When is it normal to start maternity leave

How does unpaid leave work? Check with your human resource department regarding your family leave time: Determine if there is a state family leave mandate.

Find the policies and restrictions on using vacation, sick, and unpaid time together. Check with your boss about any concerns related to your time away. Inquire about what happens to your benefits while you are on leave, whether or not anything changes, and who pays your premiums while you are on leave.

When should I take my maternity leave? Recommendations for Maternity Leave: There are a number of things you can do to make your maternity leave the best possible for both you and your employer: Check-in with your human resources department to find out the details about your maternity leave options. This will help you plan for your best maternity leave options. Sit down with your partner and evaluate what time you can afford to take.

It is better for you and your employer to know the plan ahead of schedule. After completing your first trimester , start the communication with human resources and those affected by your leave to help all parties prepare. Some employers are less friendly to pregnancy than others.

You may need to evaluate the best time to share the news based on previous experiences you have witnessed in the office. Provide your boss with suggestions and strategies to address your duties while you are gone, insights on what projects you are working on, and suggested co-workers to meet your responsibilities while on leave.

This can help overcome the potential concerns noted above. Find out more about holiday entitlement. You can ask your employer to give you the reason in writing. If you do not think it's fair, you can raise a formal complaint 'grievance'.

Find out more about your redundancy rights in our guide to managing redundancy for pregnant employees or those on maternity leave. If you have a miscarriage or stillbirth before 24 weeks, you're not entitled to maternity leave and pay. You could talk with your employer and they might offer you other support, for example time off or flexible working. Find out more about telling your employer about a death or miscarriage. You'll need to tell your employer as soon as you can.

You do not have to give your employer any formal evidence, but your workplace might have a policy that needs you to contact them as soon as you can. If you like, you can tell us more about what was useful on this page. Please do not include any personal details, for example email address or phone number. If you have a question about your individual circumstances, call our helpline on If you have not returned to work in between babies you may not be entitled to more paid parental leave.

Ali Pickles, Registered Midwife Click here to visit our pregnancy products shop Disclaimer: Always speak to your doctor before changing your diet,taking any supplements or undertaking any exercise program in pregnancy. The information on this site is for reference only and is not medical advice and should not be treated as such, and is not intended in any way as a substitute for professional medical advice..

Are you part of the 28 Day Challenge? Join millions of mums and take control of your body and life. The Healthy Mummy is committed to supporting and empowering mums of all ages and in different stages of their life.

That includes the particularly special… Read more. Whilst Covid 19 has caused various disruptions to health services in the past year, it has also led to a potentially positive change for pregnant… Read more.

Previous article. Next article. Take Part. You might also be interested in See all. Three hour gestational diabetes test could be replaced with quicker and easier test Whilst Covid 19 has caused various disruptions to health services in the past year, it has also led to a potentially positive change for pregnant… Read more. It can be really helpful to talk to other friends and family about their maternity leave experience, especially if they work in a similar profession to you.

You can change the date of your maternity leave but must give your employer 28 days notice. Maternity leave, pay and rights in the workplace can seem a bit confusing — but the law is on your side! Wondering what paternity leave rights and pay your partner is entitled to? We've got it all covered. See more.