Not returning to work after paid maternity leave

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MissyMam5

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**please don't jump at me for this, it was not my intention or plan, I love my current job but the circumstances have pushed me to ask this question**

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has left your job straight after paid maternity leave to start another (closer to home/crèche) job?

I feel awful to be in this position - I had arranged a childminder when u was 8 weeks pregnant who I could afford who could take the baby at 7.30am which gave me enough time to comute in to start at 9am. And similar would keep the baby until 7pm(ish) which allowed me to comute home after a 5.30 finish.

No remote working option.

But now the childminder has pulled out with only 12 weeks to go before I return to work, and every creche in Dublin seems to be fully booked up, except for one which is right beside my house, which only opens 8.30 to 5.30 (don't ask me why, how is anyone suppose to work 9 to 5.30?!)....but I guess I could make that work if I found a 9 to 5 job closer to home. (this is just my thinking out loud)

My job paid me maternity leave while I was off and my contract states that I've to come back after mat leave for 6 months.

I was wondering if there's anyone who's been in my position before? Did your job make you work the 6 months? I physically can't, unless u can bring my child to work with me lol

Or did they make you pay them back the money they paid you on mat leave? Which I cannot afford upfront - Will they let me do a payment plan of like 10e a week?!

I've started applying for jobs locally but I don't want to waste my time only for my company to enforce me to return, or pay them back (which I can't afford to so will have to go back)

Any thoughts? Thank you
 
This is a very stressful situation to be in, right when you should be enjoying the last portion of maternity leave.

Check your contract and any handbooks etc carefully to see what the true situation would be if you were not to return. Does this six months include the accumulated holidays and public holidays earned during leave, so can the "clock" start without you actually being back in the workplace? Or similar any other leave, like parental leave, would that count towards the six months? Does the father have the opportunity to work remotely or change working hours to do the drop off and/or collections while you serve out your six months if need be? Can you start earlier or later when you return to facilitate this? Lack of childcare places is a massive problem all over Dublin so this may not be the first time this has happened in your company and they might waive any requirements if you demonstrate that you tried your best to return.

It is tough going to return to work and settle a baby in a creche so just be mindful of that. If your baby is sick (inevitable in the early months) someone will need to leave work to collect them and potentially stay home for several days with them. Do you have support for this, family or the father to do this? Make sure you understand both your and the baby's father's Force Majeure leave entitlements. Frustratingly remote working works really well in these situations, I spent plenty of days at home (in the pre covid world) while my pretty healthy but not healthy enough for creche child played with their toys and I could have been working. Your employer is missing a trick by not facilitating remote working.

I will say having been in the work/creche situation, a day like you describe will have a high risk of burnout and illness, so I would suggest not to consider it a long term option whatever the outcome. In your situation I would begin looking for a new role anyway where you either have a degree of flexibility in remote working, flexible start/finish times, or local location.

Best of luck with it and hope it all works out for your family.
 
First time I've heard of this clause.

Do you know if your job was covered while you were on mat leave.

Otherwise I agree tell them ASAP. If you have to repay offer to repay in instalments that suit you, 10 years if you want. If that isn't covered in the contract they can't dictate the repayment terms.
 
Not a snowballs chance of making you repay your salary. (IANAL)

Explore all your options, don't panic, there's always a solution & assuming you're not a lone parent, it's not just your problem to solve.

I'll be honest 12 hour days for your baby to be cared for doesn't sound like much fun; there could be a silver lining here.
 
As others have said, talk to your employer asap.

There may be scope to reduce the hours you work, to a level that would allow you use the 8.30-5.30 crèche. There would of course be a corresponding reduction in pay which would need to be taken into consideration. Even if you tried this for 6 months, it may be enough to overcome any contractual necessity to repay the salary paid during maternity (depending on the specifics of the contract).

The alternative is to seek another job closer to home but this raises the risk of being asked to repay the maternity salary. Only your employer can answer whether or not he/she would pursue this option.

All this can be discussed in the context of a meeting with your employer to discuss your return to work generally. Don’t assume your employer will have rigid positions in relation any aspect of your employment until such time as this is confirmed.
 
As others have said, speak to your employers as soon as possible, most will be reasonable in the circumstances and try to come to a mutually suitable solution.

They absolutely can seek to https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/qampa-what-are-my-rights-26653188.html (recover) maternity top-up, carefully read the T&Cs, they should have supplied you with a written copy. It does happen and the larger the amount involved the more likely they are to pursue.
 
Agree with the others, first step is to speak with your employer asap.
On a personal note, when my son was small (but not as young as yours), I worked in a job that necessitated leaving him in creche at 0745hrs and collecting around 1800hrs, it was exhausting for both of us. We were on a conveyor belt of up, breakfast, creche, home, dinner, bed. No real quality time together on weekdays at all. Seven months later, I was really lucky to be offered a WFH job with a previous employer and it changed my life and definitely my work/life balance. It also meant that when my son was sick, I could be home with him (and babies get sick so much in their first couple of years of creche). Your baby will barely be awake for 12 hours if you are returning to work even with the max amount of maternity leave allowed. I don't recommend going back to work on this schedule, when I look back, I really don't know how I coped.
 
Nutso said:
Agree with the others, first step is to speak with your employer asap.
On a personal note, when my son was small (but not as young as yours), I worked in a job that necessitated leaving him in creche at 0745hrs and collecting around 1800hrs, it was exhausting for both of us. We were on a conveyor belt of up, breakfast, creche, home, dinner, bed. No real quality time together on weekdays at all. Seven months later, I was really lucky to be offered a WFH job with a previous employer and it changed my life and definitely my work/life balance. It also meant that when my son was sick, I could be home with him (and babies get sick so much in their first couple of years of creche). Your baby will barely be awake for 12 hours if you are returning to work even with the max amount of maternity leave allowed. I don't recommend going back to work on this schedule, when I look back, I really don't know how I coped.
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yes i would echo this, the 8am to 6pm creche slog is no joke for anyone.
 
I have spoken to so many new parents recently, who rely on family to help out, because they receive many calls from the creche to come and collect their child, because they have a temperature or are ill. Because of this a childminder may be a better option in the long term but with a possible 11.5 hour day its not going to be easy to find someone and presumably will be expensive.

I have heard also of special arrangements being made with some of the creche staff where they start earlier and stay later and take the child into the creche before the usual start/finish time. Obviously they are paid privately for this arrangement and you/they would need the permission of the owner to facilitate this. The creche insurance would probably need adjustment also.

As others have said, with your commute included, it is going to be an extremely long day for both you and baby, and something closer to home would be ideal. Sounds as if speaking to your employer, to try to adjust your hours, is the best option and stick it out for the minimum 6 months.
 
Leo said:
They absolutely can seek to https://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/qampa-what-are-my-rights-26653188.html (recover) maternity top-up, carefully read the T&Cs, they should have supplied you with a written copy. It does happen and the larger the amount involved the more likely they are to pursue.
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It does depend on the amount involved. A good friend is a financial controller in a few small firms over the years and for any amount in four figures they wouldn't bother trying very hard to retrieve given legal costs.

Standard procedure would be to send a few letters and a very good outcome for the firm would be an agreement for the ex-employee to settle for a share of the paid leave.

OP should consult a solicitor specialised in employment law if she wants to go down this road.
 
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NoRegretsCoyote said:
It does depend on the amount involved. A good friend is a financial controller in a few small firms over the years and for any amount in four figures they wouldn't bother trying very hard to retrieve given legal costs.

Standard procedure would be to send a few letters and a very good outcome for the firm would be an agreement for the ex-employee to settle for a share of the paid leave.

OP should consult a solicitor specialised in employment law if she wants to go down this road.
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I agree with the approach but not with the necessity to engage a solicitor.

A reasonable employer, approached in a reasonable manner, would be encouraged to come up with a reasonable solution.

A solicitor (or any other employment law specialist) would only be needed where the OP is being pursued for full repayment. Even then, the OP could tough it out and wait until they’re being threatened with legal action.
 
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We top up maternity pay where I work. It is given on the basis that the employee returns to work for a minimum of 6 months after their maternity leave ends. Of the last 5 women who availed of it 3 have not returned.

In one case there was a change in personal circumstances which made her return very difficult so that's fair enough.

In the other two cases the employee never intended to return to work. Morally that's the same as theft, and makes it less likely that employers will top up maternity pay in the future, but there's really very little the employer can do about it.
 
Methinks it would be prudent to keep one's options open. I would advocate taking any top up on offer but ring-fencing it so it could be repaid in the event that it was decided not to return. Whether someone has the initial intention to return or not they may change their mind based on their experience of maternity leave or have a change of circumstances which forces the issue one way or another.
 
MissyMam5 said:
I've started applying for jobs locally but I don't want to waste my time only for my company to enforce me to return, or pay them back (which I can't afford to so will have to go back)
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You should do what's best for you and your family. If that means a local job and/or fewer hours then so be it.

If you change jobs just tell your current employer that you intended to return but as you could not resolve your childminding difficulties you won't be in a position to do so. If they insist on the top-up being repaid then perhaps you can get a CU loan or some such.
 
Before you leave the job, consider these 3 options, while staying, with your current employer:

Before you return to current job:

Unpaid Maternity Leave(16 weeks - Emoyer unpaid unless they are generous, no state payment)
can be added directly after, normal 26 weeks Maternity Leave ends. Legally, there is nothing the Employer can do, if you want to take this, but you need to leave them know. This may give you some breathing space to figure out a future plan.

After you return to work:
1)
Parents Leave (7 weeks unpaid unless you have a generous employer, with a state payment)
Can be taken in weeks or days, but needs to be agreed with employer.

2)
Parental Leave(26weeks unpaid, no state payment)
Usually taken in days or blocks of weeks, must give notice to employer, and agree the time off.

+ talk to them

You have also accrued annual leave while on 26 weeks maternity, this also is accrued, in full, while you are on either :
Parents Leave, Unpaid Maternity Leave, or Parental Leave
 
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