Maternity leave plans?

Katie______ · December 2016

Hi All!

I found very good letter templates easily online to officially give your boss about taking leave ---with a doctors note.

I travel a lot so mine will need to include that timing too.

Does anyone have a template of a plan for how their work will get done?? I am struggling to draft.

Thanks!

goodtimesally · December 2016

I will probably dig up my old letter and use about the same format. As far as planning for how my work will get done...that's really my supervisor's job. They're getting plenty of notice. But I'm not in any type of management position so I'm sure that's different for everyone.

ginger1228 · December 2016

I guess I have it easy. I just turn in FMLA stuff and say peace out. See ya in 12 weeks. They'll figure out how to cover my stuff.

Katie______ · December 2016

Second time moms: How did you gals stay engaged or answer ?s when you're out? I have read unplugging entirely can be a bit alienating when you return.

longhairdntcare · December 2016

I have had a brief conversation with my boss. Obviously through FMLA I can take 12 weeks unpaid...but I started paying into a short term disability plan last year so that I can take 8 (I think) weeks at 60% pay. Plus I will have PTO saved up for at least 2 weeks. Then I told my boss I will likely want to only take 2-3 weeks of that as actual 100% time off, then start working from home 1-2 days a week and gradually phase back in. She is a working mom of 3 and super flexible and understanding which is awesome.

Creedon778 · December 2016

I agree with @ginger1228. I'm not really planning on answering email while I'm out nor is there an expectation that I should. I will likely contact people a month out from returning to help with the transition back in as I'm project based and need to know what's coming available.

I'm lucky in that I get 6 months at 100% pay and only have to use a few weeks vacation time.

caribbeanmama-2 · December 2016

@Katie______ I unplugged entirely for about 3-4 months and then plugged back in remotely connecting with my students (I'm in academia). I used Skype and email. I had my students come to my house about once a month for an in person meeting and more if they had a deadline. No connection with colleagues. I then returned in person 14 months post baby. My baby needed a lot of attention - high needs/trouble swallowing/dysphagia etc. - upon reflection I did what I had to do. I am paying the price now.

I would definitely unplug entirely for at least 6 weeks if not 3 months depending on your leave policy. Baby is so small and you need to heal and bond. You will never have that time back. I was a workaholic before baby. It took a long time after baby to give a rat's ass about work lol!

ginger1228 · December 2016

@caribbeanmama - agreed! Part of me feels bad taking 12 weeks and others picking up my slack, but I'll never get that time back with my baby. I'm planning on ignoring all things work for the 12 weeks. I work from home, but will be leaving my office door closed!

Katie______ · December 2016

@caribbeanmama , @ginger1228 , and all!- Thanks for your insights. We're a small team of 3 so it's a tougher how to split work. I know I want to take the time. I think I'll get 8 weeks, and part of me saw online an idea of saying for x weeks like 2 no contact unless emergencies and after that we can do a call once a week if anything comes up. I work from home too...so ginger I appreciate closing the door, etc. (although, we may need to move the office to make a nursery). I'd be the first one to ever have a baby while working at our nonprofit. There have been moms but older kids, so I think it's about making the plan and also the space, We don't pay for any time off, but it is guaranteed (up to 12 wks) so I have a month almost of vacation and sick, so my idea was another month. Where we live, it's super hard to get childcare, so I feel like after that I can come back but push back if I need to somehow not have childcare all set.

ashaw512 · December 2016

I feel dumb i know nothing about how maternity leave works at my office, except that its unpaid and I have to write them a check every 2 weeks that I'm out for insurance. I plan on taking 12 weeks off. But if we move back to LA before I have this baby, then I'll be a SAHM for a year.

satsumasandlemons · December 2016

@ashaw512 do you have state disability where you are?

Katie______ · January 2017

@ashaw512 I loved the website fairygodboss. It answered a lot of questions for me! And then, I searched and some sample letters that helped too because even though its unpaid, they still want to know early. It might be good to check if you move too. They detail state pregnancy laws for every state too.

julybaby17-2 · January 2017

My job's meternuty leave policy is standard I guess...I have to run through all my sick/vacation leave and then short term disability kicks in. I have six weeks saved up, but I'm terrified to take any drop on pay (short term disability only pays60%).

I'm almost wondering if I could go back a day or two a week after 4 weeks, and then go back full time after 8. Is that crazy?? I don't know if this will be allowed. W'll see!

I'm also in grad school and am scheduled to finish next Christmas, but I'm going to try doubling my course load to finish in August. It will be after the baby is born, but I can't finish any quicker. Sometimes I wish I wasn't such a workaholic.

JmUDuuuukes 07 · January 2017

I'll be taking 12 weeks. I have either 6-8 weeks of short term depending on delivery type. I have to cover my 2 week elimination period with my sick time, then the remaining 4 or 6 at 60%. I will be supplementing and taking 1 vacation day per paycheck for that time to cover my benefit payments. Then another 4 weeks of vacation. I will have just enough to be paid at 100% for the 12 weeks. I guess I don't take enough of my vacation time?

As for workload, I anticipate checking email every 2 days or so after the first 3 weeks. With my email volume I just can't ignore it for that long. I will also have to make a detailed transition plan for my team, which I'm not looking forward to.

@JulyBaby17 you may want to check with HR. Depending in how Short term is done at your company, you may be exempt from paying tax, and therefore, 60% un-taxed is not much different from your 100% salary. I know it wasn't for me.

star_beagle · January 2017

Rae1 said:

I have had a brief conversation with my boss. Obviously through FMLA I can take 12 weeks unpaid...but I started paying into a short term disability plan last year so that I can take 8 (I think) weeks at 60% pay. Plus I will have PTO saved up for at least 2 weeks. Then I told my boss I will likely want to only take 2-3 weeks of that as actual 100% time off, then start working from home 1-2 days a week and gradually phase back in. She is a working mom of 3 and super flexible and understanding which is awesome.

This is what I plan on doing as well. My boss is very supportive of me taking off what I can and still being available.

AnnaKaie · January 2017

I'm a teacher and we would start beginning of August. I'm not coming back to work until October. I made plans last year saving money and restructuring my disability so I could do that. When I sat down with our insurance people last August I told her up front we were planning on baby number 2. She pulled out some extra stuff so I could stretch out my days and not be in a bind.

longhairdntcare · January 2017

JmU Duuuukes 07 said:

I'll be taking 12 weeks. I have either 6-8 weeks of short term depending on delivery type. I have to cover my 2 week elimination period with my sick time, then the remaining 4 or 6 at 60%. I will be supplementing and taking 1 vacation day per paycheck for that time to cover my benefit payments. Then another 4 weeks of vacation. I will have just enough to be paid at 100% for the 12 weeks. I guess I don't take enough of my vacation time?

As for workload, I anticipate checking email every 2 days or so after the first 3 weeks. With my email volume I just can't ignore it for that long. I will also have to make a detailed transition plan for my team, which I'm not looking forward to.

@JulyBaby17 you may want to check with HR. Depending in how Short term is done at your company, you may be exempt from paying tax, and therefore, 60% un-taxed is not much different from your 100% salary. I know it wasn't for me.

TIME OUT - the company doesn't continue to pay/deduct benefits from STD pay? Is that standard? I guess I hadn't thought of this. I just assumed it would be handled the same as regular pay (just 40% less lol).

Also if the 60% is tax free that would be amazing. I wonder how to go about finding that out.

satsumasandlemons · January 2017

Question for you ladies: I'm getting a new boss at the end of this month. I haven't told my current boss or my svp I'm expecting. Should I wait to tell the new boss or any reason I should tell my current one? Before we got news of the transition, I was planning on breaking the news mid-January after my NT scan but with the transition, my first thought was I'd like to tell the new person on my own rather than possibly hearing it from my svp or vp who may frame it differently.

Rotu101 · January 2017

@satsumasandlemons I think you should wait and just tell the new boss. In my experience, typically during the transition the status of employees and projects are covered. So something like a team member being out for maternity leave would be covered, so I feel if you want to let the new boss know yourself you should not tell the outgoing boss.

Would you be able to hold out for two more weeks or will your bump give you away?

ashaw512 · January 2017

satsumasandlemons said:

@ashaw512 do you have state disability where you are?

For some reason I don't get notifications when I'm tagged or mentioned, but I have no clue. We've been here for a year and a half, and I haven't looked into anything about maternity leave and I honestly didn't think we would still be here.

AnnaKaie · January 2017

satsumasandlemons said:

Question for you ladies: I'm getting a new boss at the end of this month. I haven't told my current boss or my svp I'm expecting. Should I wait to tell the new boss or any reason I should tell my current one? Before we got news of the transition, I was planning on breaking the news mid-January after my NT scan but with the transition, my first thought was I'd like to tell the new person on my own rather than possibly hearing it from my svp or vp who may frame it differently.

I had the same thing happen to me last time. I chose to go ahead and tell my boss. But I worked right under him. I told my boss who was going out right after he made his leaving public because he was a really good boss and I was sad to see him go.

mrscate88 · January 2017

satsumasandlemons said:

Question for you ladies: I'm getting a new boss at the end of this month. I haven't told my current boss or my svp I'm expecting. Should I wait to tell the new boss or any reason I should tell my current one? Before we got news of the transition, I was planning on breaking the news mid-January after my NT scan but with the transition, my first thought was I'd like to tell the new person on my own rather than possibly hearing it from my svp or vp who may frame it differently.

I would absolutely just wait and tell the new boss.

satsumasandlemons · January 2017

thanks guys, that's what I'm leaning towards too. @AnnaKaie , I like my boss, but I don't necessarily trust him to have my best interest in mind for much

JmUDuuuukes 07 · January 2017

Rae1 said:
TIME OUT - the company doesn't continue to pay/deduct benefits from STD pay? Is that standard? I guess I hadn't thought of this. I just assumed it would be handled the same as regular pay (just 40% less lol).

Also if the 60% is tax free that would be amazing. I wonder how to go about finding that out.

Want to clarify:
- at my company, short term disability is paid by a 3rd party, so there is no way for my company to deduct benefits from the payments. You should check on how your company handles this.
- my company still continues to pay their portion of my benefits, but to pay my premium, I have to use some vacation/sick time to cover that cost, or I will owe it to them
- the tax of the 60% depends on who pays the premium and whether it is pretax or post-tax. Your HR will be the best bet to finding out what coverage you have.

Katie______ · January 2017

Someone also told me today about kind of asking your boss for help in keeping it confidential so if you tell them soon then you can ask they help you not share it---just because if something did happen, it stinks for lots of people to know. It was super good advice I will be taking somehow.

caribbeanmama-2 · January 2017

Katie______ said:

Someone also told me today about kind of asking your boss for help in keeping it confidential so if you tell them soon then you can ask they help you not share it---just because if something did happen, it stinks for lots of people to know. It was super good advice I will be taking somehow.

My department head who is also my friend from before he took the job here told everyone when I told him not to tell anyone. He's 65 and just didn't get the point of keeping such a happy secret though I implored him to keep it confidential and only gave him an early heads up to be nice so he could plan. He's a people person and loves have stories to tell/share. I will not be telling him until my 20 week scan - that's if my belly doesn't give me away sooner. I may just get some spanx hehehe

Rotu101 · January 2017

@Cait32 Weird but awesome!

satsumasandlemons · January 2017

Checking in: has everyone announced at work yet? How are you approaching the maternity leave? Are you doing anything to help prepare or make it easier for your team? I am nervous because I have that new boss coming in and our company is going through so many process and team changes right now I want to make sure I'm setting my leave up properly.

lamphele · January 2017

I was going to wait a while longer before telling my principal, but when I was put on bed rest, I had to tell her what was going on.

Creedon778 · January 2017

@satsumasandlemons not yet. I'm waiting for NIPT to come back. Hopefully this week so we can tell family and then will tell work next week.

Twinkiedoll · January 2017

I'm waiting for my NIPT to come back too before telling anyone at work.

My boss is great and is an older guy who has repeatedly extolled the virtues of having kids so I know he'll be supportive. However I just told him that I'm out of town for a little more than a week at end of the month to visit my mom. He almost had a panic attack because I run so many of his cases. Telling him about maternity leave is going to be interesting....

I'm not technically an employee at my firm. My comp is based on the money I brought in the prior year and what they expect me to bring me in for the coming year. It's basically a crunch the numbers formula run by a committee of five old dudes so any time I take off for maternity leave basically gets treated as if I were vacationing on a beach in Fiji.

I haven't decided how much time I can afford to take off yet, especially since my husband likely is changing jobs to give one of us more schedule flexibility.

slach6515 · January 2017

I ended up having to tell my job pretty early on because I am a teacher at a level III school and we have a pretty aggressive student population. It was more a safety concern for me than anything else. They have been really supportive and great about making sure I can steer clear of any kids displaying aggressive behaviors. It also helps that it is a private organization with a small number of employees. I still need to talk with them to see how I need to plan for paying my short term disability during my maternity leave as the premium is deducted from my paycheck.

star_beagle · January 2017

I announced to my boss just before Christmas (because I had a lot of appointments and wasn't feeling well a lot) and told most of my coworkers this past Monday (after the NT scan). I'm sure the news will trickle through the rest of my division, especially now that I am starting to develop a bump.

abmommy15 · January 2017

I told my boss and one friend but was holding off telling anyone else because there might be buy outs in the next couple months and I want one (not planning to go back so a cheque before I go would be nice). They won't give me one if I'm pregnant because it can appear discriminatory. Somehow one of my team mates in another city found out I'm pregnant so I guess the secret is getting out. Not overly worried it was a slim chance they would get rid of me anyway so I guess I will just go ahead and announce.

Twinkiedoll · January 2017

@lfk2013 haha you'd be surprised. The same boss I mentioned was in utter shock when I casually mentioned that another attorney at our firm is due next month.

Granted, he doesn't work with her, but our firm is really small. He sees her fairly often around the office. He's just oblivious.

mj8215 · January 2017

Just told my boss. he was super nice about it ... then point blank asked me how much maternity leave I was thinking of taking ... I kind of wasn't prepared for that question so blurted out "10 weeks" and he was like "ok"... so now I feel like I should have thrown out a higher number ... I'm not a good negotiator :I

dancegurl1118 · January 2017

@mj8215 nothing was signed, so it's not set in stone! Just tell him you were caught off guard with the question, and really thought about it and THIS is how much time you're taking.

Katie______ · January 2017

@satsumasandlemons
I told mine last week. She agreed not to tell anyone else for now, but she keeps thinking now I am going to have a lot of affected months. It confuses me to be honest, but I think its taking the 2 months you can't fly and then leave and then I don't know. Honestly, I don't plan to take that much leave (they don't pay for it at all but I have saved vacation for 1 month and hope to take 2), but they took it harder for the work I oversee.....so I need to figure it out.

People want to be convinced about some big priorities and capacity, so I think I will have some planning needs coming. But maybe when I share I can umm reassure. I am hoping to wait to tell the rest of the office people until week 20---is that crazy? I am remote so they won't see but there is a chance if I show people here could share.....so when is your tell the office timing?

Twinkiedoll · January 2017

@Katie______ I hate awkward conversations. If I had it my way, I wouldn't tell anyone and just wait for people to figure it out. But I suppose that's unreasonable. I have to prepare people to take over my workload when I am on leave. In all likelihood, I will tell people once the NIPT results come back. I get initial results this week (hopefully). The second round of results will be around week 18. I would like to wait until week 18, but my husband is dying to announce on social media, and he's FB friends with some of my coworkers. I've been able to restrain him so far, but I think he's going to spill the beans after we get the results this week.

satsumasandlemons · January 2017

@Katie______ I'm thinking beginning to mid-feb to tell my new boss - that'll give her a week or so after she starts to kind of get a lay of the land at least.
Im really worried about this and how it'll all go down. I have SO much stuff to do during q3 and q4 this year, I'm not feeling very good about this.

@Twinkiedoll, I'm the same way - I'm certainly not going to announce on FB (we didn't do an announcement last time, either).

mj8215 · January 2017

@dancegurl1118 you're absolutely right! I'm in kind of a tough spot in terms of negotiations because we're also in the middle of negotiating my new job (at the same place I'm at now, once I'm done with my training in June - yes, timing lol) I'm really excited about new job but also nervous since I do have an official offer that I officially accepted but nothing "on paper". However my boss has a great past track record of being good to his people so I am optimistic. Basically it was already a complicated negotiation (exact range of responsibilities, additional certifications I will want to obtain, plus I'm not a us citizen so there's visa stuff to deal with...) his comment after the initial congratulations was basically something like "yeah, let's just add maternity leave to this very long list of things we have to figure out".

eta fixed words

Want a personalized experience?

Maternity leave plans?

Re: Maternity leave plans?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards