office all the time like some of you lovely teachers, nurses, etc.

GridIronGrrl34 · August 2015

@LArunnergal I have times where I WISH I had a job where I could work from home so I could do what you described! (I'm a healthcare provider). But my job entails face to face patient time so I can't do that. And honestly, I know myself and I'd never get anything done at home. lol. Thanks for the info about the podcast though. I don't worry about my maternity leave because I have a great relationship with my boss and she was wonderful working with me last time. Good info though especially for those going through this for the first time!

sarahufl · August 2015

H and I just recently moved and each commute around an hour to work every day. It isn't really conducive to childcare to be so far away from work and home. Plus, we work in Manhattan, where daycare is insanely expensive. The plan is for me to quit my job in the city and stay home with the baby. After that, assess if I want to get a job closer to home or be a SAHM.

We are fortunate that H makes decent money.

pinottoparenthood · August 2015

We did the NT scan last time so will prob do it again... I will tell the principal after that. That's at 13 weeks. I won't get paid for maternity leave after the first 2 weeks, but I will take six weeks anyway because its my neewborn and that time is the best time... And time I'll never get back. I don't know much about all the FMLA rules, etc though, sorry!

Lilpenguin3 · August 2015

I'm a nanny and probably taking as little time off since what I do is already mostly like being a SAHM and little one with be in school most of the day.

Eta: told bosses and will probably only be taking 3-4 weeks off. But 8-2 little one is in school so it will just be me and my little one.

k3brad · August 2015

I work really closely with my boss, she's the desk across from me. So it'll be hard to hide it very long. I'd like to wait until 10-12 weeks if I can. I will be taking my full 12 weeks of FMLA, with 2 weeks paid as vacation and 6 weeks paid at 60% short term disability. The rest will be unpaid unfortunately. During those 12 weeks, we will decide if I will go back or not... I really want to stay home but I also really want to take vacations lol. So we'll see how easy/tough those 12 weeks are for me.

rel1988 · August 2015

I'm going to try and hold off saying anything at work until 12 weeks but I'll see how it goes.

I'm planning on taking 8 weeks at least, but possibly 10. 2 weeks will be paid vacation time and then ST disability will kick in. I believe I get 4 weeks at 100% and then the remaining at 60%

Aquarius923 · August 2015

I don't get any time off paid, just like last yime. I did 9 weeks with ds, so I may do that with this one.

St0v3s · August 2015

My job doesn't offer maternity leave because we have less than 50 workers so legally they don't have to (even though you would think a business owned by two mothers would). What people have done in the pass is given them a two weeks notice and if they employee left on good terms they would hire them back afterwards. My plan is to not go back and to look for a better job. I'm actually trying to change jobs now.

jen f · August 2015

I'm currently looking for work so I can get enough hours (600) to qualify for our maternity leave here in Ontario Canada we can take a year off at 55% pay.

geminioftwo · August 2015

imrachellea it is in addition to FMLA. I work for a tech company ^:)^ thank God! Although I do wish that I took a job at google. I hear that they give up to a year paid now! Regardless, I am fully aware that even 5-6 month is a blessing and I fully intend on taking the maxim time allowed!!!

Jules08 · August 2015

Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked for their employer at least 12 months, at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Whether an employee has worked the minimum 1,250 hours of service is determined according to FLSA principles for determining compensable hours or work.

Time taken off work due to pregnancy complications can be counted against the 12 weeks of family and medical leave.

This is information as provided from the U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/benefits-leave/fmla.htm

My employer does give STD (short term disability) coverage. So for me, the plan with DS was to use 5 days of PTO (requirement of my STD) and then 5 weeks of STD pay per the 6 weeks prescribed time off from my OB and followed that with 2 weeks of vacation for a total of 8 weeks off. However, I was on bed rest (sorry I have been repeating this in a number of threads) at 34 weeks. So I ended up using 5 days of PTO followed by 9 weeks of STD and then followed that with 2 weeks of vacation for a total of 12 weeks off (4 weeks of bed rest, 8 weeks of maternity leave).

teacher0430 · August 2015

I'm a teacher so the timing is perfect. I'll take off April and May and maybe go back the last two weeks in June. I'll be off for 2 extra months in the summer! I have to use sick time and annual leave so not all of it will be paid.

huskerfan246 · September 2015

I just started looking into this with my employer yesterday and found out they don't have maternity leave, but do offer short term disability for up to 12 weeks. I work in a male-dominated company but luckily there are ladies in the HR dept who understand and know what I might need, they told me average time off is 6-8 weeks but there are 12 weeks available if needed. My boss is usually reasonable but he may not like that I will need that much time off since he will have to cover my office, so I might not talk about the time off for awhile unless he brings it up.

jonesl12 · September 2015

I'll probably take about 6 weeks if I can . My office doesn't offer maternity as there are only 9 employees but I don't really need it .I don't think I could stand staying at home much longer than that anyway .

brimarie83 · September 2015

In Canada we are given a year paid at about $500 per week from the government. (Or half of your salary if you make less than 48,000/year). The time can be divided up between parents. At the school I teach at, it's expected and encouraged to take the full year, and it would be very challenging to find childcare that takes a child younger than 12 months! My husband would really like to do 3 months of the year so I think I will go back when baby is 9 months and Hubbie can be home February-April.

amaniupendo · September 2015

I am hoping to take 6 weeks of sick leave, 6 of vacation, and possibly 12 weeks of FMLA. My husband is a stay at home dad so it'll be hard to justify the 12 weeks. We will see when that time comes!

Monicagail1 · September 2015

With my first I announced at work when I was about 10 weeks. With my second I waited a lot longer as I was hoping to get a promotion and worried that the pregnancy would impact that (even though I know that it would be illegal). So I waited until I was about 30weeks. Luckily I historically do not show much (one advantage to being tall and overweight I guess). This time I'll probably announce around 10-12 weeks.

As for leave, I'll be using sick and vacation time to be paid. I'll probably have about 10 weeks of "maternity leave" and because of the timing I may have to go back to work for a few days before taking another 3-4 weeks of vacation. But I need to figure all this out because I'm in a different position than during my last two leaves, and there may be some differences in what I can do.

sprocketsngadgets · September 2015

My boss already knows because I had a bit of a breakdown during a meeting and it's just easier if he knows. As far as leave, I took 6 weeks with my first and will probably do the same this time around. Two weeks PTO and 4 weeks STD at 60% pay. I could take an additional 6 weeks with FMLA, but that long unpaid is really just going to add additional stress. I'm also not cut out to be a SAHM, so it wasn't a big deal for me to go back so soon.

AnnikaD20 · September 2015

I took 9 weeks off with my first, and was actually feeling pretty ready to be back at work at that point. I was going a little crazy doing nothing but diapers, nursing, and netflix all day. Obviously I'm not cut out to be a SAHM.

This time, I'm at a new workplace that has a much more generous maternity policy and flexible schedules, so I'm thinking about taking two months off and returning to work half time for month three. The transition from zero to full time was a bit rough last time, and I'm glad I'll be able to ease into things this time.

misstopsail · September 2015

LArunnergal said:
If you are into podcasts, I listen to a career/productivity podcast called Career Tools that has a decent episode about Maternity Leave. It was recorded in July 2014. They give advice about how and when to tell your boss (come prepared with a plan about length/coverage!). I am hoping to work with my boss to be out for 3 or 4 months and ease back into it with email/ part time work at home. However my job doesn't require me to physically be in the office all the time like some of you lovely teachers, nurses, etc.

Thanks for sharing this podcast -- it was helpful!

Tippy05 · September 2015

I haven't told my boss yet. I was hoping to wait another two weeks. I don't see him on a daily basis. It's usually about once a month but I want to tell him before I tell the rest of the office. It's my third pregnancy so I don't think I'll make it to 12 or 13 weeks when he comes back again before being outed.

As far as leave, I get 6 or 8 weeks from the state (depending on whether it's a vaginal birth or not), plus another 4 weeks of temporary parental leave that my husband and I can both take, all paid at 60% ish. After that I can use whatever time I have saved, which should be about 6 or 7 weeks by then.

queen_frostine · September 2015

The timing is super great for me - due at the end of April, hoping to miss only the first couple weeks of May, then three months off for summer without having to take any time off (since I teach college). That's another thing that makes me so afraid of miscarriage - because if we had to wait another couple of months and try again, the timing would be much messier and harder to deal with. I'm planning on telling them after the first trimester, possibly longer if we have an upcoming test I want to finish before telling them. I'll make sure I have a plan on how to cover my classes and options if they want (like having me do more blended courses or online courses), a plan for finishing up the end-of-semester grading, etc.

I'm still kicking myself because when I started working here, I had the chance to enroll in short-term disability, but I did not (because I did not know it covered pregnancy). Now, of course, I can't qualify. It makes me hate me quite a bit.

hadaway2015 · September 2015

Lucky, lucky ladies! I'm a physician and surgery resident. It is well known that getting pregnant is pretty much frowned upon. I can't take any more than 6 weeks off in one year (including vacation, sick days, everything) without risking not getting credit for that year of training. My tentative plan is to use all three weeks of my vacation and possibly 1 week of maternity leave for a total of 4 weeks but that would be quite difficult and would cause a lot of eyebrows to be raised given I work with almost all men. Oh well, I knew what I was getting myself into!

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