Back to work
For some new mums, leaving your beautiful baby when you go back to work can be a bit of a wrench. Of course, it’s entirely natural if you feel this way, as you’ve been through a lot and spent some invaluable time together. For most mums, it does get easier with time though, and on the plus side, you may find you are eager to enjoy adult conversation again and think about something other than nappies!
Employers must assume that you are taking your full maternity leave. So if you decide to return to work, you must give your employer at least 8 weeks notice if you want to return to work early or it you want to change the date of your return.
Although it may feel like a long way off at the moment – and we’re certainly not trying to speed up your enjoyment of this exciting time in your life – you still need to consider how you’ll juggle looking after your baby with work commitments.
Arranging childcare
Childcare can be a big expense for couples. Take a look at our childcare calculator now to get a better view of the financial implications of returning to work.
Changing your working hours
The good news is, if you’re an employee and you’ve been with your company for at least 26 weeks (including any period on maternity leave), you’ll be entitled to ask your employer for changes in your work arrangements. They don’t have to agree to any suggestions or requests that you make, but they do need to consider them and have a valid business reason not to. See below for a template of a letter that you can use to ask for flexible working arrangements.
Copy the template below to the clipboard
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[your name]
[your address]
[date]
Dear
As a new parent with responsibility for bringing up my child I would like to apply for a flexible working pattern as per my statutory rights.
Upon my return to work on [date on which you will be returning] I would like to work on the following basis:[state the hours or flexible working option that you would like to apply for]
I believe that the effect of this new working pattern will be [inset information about the implications of your new flexible working pattern on your employer, how you think this can be dealt with and where possible highlight the positives]
I can confirm that I [state whether you have or have not applied for flexible working in the past and if so on what date].
Yours sincerely
[your name]
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Flexible hours
If you’d like to request a change in your working arrangements, here are some options you can discuss with your employer:
- Part-time work
This could give you the best of both worlds – a chance to carry on with your career and still spend plenty of time with your baby. - Change in hours
It might suit you better to start work earlier and leave earlier to pick up your baby from nursery. - Compressed hours
You could squeeze your hours to give you more time to be with your baby, e.g. work 8am to 6pm four days a week, instead of 9am to 5pm, five days a week. - Working from home
Depending on what you do, you might be able to negotiate working part or all of the working week from home. - Term-time working
You may be able to take time off during school holidays when your child is older. You might be able to ask your employer for unpaid leave for this.
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Sian’s story*
"I knew that I wanted to change my hours after Joe and Liam were born, so I asked my boss if I could work part-time. They were very good about getting back to me and now I work a three-day week. However, I do work hard and sometimes I feel like I have to cram a full week’s work into three days. But it’s good for us financially. Plus the highlight is that I get to spend more time with my boys!"
*Fictional example |
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Job sharing
If you’re not able to do your job on a part-time basis, you might decide to ask your employer if you could share your role with someone else. This may be a good solution if your employer has concerns about whether you can fulfil your role in part-time hours. But remember, because you’re splitting your job, you’ll be splitting your pay packet too, so your earnings will be less.
Parental leave
You can take unpaid leave if your child isn’t well or if you need time off for an emergency. You can also take time off if your childcare arrangements breakdown and you don’t have anyone to look after them at short notice. However in this instance your employer is only obliged to give you paid time off to make alternative arrangements, not for you to look after you child yourself.
Dependents leave
You can take unpaid leave but it has to be in a block of one week. If you take less than a week it will be counted as one week unpaid leave. Parental leave can be taken for a total of 13 weeks during your child's lifetime and can be taken up to your child's fifth birthday.
Further rights are available if your child is disabled.