Going back...or not?

[Cilli]

I am due to go back to work in Sep. I need to do some work but am not 100% sure I want to go back to my old job.

However, as I got 3 months paid mat leave and my work has created another position part time for me I feel indebted to them, and also feel like my manager will be really annoyed with me if I don't - and I don't want to leave on bad terms and jeopardise a good reference for the future.

Just wanted to hear from others who decided not to (or even those who did) return to their original workplace after being on mat leave? And what response did you get?
Also, I am pretty sure I won't have to repay any paid maternity leave but I know some places make you pay it back - does anyone know the legal side of this?

[pookiesossige]

Also, I am pretty sure I won't have to repay any paid maternity leave but I know some places make you pay it back - does anyone know the legal side of this?

That's just can't be legal. No one would pay it back in there right mind, surely.. Anyone being asked to do this, just ring up the appropriate union and ask (whether you're a member or not). But that's absurd.

I was only at my workplace on a 6 month contract, so I didn't have mat leave of course, but my bub is 7 weeks old and I see that they have advertised for a worker for just 2 days a week, the exact same position I had. I know that job like the back of my hand because I also worked there for 2 years prior to my first baby. I'm thinking of appying for this job- it's early days I know and ppl will think I'm crazy for this, but Ariene is overall a pretty easy bub (unlike my son, now 2) and It was easier then I thought to return to work last time.. But I do feel that she is way too young for child care.
Sorry! Not much help! I have too many of my own queries regarding my return to work...

[Odessa]

Believe it or not, some companies do have a "clawback clause" in their maternity leave arrangements. Most companies don't require you to pay back your maternity leave if you do not return to work, but it is not illegal. The company I work for just removed it from our Employee Agreement in December.

Basically, how it worked is that the employer paid 8 weeks maternity leave, 4 weeks at the beginning and 4 weeks when you decide to come back (usually after 52 weeks, this was the maximum) If you decided to not come back to work, or came back for less than three months then left for good, the company would "claw back" the maternity leave paid to you.

My employer now pays the full 8 weeks at the beginning of the maternity leave, then if you decide to not come back at the end of your leave, they do not claw back the maternity leave payment.

[zenifa]

I was working in a government job, on a temporary contract when I found out I was pregnant (it wasn't planned, otherwise I might have waited until I got a perm job), however I was entitled to maternity leave - 6 weeks on full pay and due to new policies, I got an extra 6 weeks backpaid (its now 12 weeks). My contract ended when my maternity leave ended and I didn't return to this job. There wasn't much of a response, but that is just the politics in a big bureaucracy.I did not have to pay back any of my maternity leave. I have returned in the last few days to a new govt job (same sector, different dept), again on a temp contract, but part time.

My advice is to do what is best for you. You may want to give the part time job a go and if you aren't happy, then you can talk to your boss and leave. Alternatively try to extend your maternity leave if possible and you aren't ready to go back to work yet. Juggling work and motherhood can be challenging enough, without having to feel that you must return to a job you don't like or want to do. Good luck.

[MrsMiggins]

Because paid maternity leave is a bonus (& not a legislated entitlement), the terms really are up to the employer. I have a friend who works for a well-known bank & they have a return to work clause. They get 3 months paid maternity leave, but have to return to work for a minimum of 6 months, or need to pay back all their paid leave.

She has just discovered that she is PG again & will have to leave work only weeks prior to her 6 months being up. She is currently looking at her options.

My company is really good. We get 12 weeks at full pay, or 24 weeks at half pay, plus are under no return to work obligation. Also, if I were to fall PG again whilst on maternity leave, and my due date was less than 6 weeks before I was due to return, then I can get my full paid leave again & don't have to return to work again at all!

Because we were planning #2 fairly soon after #1, this was a big draw-card for me to return. Luckily I did! I fell PG only days after starting back!

I was hoping to only return part-time, but they offered me a full-time position, working from home, so I jumped at that.

It is a really tough decision. If we had not wanted another baby so soon & if we could have afforded it, I would not have returned to work. I find it really hard not being able to spend as much time with my DD as I want to.

[Fairyfloss]

I think, the conditions would really depend on your company, try asking one of your trusted collegues, or check your policy hand book regarding teh claw back. Good luck.:fingerscrossed: , by all means, don't feel guilty, if you don't want to go back, you have alreay fulfilled your obligation to them by being a great worker.

MrsMiggins- I just read your other tread, regarding having a return to work delima, SO happy it all worked out for you.