Guest Post: This post was written by Office Space for Rent. Make sure to check them out and follow them on facebook.
Long ago, nearly all mothers stayed at home to take care of the children. In today’s world, the reality is that many mothers are also working every day. Some do it because they have to in order to make ends meet, others do it because they love their jobs. No matter the reason, a new mother that intends to return to work after the baby is born will need to plan for maternity leave.
Know Your Rights
Look into your state’s laws in regards to paid or unpaid maternity leave. Although it is unfortunate, some employers will try to do everything in their power to keep a new mother from taking maternity leave. It is important to know your rights, including whether or not an employer must pay you while you are on maternity leave, how long you are allowed to be on leave and the prerequisites for earning leave. In many cases, the expectant or new mother must have worked at the job for a certain amount of time and have worked a certain amount of hours in order to be eligible for maternity leave. Be prepared to bring up the law if your employer tries to hardball you.
Talk to Your Supervisor
Your immediate supervisor needs to be your ally. Tell him about your pregnancy before telling other co-workers. Know exactly what terms you want to negotiate in advance, such as pay and how long you wish to be on maternity leave. Be prepared to be flexible. Babies rarely decide to enter the world on their exact due date. You don’t want to have your baby two weeks before your maternity leave starts or start maternity leave too early and twiddle your thumbs at home. If you can, negotiate a flexible date to start your maternity leave. Anticipate that your supervisor will have questions and concerns. They will want to be reassured that you will really return to work and they will want to know who will be doing your job while you are gone. If you do not already have a replacement in mind, offer to help find one.
Keep Your Documents Organized
Once you have negotiated your maternity leave terms with your supervisors, you will want to put them in writing and have them signed by all involved. Keep all of the documents in a folder or other organized format so that you can easily locate them should you need them for any reason.
Train Your Replacement
If the job of finding and training a fill-in has been put on your shoulders, be prepared to do the work. When you find your replacement, write out instructions for them. Keep a list of helpful hints that you use daily to do your job and provide contact information either for yourself or for someone else that is knowledgeable about your job. Be sure that they have the contact information of any clients or any others that they will be in contact with as well.
Offer to Work From Home
If, for some reason, you cannot take full maternity leave, offer up alternatives. If you are not eligible for maternity leave, for example, you may be able to convince your supervisor to allow you to telecommute and work from your home computer. Alternatively, perhaps your supervisor will be willing to give you less hours for a temporary period of time or split the work between you and a co-worker.
No matter what you decide, be sure that you decide far in advance what it is that you want. Maternity leave should be negotiated sooner rather than later, as you are going to be much too busy with baby on your brain as your due date nears.
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