working for family!

[celesteg]

I work for my dad and i was supposed to start maternity leave last week so i can spend some one on one time with my children (aged 2 & 3) but when i said to my father ok well today is supposed to be my last day he said oh as long as i have everything ready for you you will be fine. i tried to talk tto my mum and she just said oh you only work 2 days a week i tried to tell her that i just want to stop now but they don't seem to understand. i am one of these people who doesn't stand up for themselves and when i do they just manipulate me into doing what they want me to without me realising until it is to late. i am really stuck in a rut any advice would be extremely helpful!!!!

[DB&O]

I think that sometimes when you work with family or friends that the lines can easily become blurred, they are treating you like their daughter & not their employee, after all they wouldn't get away with telling an un-related employee that they couldn't go on scheduled leave, so why to you?
If you let them they will go on treating you this way, after all my mum stills calls me her baby & insists on doing everything for me when go home for holidays, I let her because she likes it & I enjoy being mothered for once not being the one doing the mothering iykwim but maybe talk to them & say that you had negotiated with them to take maternity leave at this time & still plan on doing so.
Make sure they know that you have based all your plans around this date & how inconvenient it is to have to re-arrange anything. It doesn't have to be confrontational but you do need to be firm

Good luck

[Stretchmark Diva]

Under the law you are entitled to take maternity leave, All you need is a letter from your OB confirming your expected date of confinement (old fashioned term for due date) and your written notice of intention to take maternity leave. If your Dr says you should start your leave by week xxx, then really they are breaching Occupational Health & Safety regulations by insisting you stay.

So - if you haven't given your parents anything in writing, get your OB to fax them a letter saying you are going on maternity leave from this day. Then stop going.

It doesn't matter whether you work part time or full time. You have rights. And just because your parents, who OWN the business think it is fine to work until your baby's head pops out, you are an employee - it isn't your business, and therefore, you are not obliged to stay there as long as they deem fit. You will end up exhausted and resentful that they couldn't let you enjoy this last part of pregnancy and get the proper rest you need.

Very unfair of them, by the way.

I think you need to say to them that you believe they are not being fair. You are entitled to maternity leave and you won't be showing up for work until you are due back. End of story. What can they do? If they sack you, you could potentially sue them for discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy. And even with the new IR laws, you'd win. Not that you would WANT to do that, but if you had to you could.