Returning to work after maternity leave

Returning to work after maternity leave can be difficult, especially in today’s job climate. Whether you have been on maternity, adoption or paternity leave, the prospect of heading back to normality and into the workplace can be daunting. From worries about being ‘out of touch’ with your job to leaving your children under the care of someone other than yourself; there is a lot to digest, and it is perfectly normal to feel apprehensive.

Going back to work full-time or even part-time doesn’t have to be scary. With careful planning and preparation before going back to work from maternity leave, you can get in touch with work early and have a good idea of what you have waiting for you when you return. In this article, you will find tips for how to return to work after maternity leave, as well as other important things to consider during this important milestone.

Why is it so hard to return from maternity leave?

Returning to work from maternity leave can be bittersweet if you’re not ready to transition. If you took compulsory or ordinary maternity leave, maybe the period was too short and you wanted to spend more time with your baby. Perhaps you can’t afford to take more leave, or you’re considering going back to work early after maternity leave, but you fear being out of touch with your colleagues.

Planning and preparation can help you power through the unknown and take the plunge into the next chapter in your life. So let’s look at ways we can make this transition easier for you.

Before you go back to work after mat leave

As mentioned above, planning and preparation are key to the transition as smooth as possible. Below are some tips on what to do before your maternity leave is over.

Plan and stay local with childcare

What will you do with your baby when you go back to work? Have you considered childcare, either via friends and family, or a childcare provider?

Where possible, try to find suitable childcare close to your home or work, as this will save you a lot of time with drop-offs and pickups.

Seek referrals from friends, or even your new employer, and do a thorough search on Google. Should you need financial help via the Child Care Subsidy, you can click here for more details.

It is only human to feel anxious about placing your child into the care of someone else, especially if it is your first child. It is worth settling your child into their full childcare routine before you return to work, to allow yourself and your child to become familiarised with the new schedule. By the time you start back at work, you will know what works and what doesn’t.

Legal considerations when choosing your childcare provider

Karen Holden from A City Law Firm advises parents to look at the legal issues concerning traditional childcare providers, namely nannies, childminders, and nurseries. We will look at these in more detail below.

Nannies

A nanny is your employee and in law, an employer-employee relationship exists between you1. All the paperwork must be in order, including a comprehensive employment contract and a detailed disciplinary procedure.

Once you have located a suitable nanny, you can interview them (or conduct a series of interviews). You should be mindful that all potential nannies have the right not to be discriminated against during the recruitment process due to age, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

As an employer, you account for your nanny’s income tax and National Insurance contributions. In addition, you ensure that the amount you pay your nanny meets the National Minimum Wage (certain exceptions apply to live-in nannies). You must provide your nanny with financial documents such as payslips and a P60.

Your nanny is entitled to certain benefits because of the employment relationship, for example, holiday leave, maternity arrangements, provisions about sick leave and redundancy. Importantly, a nanny has rights under employment law; therefore, pay close attention to disciplinary procedures and dismissal. When you need to end the employment of your nanny, legal advice should be taken from a specialist employment law solicitor.

Nannies do not have to be registered or regulated and therefore you should take special care when drafting a contract between yourself and your nanny. It is important to detail the duties you expect of your nanny and the standard of conduct you require.

Key points to consider regarding nannies

You should:

• Recruit fairly and do not discriminate
• Prepare a comprehensive written contract
• Make National Insurance and Income Tax contributions
• Seek legal advice concerning disciplinary action or dismissal of your nanny

Childminders

Childminders who look after children under 8 years old for over two hours a day for money must register with Ofsted² and are regularly inspected and regulated by them. Therefore childminders must comply with the requirements set out by them³. Should a childminder not meet the standard required, then they will not be initially licensed or maybe later disqualified.

You should check the childminder’s’ certificate of registration, which should be visible, and whether they have been suspended from the register. It is important to enquire as to the level of insurance cover that your childminder has obtained. Registered childminders are required to have insurance to cover death, injury, public liability, damage, and other loss.

If your child has special physical or learning needs, these should be accommodated by your childminder. All childminders must have a current first aid certificate and training from an approved training course.

It is likely that you will have to sign a written contract with your childminder; however, in the absence of a written contract, a verbal contract can still be enforced. Ofsted obliges childminders to make alternative provisions for children should they not be able to provide childcare.

Childminders must not discriminate against providing childcare based on factors such as race, religion, home language, family background, gender, disability, or learning disabilities.

Childminders must have a written statement of procedures and a written complaint procedure available to you, which you should ask to view. In addition, childminders must provide information on the activities that your child will undertake whilst in their care, often shown as activity day books and reports.

Should you need to make a complaint against your childminder, do this in writing or by email directly to your childminder. Your complaint must be fully investigated, and a written response, or by email if requested, provided to you within 28 days of your complaint. Complaints for breaches of the Ofsted standards can be made to Ofsted.

Key points to consider regarding childminders

Childminders:

• Regulated by Ofsted
• Must display a certification of registration
• Must have a written statement of procedure
• Must have written information concerning activities
• Must have a current first aid certificate
• Must have training from an approved training course
• Must have a written complaint procedure

Nurseries

Nurseries must be registered with Ofsted and are also regulated and inspected by them. Complaints, however, concerning your child’s welfare can be made to Ofsted, but should initially be made internally through the nursery’s complaint procedure.

Since September 2012, nurseries have had to comply with the Early Years Foundation Stage. This essentially puts the focus of early year care on developing the child and puts the parents and family at the heart of the system. One objective of the new framework is to ensure that those within the industry offer a quality service.

The relationship between yourself and the nursery will be a contractual one. It is important that you carefully read the contract and terms and conditions supplied to you by the nursery before signing them. 

Careful attention should be paid to the terms and conditions in relation to the nurseries policy concerning bank holiday’s, notice periods, payment dates and collection of interest, cancellation fees, liability for payment because of closure (e.g. adverse weather), fees for late collection and what happens if your child is unwell.     

Should an issue arise in relation to the contract, contact a solicitor who specialises in contractual dispute. 

Keep in touch with colleagues

Keeping in touch with colleagues is a great opportunity to keep your relationships with your work friends and bosses. Visit your old place to familiarise yourself and keep up to date with what is going on, to remind you of the key skills you have learnt and keep you in touch with the routine you had. Use your ‘Keeping in Touch’ days, which are paid by your employer, so speak to them about organising these days before your return.

Upskill

Don’t be afraid of upskilling to keep on top of current processes, policies, and practices before you head back to the workplace. It is worth spending some of your free time sharpening up on some key skills or learning something new to put you in good stead when returning to work. Employers like to see that you have spent your own time to advance your skills and keep up with the ever-changing trends, as it shows you are eager to learn and work hard.

There are hundreds of courses available, depending on your industry, from IT to business management, to programming courses. Project Management is a popular choice as it is a widely respected and accredited course, offered by world leading Prince2 training providers. These courses can be completed when it suits you, with both Prince2 training online and weekend courses available, to avoid childcare issues. You could also hire a tutor from websites like Tutor Hunt to help enhance your skill-set.

Get organised

Organisation is key–it is important to plan your time effectively, to avoid rushing around when running to a tight schedule. For example, it is wise to plan your child’s outfit/uniform the night before and pack their bag – and do the same for yourself as well. This can help save you valuable time, as there’s nothing worse than trying to find items of clothing and your trusty notepad five minutes before you have to leave the house.

Organise your work before you can start your working period more efficiently

Make a plan about what you’re going to do in the first week you go back. One of these should include sectioning off about 15 minutes during your work period to go through the ‘unsubscribe’ process for every waste email. That way, you’ll be able to fire off responses to the more important emails coming through and become more efficient at reading and responding to emails.

Plan your meals

It is easy to overlook meal times and make something on the fly or order a takeaway when you get back from work. But do you really want to spend time cooking and washing up after a hard day in the office?

With a little forward planning, you won’t have to, and it could save you a lot of stress.

Try to plan your meals from Monday to Thursday in advance, and where possible, even pre-cook them the weekend before. This is an especially worthwhile thing to do in the first few weeks of starting a new job, when you are trying to get to grips with the new routine.

Cooking up a bolognese, curry, chilli con carne or stew in advance – which you can then freeze and reheat on any day – will save you a lot of time during the week, while still ensuring you eat well.

Or consider taking out a convenient food subscription like HelloFresh, which can save you time and money. Plus, you can enjoy fine dining with none of the meal prep or the grocery shopping too!

Get your stuff ready the night before

Not getting your stuff ready the night before is a trap many people fall into. This often results in rushing around like a headless chicken in the morning, and even being late to the office.

Again, forward planning is the key here. For instance, organise what you might wear to work for the week, and have it all ironed and ready to go. That way, you can just pick it out of your wardrobe when you are ready to wear it, and simply put it on. You can do the same for the kids too.

Likewise, be sure that you and the kids have all the things you need for work and childcare, packed and ready to go the night before. This will enable you to leave with minimal stress.

Make lunches the night before too

Making lunches for you and the kids is another thing you can do the night before. You might not put them in your bags overnight. But you will take them straight out of the fridge before you walk out the door. The time you save can add 10 to 15 more minutes to your daily routine.  

Bedtime routines

Bedtime routines become super important when you return to work, not just for the kids, but for you too.

While you should ensure your child goes to bed around the same time every night, do the same too. This will enable you to slip into a routine where you can wake up more refreshed and invigorated before you go to work.

Prior to sleep, have some proper time to relax, whatever that looks like, whether that’s watching shows or scrolling through your phone (although keep it on the blue filter or you will struggle to sleep).

Try to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, if your baby lets you, to ensure your mind is active and switched on at work.

Have some ‘me time’ in the morning

It is amazing how many people simply wake up, take the kids to childcare and then go to work without so much as taking a breath.

But therein lies a missed opportunity. Mornings can be tough to wake up for, especially if there is nothing exciting to look forward to or you haven’t had enough sleep the night before. Consider waking up 30 minutes to an hour before you need to and claiming that time for yourself – the right routine is a great way to stay on top of your mental health. 

If you have the chance to, going for a run is a great way to start the day or even doing some quiet yoga stretches to not wake the kids. At the very least, enjoy a quiet cup of your favourite hot beverage before the kids wake up and when they do eventually rise, you will be thankful you did have that quiet time to gather your thoughts.

Writing to-do lists

When you return to work, keep to-do lists by your side to mind-dump your millions of tasks in your brain, from both work and at home.

Doing the washing, buying milk, taking out the bins, paying the electricity bill or taking the library books back can go into this list too because it is amazing how much you can remember when you’re not rushing around kids.

When you have a bit of work downtime, write a list of thing you can feasibly complete when you get home, but don’t write down more than five of your most important goals because otherwise you’ll just experience overwhelm and get nothing done. 

Organise a cleaning schedule

Cleaning, unfortunately, is something you will need to stay on top of, too. While it may not be something you want to do during the week after a hard day of work, equally you won’t want to spend too much time doing it at the weekend either. Therefore, it is important to establish a cleaning schedule.

A good strategy here is to break up the household chores into smaller chunks. So, for example, clean the bathroom on Monday, give the kitchen a proper clean once over on Tuesday, clean the house on Wednesday, wash the floors on Thursday, etc. That way, you spend around 30 minutes a day completing each individual task and the house is always in a relatively tidy state.

Or if you can afford to, outsource the cleaning so that you can concentrate on other things like investing in time for yourself and your kids.

Your key rights when returning to work

You need to know what your rights are before your first week back at work. For example, how will you divide your working hours and what are your rights when pumping at work? We will discuss your flexible working rights in more detail below.

Your right to request flexible working

If you have had 26 weeks of service with the same employer, then you have a right to make a request to work flexibly. ‘Flexible working’ means you can alter the way you work, for example:

• You can change your start and finish times flexibly (known as ‘flexitime’)
• You can reduce your hours to work part-time
• You can compress your hours to work fewer days
• You can request remote working, i.e. work from home or elsewhere
• You can ‘job share’ the role with someone else if that’s easier.

Before making the request, speak to your employer informally first to discuss the arrangements and once confirmed, you can make a formal request in writing. Please note you can only make one request under the statutory regime in any 12-month period, so make sure you include all the terms you need to help your transition out of maternity leave. Date the request and explain the change you would like and when you’d like it to start.

State in your letter that you are making the request to care for a child and detail the impact on family life if it is turned down.

Once you make a request, your employer has three months to decide, and this can be extended if both parties agree. They can’t unreasonably deny the request and can only refuse for a ‘permitted business reason’, which may include:

• The cost is too much
• The change has a detrimental effect on customer demand
• It would be too difficult to reorganise work among existing staff
• The employer won’t be able to recruit any additional staff
• There is a detrimental effect on quality and performance
• There is insufficient work during the periods you propose to work
• There are planned structural changes going on
• You are not eligible to make the request (i.e. you have not been employed for 26 weeks or you have already made a request in the last 12 months)

Your employer has to give a permitted reason within three months and provide factual reasons for the decision, or they will have breached the procedure.

If your flexible working request is accepted then it will be permanently amended in your contract unless you both decide that the arrangement is temporary. You can agree to a trial period of between 3 to 6 months to see if the flexitime is working for you and if you need time, you can extend the trial period until you are both in a decision to accept a final change.

It’s important to consider how to improve work performance by focusing on wellbeing, especially when you have another full-time job to add to the hat at home, so requesting flexible working is not just a right but it will help you manage and multitask your two roles.

Questions to ask to better the return to work

How to deal with being a working mum

There is a lot to think about at work and then there will be a lot to think about at home. How do you manage both and not go mad? Here are some tips on how to manage the dual-responsibilties.

Divide your time between your work and your kids

It’s hard to put the phone or the laptop away when you have tasks that weren’t completed that day. But, it’s very difficult to work on both looking after the kids and completing your work tasks at optimum capacity. Of course, if you have no choice you have no choice but if you do, put your work away and be 100% present with the kids. That way you can minimise guilt and be 100% at work.

Allow online platforms to do some of the admin work for you

Some websites like Hiive and LinkedIn are awesome for networking and finding business. As long as you’ve set up your profile properly and added your skills, talents, and work experience, allow these websites to find you business without you having to scour the internet for them. This saves you so much time and allows you to focus on the other tasks on your to do list. Hiive is more of a creative platform, so if you have a creative business, this website would be perfect for you.

If you’re employed then most of these processes would have been set for you by your employer, but for those who work from themselves, outsource where possible to increase time better spent where it’s needed the most.

Talk to your kids about what you do

If you have older kids, then talking to them about work may help them understand why you’re not there all the time, perhaps during the school run or during the day. You’ll be amazed at how children’s perspectives can make you see things from a whole new angle. But, not only that, your kids will get to know you better and you will get to know them better.

Talk to your partner about what you do

The same point applies for your partner. If you work during the evening, like I do, sometimes your partner may feel left out. Or, it’s been a while since you’ve spent any real time together. Talking to your partner about what work you have going on at the moment and the deadlines you face with will give them a better understanding of the pressure you are under and may even offer some helpful advice and support. And, vice versa, be there for your partner if they have any issues at work. Mommy Authority has some great tips on work/life balance too.

Other options when returning to work doesn’t work

It’s worth looking at alternatives to employment if having a baby has completely changed your outlook on working. Having a baby is a life-changing experience, so a change of heart is quite common. Do you like being your own boss, going freelance and making a bit of money on the side?

Choosing to become a stay-at-home mum

You may find that before you had your baby, you were adamant you would go back from maternity leave and return to work the moment you had the chance to recover. And, now you’ve had your baby, your mentality has changed considerably from one day to the next, especially if you’re a new mum.

The financial pressures of finding childcare may seem too much to bear or you cannot leave your child in the hands of someone else. Whatever the reason is for wanting to stay at home and not returning to work after maternity leave, it all depends on whether you can survive on your partner’s salary alone. Can you afford to give up work?

You may well be able to cut living costs and expenses, but you also have to consider long-term job prospects as well. Would you consider going back to work after maternity leave at a later date and how easy/difficult would it be to climb that career ladder later on down the line?

If you can’t afford to become a stay-at-home mum, but you don’t want to go back to your old job then consider applying for a new job or working for yourself as an option to bringing in some money for the family.

Taking additional maternity leave

If you take additional maternity leave, will it be unpaid? Will your employer allow more leave and will you be sharing this leave with your partner? Discuss options with your employer if you are simply not ready to go back yet. More new mums are taking this option, so employers are not new to this concept.

Finding a new job

Some say the hardest challenge is building up the confidence to apply to jobs, as the lack of assurance becomes a barrier to parents who have opted to take a few years out of the workplace to look after their children. However, despite having some time away from the workplace, the experience you have gained – both from inside the workplace and at home – is highly valuable to employers.

If you have been a stay-at-home-mum and you have a long gap in your CV, then use your transferable skills as a multi-tasking parent as a reason you are qualified to apply for that position. Being a stay-at-home parent requires discipline, organisation, energy and perseverance.

All you need to do is dress those buzzwords up and relate them to the vacancy. If you would prefer to get some professional help to draft and plan your CV, look, for professional resume writing services who know how to spin these gaps in your CV as attractive skills and competencies that can relate to the role that you are applying for.

If you do not have a job but would like to find one, head over to the best job websites. For example, on Jooble, you will find many great open positions in different industries.

Becoming self-employed

Working for yourself can be the perfect alternative to working around your family and there are tons more options available to working mums now than there have ever been, thanks to entrepreneurial mothers, increasing maternity leave pay, opening up new businesses and creating new jobs for others.

Being self-employed means you work for yourself, either for your own business or for someone else’s business. But you dictate your hours, time, and fees, so you can be flexible enough to work around your children. The first thing you would need to do is register yourself as self-employed with the HMRC and then decide whether you want to start your own business or work for someone else.

Self-employed and starting your own business

If you are looking to start your own business, you would need to first make sure your business idea is viable. Is there a market need or are you a professional in your chosen niche? Can you gain a profit from the business so you are making money?

Perhaps you would prefer to combine your new role as mum and work for yourself at home? You could even consider starting up your own childcare business.

Choose the perfect name for your business and do your market research. Create a business plan and work out how you will make your money. Make sure you start all the marketing early, i.e. design your logo, register a domain name and build a website. Ensure your email and website are set up correctly so you can liaise with your clients, build email lists and gain business.

Make sure you get your finances in order before you start. A good accounting and cash flow program can help with this. It’s a good idea to start with something simple to log incomings and outgoings related to the business like FreshBooks which is a great invoicing tool for beginners who feel overwhelmed and worry about making mistakes with their money. As you plan to grow your business, you can then outsource and use an accountant to sort out the money side of things.

You can find lots of resources online for setting up your own business from home. A good place to start would be www.startups.co.uk, as this website goes through setting up your own business from the very beginning in simple English.

Self-employed and working for someone else

Careers like PAs, Bookkeepers and VAs (Virtual Assistants) offer flexi-hours and career options, plus the pay is getting better and more competitive within these industries. Roles like Executive PA Courses offer classroom PA Training because it is important to experience face-to-face soft skills training for a people-facing role. Also, it is important to update your skills to compete with people leaving university or school with fresh and modernised skills.

Four lessons we’ve learned about maternity leave

I have never taken maternity leave as I work for myself, so I have taken maternity allowance. But, after speaking to multiple women about how they felt after returning to work from maternity leave, these were the four overriding lessons they learned.

Don’t expect your coworkers to understand

Your coworkers can be sympathetic to your new responsibility and they can even be helpful, but don’t expect them to understand how it feels coming into the office on two hours’ sleep because you were up dealing with a crying baby the night before.

Your employers can be reasonable and offer flexitime but, the sad truth is, you’re not as important as you think you are and you are at work with others who are struggling with their own relative problems and competing for roles within the business. You’re there to do a job and as flexible as your employer can be, you need to fulfil the role you are expected to do.

Noone, but no one expects you to be on it on your first day at work after maternity leave, so give yourself some time to get back into the groove.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

That said, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It takes a village to raise a baby, and that saying has never been more true today than when it was hundreds of years ago – even more so now that parents are expected to do everything. Call in favours to look after your children when you have an emergency work meeting or request to work from home when your child is having a mental health day off (these are real).

Ask other employees to complete tasks if they can be delegated and ask your partner to do the laundry that night so you can get an extra five minutes’ rest. Ask for help – the worst they can say is no, in which case ask someone else. Don’t suffer in silence.

Do connect with other working parents

It can get quite lonely dealing with the pressure of working parenthood when your colleagues are either single or don’t have kids of their own. Connect with other working parents so that you can bounce ideas off each other and provide that much-needed advice and support. You might even make new friends for life.

Plus, there is nothing more reassuring than when another working mum says, ‘I totally get how you feel, I feel that way too.’ It confirms that one, you’re not crazy, two, you’re not weak, and three, you’re not alone.

Be confident in your decision

Many parents who have taken time away from the workplace feel incredibly nervous about their return date. After spending a considerable amount of time away, it is normal to feel uneasy about your maternity leave ending. Trust your instincts will kick in and you will do the right thing. And if you haven’t, then it’s fixable.

Use your right to flexible working to help you ease back into the workplace and be confident in yourself that, yes, you’ve had a baby but you are still that person who worked in that same role before you had your baby – you’ve just taken some time out is all.

When going back to work after maternity leave, seek advice from other parents who have taken a break in their career and ask them how they dealt with the change in routine. It is worth speaking to your employer or HR department and asking about flexible hours in the first few months to help ease you into the new schedule and settle your child into new childcare arrangements.

Lastly, call in favours where possible if you’re struggling with the change, whether that be backup childcare or speaking to someone about your struggles. Try to leave work at work when you come home and use what precious time you have as ‘me’ time to rejuvenate.

You’ve got this. Good luck.

FAQ

What are my rights as an employee returning from maternity leave? My job wants to keep the person who temporarily replaced me while on maternity leave by giving them one of my shifts every month. Is this allowed?

“You are entitled to your normal contractual terms and conditions, apart from ‘remuneration’ (your wages/salary), during ordinary and additional maternity leave. This means you are entitled to continue to accrue your normal benefits such as paid holiday as if you were at work.”

https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/discrimination-during-maternity-leave-and-on-return-to-work/

Can an employer terminate a female employee who just returned after maternity leave?

Other questions asked were:

• Can an employer terminate a female employee who just returned after maternity leave?

“It is possible to be dismissed (sacked or fired) when pregnant or during family-related leave (maternity, adoption or shared parental leave), but your dismissal should be fair. You should not be dismissed because of your pregnancy or family-related leave.”

https://workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/dismissal-during-pregnancy-maternity-leave-or-soon-after/

Can you negotiate to work from home after maternity leave?

This article tells you how to negotiate a part-time or flexible return from maternity leave.

Can my employer ask when I will return from maternity leave?

“An employer can ask when you are going to return to work. It is advisable to provide as much information as you can, but you should not: Be put under pressure to provide information about when you will return before you are obliged to do so.”

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/managing-pregnancy-and-maternity-workplace/faqs-employees/returning-work-timing-and-discussions

Questions to ask when returning from maternity leave?

This article has some great questions to ask after you return to work after maternity leave.

How do I cope with returning to work after maternity leave?

Other questions asked were:

• How to cope with returning to work after maternity leave?
• How do I cope with returning to work after maternity leave?

See above for tips on how to make your return to work an easier transition.

When you return to work after maternity leave how do you cope up with your baby especially when they are breastfed?

See above for tips on how to go back to work after maternity leave.

How does a first time mother feel when she returns back to work after a maternity leave?

“Going back to work after maternity leave often comes with a rollercoaster of emotions for many mums. The ‘mum guilt‘ makes an appearance when you think about leaving your little one, topped with the apprehension and worry whether you can still do your job on little sleep and months of being in ‘mum mode’.”

https://www.motherandbaby.co.uk/mum/postpartum/going-back-to-work-after-maternity-leave/

Can I go back to work before my maternity leave has ended?

“You can go to work on the day that you are due back, although ideally your employer should reach out to have a conversation about your return to work during your maternity leave. Your employer should have written to you to confirm the date your maternity leave ends.”

https://workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/your-rights-at-the-end-of-maternity-leave-returning-to-work-or-choosing-to-resign/

Returning to work early from maternity leave can be hard at any stage of parenthood, but you will experience varying issues. For example, going back to work 1 month after having a baby will differ greatly from going back to work when baby is 2 years old. After 1 month, you’re still in your postnatal period. You may be breastfeeding, your hormones are still raging and you’re likely having broken sleep.

When your child is two, you are more settled into a routine at home; you feel stronger perhaps as a parent and you may feel more ready to go back to work. But you’ve been away from work for longer and you may feel more out of touch with the real world outside of your four walls.

It’s important you speak to your employer at both stages to discuss how you will transition smoother for you and discuss variations on your contract accordingly.

How long after returning from maternity leave can I quit?

“You are entitled to remain on maternity leave for up to 52 weeks and resign towards the end of your maternity leave period if you decide that you are not able to return to work.”

https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/resigning-from-your-job-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/

Do I have go back to work after maternity leave?

Other questions asked, were:

• Why return to work after maternity leave?
• Can you not return to work after maternity leave?
• Can you not go back to work after maternity leave?
• What if I don’t return to work after maternity leave?
• Should I return to work after maternity leave?

“You’re entitled to return to the same job after maternity leave if you’ve been away 26 weeks or less. Your pay and conditions must be the same as or better than if you hadn’t gone on maternity leave. It’s unfair dismissal and maternity discrimination if your employer says you can’t return to the same job.”

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/rights-at-work/parental-rights/maternity-leave-your-options-when-it-ends/

See above for options if you don’t want to return to work.

When should I return to work after maternity leave?

Other questions asked:

• When should a woman return to work after pregnancy?

“Most women wait about six weeks from their baby’s birth date to return to work, though some doctors will clear a new mother for work as early as three weeks postpartum. Complications during delivery or C-section may prolong recovery time.”

https://www.babymed.com/daily-living/when-work-after-giving-birth

Is it hard to go back to work after maternity leave?

When you do have to return to work after maternity leave it can be a difficult time for many reasons, but sometimes the concerns before are greater than when you actually return to work. So if you plan and prepare accordingly, using the tips above on how to return to work after maternity leave it should make it an easier transition for you when it’s time.

How many mothers return to work after maternity leave?

“Fewer than one-in-five of all new mothers, and 29 per cent of first-time mothers, return to full-time work in the first three years after maternity leave.22″

https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/2019/10/22/how-womens-employment-changes-after-having-a-child

Is going back to work after maternity leave a difficult time for all mums?

It can be, depending on your situation. Some mums are more than ready to return to work. They might not agree with being a stay at home mum or they may not have a choice but to return to work, even if they don’t want to.

“Some employers offer a gradual return to work where you start doing fewer hours or days than usual – often called a ‘phased return’. If you’d like to do this, it’s a good idea to speak to your employer about this in advance so they know your plans.”

https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/im-pregnant/pregnancy-work/returning-work-after-maternity-shared-parental

It’s important to know your rights when returning to work after maternity leave.

What are some funny stories of mothers returning to work after the completion of maternity leave?

You can find some funny stories here.

What problems do women face at work after maternity leave?

You can find some insight here.

Footnotes

[1] Nannies who look after children from different families can be self-employed and therefore must account for their own taxes. It would still be prudent to have a written contract between yourselves.

[2] Depending on the age of your children, your childminder will have to be registered on the Early Years Register and/or the Childcare Register.

[3] Including provisions under the Early Years foundation stage framework since September 2012.

*Collaborative feature post*