12-24 weeks pregnant (part 3)

teaandcakeordeath

T2D- the carry cots on prams are better for young baby as they can't support their massive heads. Lol. Also the group 0 seats last about 6 months (sometimes longer/ shorter depending on baby weight and length) so you'd get your use out of it before Oz.

I have finally cleared up my mat leave/ annual leave with work (NHS). Our policy does say that we can take it before or after mat leave but can only carry over 5 days except in unusual/ unreasonable circumstances (I LOVE vague HR statements- not...). My annual leave year runs from 01/04-31/03 each year. My EDD is 13/09 and I am officially starting mat leave the day before my EDD on 12/09. I am on a/l for a week before and I plan to work as long as possible up to it to try and bump up my August wage (on-call, overtime etc.)

I wasn't happy with the fact that work would only allow me to take over 5 days as 1. I hadn't technically accrued all of my leave. 2. They wouldn't force a non-pregnant staff member to shoe-horn in 24 days leave in 5 months which I would class as unreasonable, 3. Should the worst happen and I lose the baby I couldn't afford to take the mat leave (which you get if loss occurs after 25 weeks) for the entire 9 months so I'd have to go back to work and then have no a/l left and 4. It would leave me at a financial detriment as I can't do on-call/ overtime on a/l. I have a colleague in an affliated department whose EDD is two days before mine- her manager was allowing her to take over 16 days. I kicked off! Senior manager and HR stepped in and told us both only allowed to take 5 days over. Line managers are allowed to use discretion which mine have and are allowing me to take over 10 days now (as well as bank holidays which are also accrued whilst on mat leave). No idea if colleague is still allowed to carry over more than me as we have been 'banned' from discussing it as it is a case by case decision... BS.

Basically the upshot of all of my research is this:
1. You maintain the same employment rights whilst pregnant and on mat leave with regard to leave accrual etc.
2. You cannot 'lose' your annual leave entitlement if you have been physically unable to take it (i.e. Off on mat leave/ sick). This is in an EU directive and is also covered in the working time directive. At a minimum I think 20 days are 'protected'. For example in my a/l year if my EDD was 01/04 and I went on mat leave on 31/03 for 12 months, returning on 01/04 the following year i would have the mat leave year a/l as well as the current years entitlement. (I can't remember the case law for the life of me but I have it saved somewhere...)
3. Employers are within their rights to make you take your a/l before mat leave if there is time to do so. They can also be reasonable and allow you to take it afterwards. There is no law that dictates you must be allowed to carry it over unless there is not the time to take your entitlement- in which case EU law and WTD kick in and you carry over leave.

HTH...

time2deal

Thank you ladies got the arguments! He will probably come around. I should point out that 20 years ago we wouldn't be pregnant without IVF.

teaandcakeordeath

Unusual/ unreasonable circumstances in my organisation count as 'early labour, pregnancy loss, sickness not related to pregnancy (if you're off work sick after your 36th week due to pregnancy your employer can start your mat leave from that date), bereavement'. Unreasonable isn't making you take leave that's pointless and would benefit you more financially at the end of mat leave. What difference it makes to employers I am entirely unsure.... If you're going off on mat leave for 12 months but want to use a/l for your 12th month pay and spread your mat pay out over 11 months then it makes f-all difference to them. They lose you for the same amount of time, if not less as you stay in work whilst pregnant to keep your leave to tag on.... Makes me furious just thinking about it....

lilmissreading

Blinking hell tcod. Seems your managers are being unhelpful to say the least.

Having read on the forum today and thinking it over, think I will stick with 2 weeks before and maybe short weeks for 4 weeks before (am on static wage so will make no difference to mat pay.)

Still seems like lunacy to me...

Do they do KIT days? I was thinking of this for completing mandatory training.

lilmissreading

time2deal wrote: »

Thank you ladies got the arguments! He will probably come around. I should point out that 20 years ago we wouldn't be pregnant without IVF.

Exactly! Sometimes life changes for the worse but sometimes the better. Take away his computer and phone...bet he didn't have those 20 years ago...or if he did they won't be anything like his current ones! Lolz, must be a boy gene thing trying to be sensible.

lilmissreading

teaandcakeordeath wrote: »

Unusual/ unreasonable circumstances in my organisation count as 'early labour, pregnancy loss, sickness not related to pregnancy (if you're off work sick after your 36th week due to pregnancy your employer can start your mat leave from that date), bereavement'. Unreasonable isn't making you take leave that's pointless and would benefit you more financially at the end of mat leave. What difference it makes to employers I am entirely unsure.... If you're going off on mat leave for 12 months but want to use a/l for your 12th month pay and spread your mat pay out over 11 months then it makes f-all difference to them. They lose you for the same amount of time, if not less as you stay in work whilst pregnant to keep your leave to tag on.... Makes me furious just thinking about it....

me too! I just don't get it.

teaandcakeordeath

They do kit days but I can only use them for training days, not to go and and do a days work so I don't forget how to do things! I don't think there'll be 10 training days in my mat leave period so may only get to do 5/6 kit days. I can only use them for mandatory training as otherwise I have to re-do all of my lab validations (the majority of them are 6 monthly so I'm not quite sure how they can actually get away with that as a reason tbh...). Personally i'd have thought the entire point of a kit day was to keep you up to date with your job- not just training days but with the actual physical/ mental day to day grind..... Yeah, my work have been di cks lately... I thought kit days would be an easy way of adding a bit of extra cash to my mat pay...

lilmissreading

Sorry tcod are you allowed to take the BH when you like? Can you add them onto your leave? Assume otherwise I'd get random pay when they did crop up and I was only on SMP!

http://www.workingmums.co.uk/advice-and-support/all/5579874/can-bank-holidays-be-added-to-maternity-leave-ask-the-expert.thtml

This seems to suggest yes?

credit_crunch

Just barging in to say if you sign up to amazon family your get 50% off your first order and I think its 20% off if you take on the subscribe & save free trial. (Remember to cancel after your order arrives)
I have just ordered 174 size 4 pampers nappies for £6.06!
Won't need them for a while lol but too good of a bargain to walk away

teaandcakeordeath

Funwise though after work today We picked up our nursery furniture that I'd found on gumtree. £100 for the cot bed, chest of drawers and change table- it's about £400 in ikea new and is the set we wanted but couldn't afford. Made up. There wasn't a single mark on it (until I dropped a drawer on a drawer front and left a dink in it... Gives it character) and it still smells new (like ikea wood....). Also bought my reusable nappies last night in cute bright colours. Am now eyeing up a baby swing then I think we're pretty much done. The only things we'll need to get then are the isofix car seat base, a mattress for cot & basket, baby monitor and little bits like a cheapo room thermometer, mobile, blankets and stuff.

Is it wrong to hope that if we get everything on the cheap then family will just give us cash if they choose to give something to baby?! It sounds really ungrateful but seeing the sheer volume of 'unused/ unwanted, barely used' baby items online makes me think how wasteful it'd be just getting more stuff than we need... Also the thought of a baby shower sends me cold. I can't think of anything worse (ok, maybe having to feign interest in someones holiday pictures that they've put into a powerpoint for your viewing displeasure... ) I sound horrible don't I?