Take the new job and sacrifice maternity leave or NOT? HELP!

[sethproton]

Hi everyone,

I really need some advice on my current situation. I am about 11 weeks pregnant. I am currently a teacher and struggling. So, over winter break I started applying for a new jobs. I got an offer from a company and I think it could be an amazing opportunity in the long run.

However, during this process I learned you need to be employed at a company for 1 year before you can take maternity leave without jeopardizing job security. This means that if I take this new job I might only get the 6 week of disability after giving birth or 8 weeks for a c section-no more (unless they are very kind and work with me, which I have no idea about).

I am frustrated with my current work situation but if I stay I can take about 5 months of maternity leave (only 1 month paid 60%) with job security and 6 weeks before (summer). We can make this work financially but it will be tight.

My question to all of you: Is it worth sacrificing a good job opportunity for a longer maternity leave? I know I will never get that time with my baby back. Finding child care so fast could be hard and expensive, but I would be making more money.

I need to let HR for the new job know tomorrow! I am considering calling in and just being upfront and asking if I will loose job security for taking an addition 8 weeks of maternity leave that way I can make the most informed decision, although this is risky!

I appreciate you all in advance.

 

[aprile]

@sethproton I had a similar issue and ended up (after the initial job offer) saying I would love to accept, but wanted them to know in advance that I was pregnant and would be needing maternity, and wanted 12 weeks. To be clear, I was ok doing it unpaid bc I knew I didn’t qualify for legit maternity, so I’m sure that helped my case lol, and we saved extra to cover us in advance for when I did end up taking the job.

Currently 6 weeks postpartum and dude - credit to anyone who goes back this early. Even if I somehow managed to calm my hormones down enough to leave baby (which at this point good luck to me there) I literally just am finally feeling like my body would be capable of handling a work day (vaginal birth so I technically would be expected back at 6 weeks even though baby basically tore her way out lol).

All that to say, I’m a fan of taking what you feel is the best opportunity and being up front. Some employers /HR at least appreciate the heads up and might be willing to work with you.

 

[maidian]

@sethproton Maybe ask HR if something can be worked out? I quit my job after my first baby was born and barely felt functional after the first 12 weeks. I’m pregnant with our second and I’m frankly quite nervous about going back to work since I plan on staying with my current job. All that to say, my initial recommendation is to get as much time as possible at home with baby. The fourth trimester is a thing and it is tough. BUT. I totally get the long term benefits of switching jobs. Bless you for teaching during this time. So I think it’s worth asking HR/potential new supervisor if they would work with you on this. Best of luck!

 

[azula]

@sethproton This is so tough. I can’t really give advice since it is so personal to each person.

I’d probably personally go with whatever you can do to get the most maternity leave because I wouldn’t want to miss that time for anything. However, my sister changed jobs for a better opportunity and more pay last year while she was pregnant (and further along). They loved her and were fine with her taking 12 weeks even though they legally didn’t need to because they wanted to retain her. She did not tell them until she had been there for a couple months because she didn’t want to risk them not hiring her (plus then they are more likely to retain you because they put in financially to train you). I had a friend that did this too a few years ago in a different field. My sister was going to take the time off either way and would have just found a new job while on maternity leave (and make that work as long as possible financially) since she has a decent amount of experience it wouldn’t be too hard for her to get a new job if she needed it. They calculated that the extra money she made in the mean time before leave would be worth it.