Taking maternity leave as early as possible.. is anyone else doing this?

[Kacie]

Hi,

In the uk I have been told we can take mat leave as early as 11 weeks before due date.

I would like to take mat leave 8 or 9 weeks before due date and also take 4 weeks hol entitlement before this which will mean I leave work over 12 weeks before the baby is due.

From what I can tell it is more normal to leave work about 2 weeks before the baby is due but I have sooo much to do before then and I know that a bit of a rest before d-day will do me (and thus baby) some good. (Plus I am not planning on going back so I am not worrying about amount of mat leave time left after babe is born)

Do you think this is ok?... I feel a bit cheeky doing this as my job isn't active but it is starting to get more stressful as we have a new boss watching over us 24/7 and pushing us to "sell" constantly.

Is anyone else putting in for their mat leave so early??

I need to wait a couple of weeks until my 20 weeks scan before I can write my formal letter notifying them of the dates. Can they refuse them?

Thank you

xx

 

[Tink.x]

Hey darling!

I am taking my mat leave 11 weeks before due date. Plus 2 weeks holiday from last years holidays, and 3 weeks from next years, EVENTHOUGH I am not going back i am still entitled to these 3 weeks. They can not refuse me any of this. It was actually there idea. I was originally taking 2 weeks holiday, 3 weeks working then mat leave 11 weeks before, but they decided this was easier for me and for the company!

Good luck with everything! xx

 

[Blah11]

Do you not think you'll get bored? I suppose if you're not going back it won't make any diff really. I wanted to stay at work as long as possible (I left work 2 weeks before my LO was born) so I could get more time with my baby before i went back.

 

[littleblonde]

I wqas due to leave at 34 weeks. But im not signed off for 2 weeks and havnt worked much last 2 weeks as weather has been bad. I have found im having a lot more pains already and probably wouldnt be able to work comfortable now. I work on a busy reception so not that bad. I have to rearrange my whole house as we are not able to move so have lots to do. i also found i was getting stressed. i have had a few problems in this pregnancy and my boss has been less than understanding. Im also not going back so it dont make that much difference either.

 

[lizzieandzara]

i left 11 weeks before my due date. Trying to get a uni course finished early, moving house and i was having to stand up all day. Dont see any problem leaving as early as possible hun

 

[Genie]

I think the fact that you're not going back pretty much means you should take it as early as you want to. If you were going back you might want to think about prefering the time when baby is around but as you're not i'd say leave whenever you feel you want to start taking it easy.

 

[FierceAngel]

i started mine 11 weeks prior as i was on incap benefit and had to switch to ma at 29 weeks...

they legally have to allow you to leave at 29 weeks as long as you notify them correctly the main downside is tht if you plan to return to work your lil one is younger... luisa was 6 and a half months wen my ma finished

 

[Kacie]

Thanks guys for making me feel better. I will wait until my 20 week scan and then give my mat leave dates to work.

I have sooo much to do in the house as it is really not ready for a baby yet and the longer I leave this, the less I think I will be able to do. I also need to spey my two girl dogs so I want to be with them during their 2 week recovery as well (not looking forward to that in the slightest ).

On top of that I really don't like my job and don't want the stress of it to cause me any problems prior to my due date.

So I don't think I will get too bored and I think it is the right decision for me.

I just worry that work will cause me problems over it.. but wont know until I try..

xx

 

[starbucks101]

I was planning on taking mine really early but then our manager got suspended mainly due to her being a complete bitch about me being pregnant so we had a new manager and i decided to go off 3 weeks before my due date on MA and take 2 weeks holiday.

As it turns out new manger is a bit of a sod at times too and thought id made some serious mistakes at work ( i hadnt someone else had but what they'd cocked up was something i do mainly so she just thought it was me!) Anyway pulled me up about it, threatening disiplinarys etc... I was getting already to defend myself....

Then she told me she was giving me an extra 2 1/2 weeks off on full pay not out of my holiday so i'd still have my full entitlement when i came back...

Well i thought f00k trying to defend myself an extra 2 1/2 weeks on full pay, i'll get me coat.... LOL

So i am getting paid £63 a day to do housework & surf the net! Its lovely

However if im honest, i have worked 50 -60 hour weeks the last month to try and get a nice fat pay check as MA is just under 2 days wages a week for me. I wouldnt of left any earlier than my planned dates if this hadnt been offered as we are going to find things really tight losing so much money!!

I havent decided if i am going back i will see how i feel!

 

[suzib76]

i actually stopped working at 26 weeks as i just wasnt mentally there at all lol

 

[malpal]

Hey hun, you can't actually apply for maternity leave until you receive your mat b1 from your mw, which i believe is given at 24 weeks. This is what i am waiting for now, have my letter written just waiting for the form!
I have already finished work though as i have been signed off by my gp/consultant until my mat leave starts at 35 weeks. I only had 4 weeks with my daughter and that was more than enough but then i was super organised and had done evrything. This time i am not so organised!!!!!
Good luck xxxx

 

[bexxie]

I'm taking Mat leave at 35 weeks but 2 weeks hol before that and am signed off now until 33 weeks as my SPD getting a nightmare plus I keep bleeding etc so Iam not going back
xx

 

[bexxie]

Oh MatB1 is 20 weeks not 24

 

[mummytobe]

I took my mat leave the earliest i could AND i had 2 weeks holiday owed to me so i left when i was 27 weeks pregnant, even tho i wasnt in an active job either (just telephony work) i still wanted to have rest for me and baby cause it can get stressful at times !
I dnt regret taking that much time off at all, I didnt get bored and just did things that i enjoyed like socialising with friends and just pure lazying around ! So if thats what you wanna do then go for it only thing to remember is that you will have to go back to work earlier, so not much time with baby, I knew i wasnt going to go back anyways so that didnt bother me, been made redundant anyways wooo. lol. So just something to think about there x