How much Maternity leave do you plan on taking?

[Pinkgirl]

Hey guys
As you know i have been considering the posibility on TTC around december time, one factor thats stopping me, well the big thing, is maternity leave!
I am entitled to the following:

4 weeks: full pay (including SMP)

2 weeks: 90% pay (including SMP)

12 weeks: 50% pay plus flat rate SMP

21 weeks: Flat rate SMP

13 weeks: unpaid
Which i think is great. Ideally i would like to take the full year off but theres no way we can afford to pay the mortgage and the bills with OH pay. Even if it does go up before we concieve our mortgage is quite high as we wanted a shorted morthage.

How long maternity leave do you plan on having?
How do you support or plan to your selves through this?

Sorry for the essay its just as much as i want this to happen sooner, i want me and OH to be stable!
x

 

[Hobnob]

Pinkgirl, your mat pay is good! I'll just get the statutory mat pay as my employers are tight!

 

[bubbles]

I'm taking it all then telling them where they can shove their job. I hate it at my work, we're on low pay and take shit all day every day off thick people who don't understand YOU HAVE TO PAY COUNCIL TAX and YOU CAN"T HAVE BENEFITS BECAUSE YOU EARN 50k A YEAR!!!!

Yeah as far as how we'll manage goes, DH's work have been brilliant. Thy have given him loads of overtime and 50p per hour pay rise, we'll also get tax credits so should be ok

 

[Hobnob]

I've read somewhere and am struggling to find info that the government plans to extend paid mat leave to a year, and this is due to start next April

 

[Pinkgirl]

Pinkgirl, your mat pay is good! I'll just get the statutory mat pay as my employers are tight!

Yh i am not sure what other peoples maternity pay is like but i am nosey lol.
I think SMP is around £123 a week. There was talkin in these new European elections about how it might bring more changes for the better but havent heard much at the moment.

 

[calm]

In Spain you get 4 months, full pay. I will take that, and then I will take at least a year more. Don't have money troubles so unless I go barmy not working, I want to do this.

My husband will get 15 days, only a few years ago men were only given 2 days, so great. If this law had not changed he would have just took holiday leave.

 

[HoneySunshine]

Im taking 15 months - 1 years mat leave and my holiday tagged on either side, but my mat pay is nowhere near as good as yours! I get 90% for 6 weeks then smp!

 

[amylk87]

I'd take as much as i can! Which is 52 weeks (Ordinary MP 26 weeks + Additional MP 26 weeks)

 

[Pops]

I get a half decent package so plan to take a year, although because I work from home, I could easily go back after 6 months if I felt it would help us a lot.

I plan on only going back 3 /4 days a week though whenever I go back.

OH would be more than happy for me to stay at home as would I him so who knows, one of us could end up being at home with bubs while the other worked a few days xxx

 

[ryder]

Here (in canada) you get a year with a benefit rate of about 55% of your income (I think it may have gone up from 55% though, i've been getting more the last couple months).... Since I work for the government, I also get an additional top up for 6 months of my leave, which gives me 95% of my pay for the first 6 months.

You can take an additional pay here, without pay though and still be entitled to your job when your done.

I will likely take 10-11 months next time, I want my OH to be able to be home with us for the first month or two next time. So he will get 1 or 2 months from my leave.

 

[Jenren]

Im not going back - yipeeeeeee
So will be taking as much as my company offer me then handing my notice in.
Im one lucky girly xxx

 

[kintenda]

OH & I discussed it the other day - I'll be taking maximum time as the maternity allowance at my job is pretty good (but off the top of my head I can't remember the exact spec!!) then I'll be going back part time rather than full time. 16 hrs a wk to start then we'll see how we're coping. After a couple of years I am going to start studying again (hopefully!) to do my nursing training.

 

[Sparky0207]

Well, with Lucy I planned on taking 3 months off then going back full time as my mum offered to have her for me. I wanted a big gap between my babies then too...

As soon as I had her I knew I wouldnt be going back to work that soon so eventually decided that we would try for another and I'll go back to work after. If your OH earns less than 15k a year then you can claim income support after maternity leave runs out. We have stuggled a bit but you can do it if you wanted the full year xxx

 

[kate.m.]

Pinkgirl- I remember mulling over those figures! Im trying to decide whether to stay teaching untill after maternity leave (because the mat pay is sooo much better than normal jobs!) or whether i start working towards my dream career, complete with crappy bog-standard maternity pay!
If i carry on teaching, then my figures will be like urs & id probably take all the time off, except the non-paid leave. If i do veterinary nurse training, i'll take the 39 weeks statutory maternity pay, and then go back after that. Its a shame paternity pay isnt better- they dont get even a week of full pay for paternity! Standard is just 2 weeks at about £123. Ud think they'd get 1 week of normal pay at least? I think its sad that they dont get more, and id imagine most blokes just use up their holiday pay instead.

 

[bunnyg82]

The maternity leave is due to be extended to 12 months SMP in April 10 - it was supposed to be last sept I think, then this april, but now due for April. So you should be ok for Dec TTC. Me and my colleague are holding off till September to ensure we get past April 10!! Well I do have other reasons, but this is a big one as I really do want a year off but no way could do with the nil pay!!! xx

 

[Amygdala]

I know where you're coming from. We'll probably have to WTT until I've secured a job with some sort of decent maternity pay. It's sad but that's the way it is. And I really want to grow up in a reasonably stable environment cause I'm sure there'll be enough other sources of stress around. Better maternity pay in 2010 sounds good though, hadn't heard about that...

 

[Seity]

We don't get maternity pay, so I'll be taking 6 weeks of sick pay and then back to work because my husband doesn't work, so only my income to support us all.

 

[Dimbo]

Ooh that is very interesting about SMP changing. That's great! I actually have quite a good package at the moment, and was planning on a year. However, that would still be 3 months of no pay. So, this will be a little easier for us.

I will go back to work, but I hope for only 2 days a week. DH works a 5 day week, and then a 4 day week, so we'd only need childcare 6 days a month. Which, actually isn't that bad for a nursery. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mum, but I know that's not possible. However, I know me and I am sure that I will need the adult conversation by then so 2 days isn't bad.

 

[lozzy21]

Im going to take as much as i can off at mat leave and then put hols ether side.

 

[saharablue02]

You guys are lucky! The school district I work for doesn't pay maternity leave. We are allowed 12 weeks according FMLA without them giving away our position but none of it's paid...If we have any sick days built up we can use those but it's hard to build those up. I have short term disability which will help after 6 weeks but not a lot...jeez!!!