Resigning after maternity leave - HELP

[bird24]

Hey ladies

Please help if you can as i'm so confused about what i should be doing...

I'm due back to work on the 31st May but i dont want to return. when should i hand my notice in (thinking i need to 4 weeks before i'm due back) how do i word the letter and what do i do about the annual leave i have accumilated since being on maternity leave?

Thanks

 

[suzib76]

i dont know about your annual leave, but i would guess they will sort it out - i would give them as much notice as possible, there is no reason not to tell them now tbh, especially if they have to fill your position, it would a bit daft not to let them just get on with it

 

[jenniferannex]

im not sure how you would write the letter, im not returning either but i went in and told my boss face to face and i found it much easier and more personal to explain the reasons why, she was fine with it she understood.
but when i was reading all my maternity papers it said that i had to give atleast 8 weeks notice before i was due back to work if i wasnt returning or if i wanted to extend my leave.
otherwise my employer could decline and i would have to return to work my notice, or somthing like that.
i dont know if its different but its just what i read.
maybe its worth looking up hun on directgov just to be sure. xx

 

[AP]

I had to give 8 weeks notice too, even though somehow i was lead to believe it was only 4 too!

I felt in an uncomfortable position but bite the bullet, post it, and its done, gone!

 

[Vici]

They will be required to pay you your accrued A/L

Not sure about the letter hun but have you been on SMP or your companies own maternity package? x

 

[Pink_Tinks]

ive also been wondering this (even tho i work in HR, doh!) but dont u have to pay SMP back if you leave your employer???

 

[jenniferannex]

no because your employer doesnt pay it, the government pay it. your employer gets it back every month. ive thought this before but your employer cant ask for it back because its not their money. x

 

[MrsRH]

You have to pay money back if you have an enhanced mat pay package
x

 

[clairebear]

I resigned from my full time job after having Jack.

As long as you took just normal SMP then you owe them nothing. I gave my employer 6 weeks notice and they payed me for my A/L that i hadnt used x

 

[jenniferannex]

You have to pay money back if you have an enhanced mat pay package
x

ohhh yeh sorry forgot about that bit!!

 

[bird24]

Yep I'm just on SMP

it doesnt seem to say in my contract about notice periods....can i hand it in earlier but just state the date i'm leaving on?

Thanks all

 

[Abz1982]

You only need to give the normal notice period - so if its says 4 weeks in your ccontract then 4 weeks it is. It is 8 weeks if you want to return BEFORE the leave is up.

Legally you must give 1 week.

As for any accrued holidays HR will calculate it and you should be paid for allowance you were entitled to for the part of your holiday year you were on leave. if that makes sense. LIke if I didn't go back, and my holiday year is Jan - Dec then I will get ££ for !/4 of my days as I was on leave Jan - April this holiday year.

 

[LoobyLou75]

I have to give 8 weeks notice so check your contract. Just give the minimum notice.

All A/L accrued will be paid in your final salary.

ETA: I've only just seen that you say it doesn't give notice periods. Like someone else said, the standard is a month.

 

[helen1234]

i just handed my notice in 4 weeks prior, i just wrote regret to inform you that i will not be returning to work on such n such date
regards helen

short and sweet for me

 

[sweetie_c]

If you resign before your maternity leave ends do you still continue to receive SMP???

 

[emmad339]

Well I'm in the same position as you - my paid maternity leave ends on 9 th May but I have opted to take 12 months leave with the final 3 months unpaid which takes me up to August. I will be giving them 1 months notice as I get paid monthly and this was also stated in my Maternity Agreement letter. I am leaving it as long as possible due to the fact that I want to accrue as much Annual Leave as possible so I have more of a payout when I terminate my contract and I don't feel bad about this because I think they have a fairly good idea of my intentions anyway. I won't have to pay anything back because I opted to take the enhanced element of SMP as a lump sum if I returned to work for them for at least 13 weeks, which I'm obviously not doing.

My letter will be going to the HR dept (I work for local Government) so I will probably be wording my letter something like this: -

'To whom it may concern,

It is with much regret (not!!! ) that I will be terminating my employment with effect from 9th August 2010, due to parental responsibilities.

Therefore, please accept one months resignation, starting 8th July 2010.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the support that I have received over the past 5 years of employment with the ........... Department and would like to say how much I have enjoyed working for ........................... County Council.

Kind Regards,

emmad339 (obviously will be putting my full and real name here lol)
Hope that helps a little with your dilemma on how to word your letter