When will you start maternity leave?

I too work at a school but as a teacher. I am yet to tell school but I plan to take maternity leave at the beginning of March (37/38 weeks), a week after half term.

@Lauren thanks for the reply! I was trying to figure out if i could strategically plan my mat leave around half term to give myself an extra week in total of leave, like if i left on the last day before half term and return after the following feb half term, would i then have 53 weeks off. Not sure if thats even allowed but i’m curious!!

With my first I thought I’d work up to 39 weeks, I struggled so much even working at home and desk based (Covid) that I got them to agree for me to go a week early. This time I’m going off 36/37 weeks at most to give myself the rest I’ll need, so early Feb for me 😁

Have you looked into shared parental leave? Not sure if it’ll apply to desk roles but it’s worth looking into! X

I worked until a week before my Due date last time, ended up being a week late and was the longest 2 weeks ever. I had a really easy pregnancy though and worked hybrid so was easy to keep working for me. I might take an extra week or 2 off this time as my little boy will still be at nursery so can have a bit of me time before the new baby comes 😂

@Lauren i will definitely have a look at that. I have a colleague doing that so i think it may apply to me too! Thanks! X

I'm a cleaner at a school, I'll be starting maternity in December. Probably when school break up for Christmas.

I'm office/lab based and I finished at 38 weeks last time but only because that's as late as work would allow. I'd have kept going 😂 I felt fine though despite developing high blood pressure. I also have a long commute with long days but never struggled with driving and felt less tired later on in my pregnancy. Aiming for the same this time providing I feel well enough as I'll take just under 10 months off with annual leave so want to maximise the time with baby x

I’m due March 11 and am planning on taking maternity leave from March 1. I work in HR and so many people leave it until the very latest they can, which is the day before! I only work from home but I have a feeling I’ll just want some time to relax on my own and sort things out before baby is here.

I work for the police and finished at 34 weeks last time (but used annual leave up until 36 weeks). This time I can’t afford to be off as long so plan to finish around 38 weeks if I can last that long. That’ll be mid/late Feb (I’m due 6 March) x

I want to maximise my time with baby so I’m aiming to finish as late as I can- probably 39 weeks. I’d love to finish earlier as I was so uncomfortable and exhausted but I’d rather have the time after with baby, and I think the max I can afford it probably is 9-10 months (I wanted the year but we can’t make it work unfortunately!)

Thanks everyone!! Think i’ll aim for 37/38 weeks but if i’m exhausted i might bring it forward. This is my first baby and no idea what to expect later down the line! X

I was thinking 38 weeks :) Does anyone know what maternity pay is in the uk? I work 25.5 hours a week xx

@Jessica it depends on your companies policy. You might get enhanced pay for a certain amount of time which is more than the statutory amount (for eg my work pays six months full pay and then 3 months SMP depending on length of service) If not, depending on how long you’ve worked there for you will be eligible for SMP. or if you’ve not been there long you can apply for maternity allowance. https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/pay this website will tell you about the statutory amounts but have a look at your companies maternity policy for their specifics :)

I’ve been there 3 years? They did say I would get it through them? I wasn’t sure if it would be the same as on Google which says 6 weeks 90% of your wage, then 33 weeks of £184 a week? Xx

@Jessica I’d maybe speak to someone in your HR dept and ask what your entitlement is. If they’ve said you’ll get it through them then you’ll likely get more than SMP for a specific amount of time then when that stops you get SMP which is the £184 a week :)

I get statutory and i’ve been at my workplace 10 years 😅 6 months full pay is amazing!!!

My colleague recently had a baby and went off three weeks before her due date but ended up going to 42 weeks so she was very annoyed about “wasting” the time off🤣 I don’t want to go off too early, but I’m expecting twins and according to the twins trust most twin mums go off around 33-35 weeks! It just seems soooo early, but apparently I could go into labour really any time from then on. So yeah, I have no idea either🫣 at least my role can be done completely remotely if it needs to be so I can just ask to work from home for the last couple of weeks x

My first I went on leave at 36 weeks, baby then came at 42 weeks. It's really up to you as some babies my my nephew was born 20 days early! X

I had my son last year, i worked until 39 weeks and was fine, i have an office job! So id say its doable but if you dont want to then dont and if your jobs more demanding then dont! Whatever makes you happy❤️ (i just wanted as much maternity pay as possiable when he was here 🤣)