Spin-Off: What Was Your Maternity Leave?

[ronandannette]

Here maternity and parental leave is funded by a federal government-administered insurance program** and the entitlement of the two put together is 50 weeks paid at about 55% of regular salary to a maximum of $537/week. Mothers are elegible for the full 50 weeks or fathers can take up to 35 or they can be split with the maximum household benefits being 50 weeks.

Not many employers offer full paid maternity leave but some will top up, especially if it gets an employee back to work sooner. An employee out on maternity/parental leave must have their position or an equal one, available to them upon their return. It's tough on companies, but very common, that an employee won't return to work after the leave and doesn't disclose that to the employer until their expected date of return.

When my DS was born I didn't take a standard maternity leave; due to our personal circumstances and he being born with some significant medical issues we couldn't manage on such a drastic income reduction. My company graciously gave me a month off with full pay and I went back to work on day 31. It was, bar-none, the most difficult thing I've ever done. To new moms trying to keep all the balls in the air.

ETA: This plan is funded by source deductions and you need to have been employed full-time for at least 15 weeks in the year previous to be elegible to collect.

 

[mom2rtk]

We had our first right after FMLA passed. Up until that point most people at my office took 6 or 8 weeks (depending on delivery) and came back. I took 12 weeks with each of our first 2. (First 6 was paid with sick leave I had accumulated. Second 6 weeks was unpaid.)

I was part time/flex time when I had our 3rd. I only got paid for what I did. No sick leave, no benefits. I went back a couple days a week around 4 months.

 

[mnrose]

I had a very difficult pregnancy and was put on disability leave at 19 weeks pregnant (July 1999). I was very fortunate in that our plan paid for 12 weeks full pay (for all disabilities) and then 1/2 pay thereafter for up to one year. So, I was paid in full for 12 weeks, then went to 1/2 pay for the rest of my pregnancy. After my twins were born, I got 6 fully paid weeks of newborn childcare leave, and then another 6 weeks of disability pay (at half pay) as my doctor certified me as disabled....yes, this longer than normal but my LONG bed rest and then difficult delivery made it much harder to recover than a typical pregnancy. I then took all my built up vacation (full pay) for 6 more weeks, and then went on an unpaid leave (with guarantee return rights) until my children were 6 months old. All told, I was off work for nearly a year and about 3/4 of it was at full pay. I am very, very lucky!

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I got 12 weeks, 6 of them paid, and I had another 5 weeks of PTO that I used up. I wish I could have had that whole first year, but as the family breadwinner. It just wasn't possible.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I worked for a big company that gave 8 weeks at full pay, but while I was on leave, DH got a raise that meant we could manage with me staying home for a while. I was thrilled not to have to go back! (I did eventually start working part-time again a few years later, but it was nice to be home when he was little.)

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I had 12 weeks. First 4 or so was vacation, next 6 were sick leave and/or paid at 60% my normal wages (I think), and the rest was unpaid. However, DH works for the government. After my 12 weeks were up he took off the next 6 months. He was only paid for those portions he could cover with vacation and sick leave, but it was still good. Everyone talks about how lucky we were to be able to stay home with DD for 9 months (collectively). Basiccally, no one gets that kind of maternity/paternity leave around here.

 

[Christine]

For my first child (1991) I had not short-term disability benefits and no form of payment. I took 12 weeks off. 3 weeks of it was vacation time. The rest of it I had to save for and my parents helped out a bit.

Second child, I still had no short term disability. I had just moved and didn't have much money. I took 8 weeks off with about 2 weeks paid from my vacation time.

Shortly after that, my company decided to offer short term disability.

 

[RedAngie]

12 weeks off for first daughter. 4 before birth, 8 after. I stopped working 2 1/2 weeks before due date, but she was 10 days late. 6 weeks were fully paid. the other 6 weeks were a combo of vacation, personal, sick days, and unpaid.

8 weeks off for second daughter. All fully paid. I could have stayed out another 4 weeks at 60% pay, but I was ready to return.

 

[BearFamily]

It worked out to about 9 weeks. I missed the last couple of days of actual school before summer break, DD was born on the last work day for teachers. The first 8 weeks of summer vacation counted as my leave and I had to go back when school started in the fall. Because it was over the break and I had elected year-round pay, it was all essentially paid and I only burned sick days for the few days I was out before she was born.

 

[indimom]

I'm a bit outside the norm, but I was a licensed home child care provider when I had my two kids and that played a major part in my decision.

With my first (1997), I had the baby on Friday, and was working again on Monday. I did have some physical assistance for the first two weeks. It wasn't just the income loss I was worried about. I had only opened my business a year earlier and I didn't want to risk losing any of my regulars by taking off work for an extended time, or hiring a sub who might not work out.

With my second (2000), I was running a larger child care with paid employees, so I was able to take off two weeks with a sub.

It helped that I had natural childbirths and that I was able to keep the babies with me when I went back to work.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

DW took 12 weeks with both girls - 6 weeks paid with DD1, 0 weeks paid with DD2 (different job). I took 1 week of vacation for each.

 

[pocomom]

15 years unpaid. difficult pregnancy with my first had me in the hospital a lot. My contract was up for renewal during all that so the company decided not to renew. I was told I could come back once the baby was in daycare.
I've worked part time or from home in various capacities over the years, but have mainly been a SAHM since. Now I'm considering going back to school so I can be ready for a new career once my youngest is a bit older. I miss working more, but I love being with the kids and my dh's career makes him very unavailable. The amount of outside help we would need if I worked full time outside the home would eat up what more I would make very quickly.

 

[Disneylover99]

A year for each child. But I went back a month and a half earlier and my husband took paternity leave during that time.

 

[Bluestars]

I took off 6 weeks when I had my son. I worked until the day before he was delivered. The disability coverage paid 60% as of the 30th day of disability (the first day was the day my son was born). For the first 29 day days, I could use all the sick time and vacation time that I had available. Disability coverage usually only covers a person who is considered medically disabled, so whatever pay outside of disability is whatever benefits the company offers.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

My daughter has the 50 weeks, topped up by her employer (provincial government) and the option of another six months unpaid, which she is taking. Don't know if she will actually go back at that point - she'd prefer to be at home with her baby if she can make it work.

 

[tvguy]

Been 25 years since DW had maternity leave, long before FMLA.
Company allowed 4 months off.
State (California) considers a woman to be disabled for 6 weeks after a vaginal birth and 12 weeks with a C section, and you get paid state disability for either 6 or 12 weeks depending on the type of birth. However, the maximum state disability benefits only paid about 1/3 of what her normal pay would have been. The owner of the company she worked for then allowed you to accrue up to 9 weeks sick time. She had than much sick time on the books, and the company allowed you to use sick time hours so that you could get a full pay check....if you had the sick time.....for either 6 or 12 weeks.

 

[lizabu]

I took a year with each kid.

 

[dotfurio]

With my oldest I got state disability for 4 weeks before the due date and 6 weeks after I delivered. I only had to take 7 of my sick days to cover the waiting period for disability to kick in. It wasn't equal to my pay but it was enough that we were fine financially.

With my youngest I was an employee of the state and therefore couldn't collect state disability. I had to purchase private disability insurance. The insurance required that I use up all my sick leave before it kicked in, and would only pay for 4 weeks before the due date and 6 weeks after delivery. Since she was born in the middle of summer and I wasn't technically off work except for 4 weeks, I ended up using all my sick days and disability only paid for a couple days.

Both employers would have allowed me to take off longer without pay. I didn't take off longer with either because we just couldn't afford it.

 

[Canooknic]

I was lucky enough to still be living in England when I had my twins.
12 weeks full pay, 12 weeks 90% and 6 months statutory pay (I can't remember exactly what it was but DH seems to remember it being around £70 a week)

I was made redundant on my 1st day of maternity leave so as well as my maternity pay I received 12 months salary tax free and my annual bonus......it was amazing!!!!!!.....and also the reason why I have been able to stay home until this year, my boys have just started Grade 3, and I am only doing casual EA cover for our school district so still have plenty of time at home

 

[bigbabyblues]

With my first, I had been at my job less than a year, so not long enough to have vacation time (had to be there a year). I did have 3 8-hour days of "pad" time (can't remember what it stood for, but we could use it in 1-8 hour increments for dr appts, etc), so I got paid for 3 days. I took 12 weeks off (c-section, and my dr didn't release me until I think week 9).

With my second, I was working part-time at a hospital and had a very pitiful amount of PTO time built up. Again, I took off 12 weeks off; I think I had about 12 hours of PTO time built up by then, so most was unpaid.