Is it worth my wife going back to work for 3 months after maternity leave?

BaconandEggs

Thanks Tish.

I agree that there are lots of other (very important) issue.

My main motivation for this thread was to work out purely the financial difference between going back to work (for a short period) after maternity or not. This is because we had heard from other that maternity pay would be affected by that decision. Prior to that we had already made the decision that my wife would not be working until children go to school. Obviously this does involve a financial hit, reduced pension contribution and less security in terms of income to the household. However, we feel it will be hopefully worth it, avoiding use of nursery until my wife can go back part time when they are at school. If it doesn't work she can always return to work part time.

I have also worked out how much she would get if going back to work full time (disregarding maternity pay). Assuming nursery fees of £40/day (many charging more than this), it would mean £393 extra per month. Once at school this would rise to £850.

Also worth saying again that the decision is not purely financial but we wanted to know the figures beforehand so we could make an informed decision.

I really can't imagine being elligible for any benefits but someone suggested we check to see if we would get tax credits once my wife goes on maternity leave.
Does anyone know anything about this.

Would be grateful for any further advice or input on anything we may have missed.

choccybuttons

Hi

I work for nhs and the only thing I would add is that don't believe she will get part time until its signed and sealed. I was told I could return part time but when made my formal application whilst on maternity leave it was rejected as another two members of staff were pregnant and going on maternity leave.

BaconandEggs

Hi - thanks for your reply. Indeed, we will be wary of this. She has been *told* she can go back part time - but we won't believe it until it is in writing.
Having discussed things more last night, we will wait an see how things are once baby arrives and how things go once the time comes. The money alone isn't enough to sway the decision either way.

Martha1_2

Also if your wife does choose to go back to work she may be eligible for childcare vouchers - you might to depending on your employer. Me and my other half each get £243 in vouchers, taken off our pay before tax, which we put towards our DD nursery fees.
I always thought I would want to stay at home after DD was born, but after my mat leave I went back 3 days a week and it works well for us as a family and our DD loves her time at nursery. So I would say definitely don't make any decisions until nearer the end of your wife's mat leave.

BaconandEggs

Do the vouchers basically mean you save the tax on the nusery fee? So, as a basic rate tax payer we would save £10 per £50 nursery charge, for example?

loopy136

Just a quick note to think about, will her part time hours be full days, as if she is paying for travel into work she may want to confirm what hours she would be doing i.e not 4 hours i day, 5 hours the next. This could affect the wage quite a bit.

BaconandEggs

loopy136 wrote: »

Just a quick note to think about, will her part time hours be full days, as if she is paying for travel into work she may want to confirm what hours she would be doing i.e not 4 hours i day, 5 hours the next. This could affect the wage quite a bit.

Sorry - not sure I understand?

boat_girl

loopy is saying that part time hours spread thin over 5 days will cost a lot more in travel than 2 or 3 longer days.

onlyroz

BaconandEggs wrote: »

Do the vouchers basically mean you save the tax on the nusery fee? So, as a basic rate tax payer we would save £10 per £50 nursery charge, for example?

Childcare vouchers are a salary sacrifice scheme. So you could each sacrifice £243 a month of your salary, which goes into a voucher scheme to pay for childcare. Therefore, the saving is the income tax off the £243 income, i.e. £48.60 a month each if you both claim the maximum vouchers.

Regarding nurseries, I think you can expect to pay £30-£50 a day depending on where you are in the country. Childminders might be a bit cheaper than this. Thinking longer term, once the child turns 3 you are entitled to 15 free hours nursery per week.

In your boat, I would consider your wife continuing to work part-time (say 2-3 days a week). Firstly there are the financial benefits, and also from a career progression point-of-view it is better to not have such a long career break. And then there is the social aspect for your child, who will benefit from spending some time each week interacting with other children.

BaconandEggs

onlyroz wrote: »

Childcare vouchers are a salary sacrifice scheme. So you could each sacrifice £243 a month of your salary, which goes into a voucher scheme to pay for childcare. Therefore, the saving is the income tax off the £243 income, i.e. £48.60 a month each if you both claim the maximum vouchers.

Regarding nurseries, I think you can expect to pay £30-£50 a day depending on where you are in the country. Childminders might be a bit cheaper than this. Thinking longer term, once the child turns 3 you are entitled to 15 free hours nursery per week.

In your boat, I would consider your wife continuing to work part-time (say 2-3 days a week). Firstly there are the financial benefits, and also from a career progression point-of-view it is better to not have such a long career break. And then there is the social aspect for your child, who will benefit from spending some time each week interacting with other children.

Thank you. Some very sensible points there.

I wasn't aware of the free childcare available once children turn 3.

Good point about the social aspect too.