MATERNITY LEAVE

What is maternity leave?
Maternity leave is what many companies term the 4- to 6-week (6 to 8 weeks for a c-section) 'period of disability' taken by an employee after she gives birth. This leave can be paid or unpaid or covered by a combination of vacation, sick and personal days, and disability insurance depending on your firm's policy.

Is my employer required to let me take it?
Laws on maternity and disability leave are not universal and do not cover smaller employers or the self-employed. However, if you work for a firm with 15 or more employees, you can't be fired simply for being pregnant. The laws that protect disabled workers also protect pregnant ones.
Before you tell anyone in your office that you're pregnant, you should be prepared to answer these questions, according to June Solnit Sale and Kit Kollenberg, authors of The Working Parents Handbook.

• How long can you work?

• How much time would you like to take off after your baby is born?

• Will you return on a full- or part-time basis?

• Who will do your work when you're gone?

To help answer these questions, consult these sources:

• Your company's personnel handbook. If you don't have one, ask for one without specifying particular interest in maternity leave policies.

• Your union, if applicable.

• State laws regarding disability and maternity leave.

• Your own personnel file. Tally up your accumulated vacation, personal, and sick leave days.

• Other working parents. Find out how they handled maternity leave and what lessons they learned from the experience.

When should I discuss leave with my employer?
It's crucial to tell your employer about your pregnancy before it becomes noticeable. Why? You'll be in a stronger position to negotiate a leave if you approach your boss directly with a specific plan, preferably before the midpoint of your pregnancy. If both you and your supervisor have time to prepare for your departure, then he or she will be more likely to help orchestrate a smooth return.

When does it start and how long does the leave last?

According to The Working Parents Handbook, there's no 'right time' to stop working. A lot will depend on your energy level, how easy or complicated your pregnancy becomes after the initial exhausting months, and the stress and physical labor involved in your career. Some women start their leave in the seventh or eighth month while others work right up until delivery.

How long you decide to stay at home is also a personal decision based on your company's policies and your own preferences. Most moms return to work after giving birth. However, some take only 4 to 6 weeks, while others stay home for a full year or more. Your intital plan could change if you have a difficult delivery or if your child has a disability. Or like Kathy Frieswick of Haverhill, Massachusetts, you may simply not be ready to hand your baby over to a caregiver when your planned leave is up. 'They'll only be babies once and I want to spend that time with them,' says Frieswick, the mother of 9-month-old twins Liam and Tess and a public school teacher petitioning for a second year of unpaid leave.

Once your maternity leave runs out, parental leave takes over. The 1993 Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which applies only to men and women working for companies with more than 50 workers, guarantees that employees will be able to return to the same or equivalent jobs when they take up to 12 weeks off (in a 12-month period) for the birth, adoption, or foster-care placement of a child.

Each company can devise its own parental leave policy under this general act. For example, although the act states that employees on leave do not accrue benefits, some companies may elect to grant parental leave at no pay but continue to offer full-employer paid health coverage.

The Family and Medical Leave Act does have some major loopholes. For example, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours during the last year. That means you'd have to log at least 25 hours a week for 50 weeks. Employees must notify their employers 30 days before taking leave. And employers aren't required to hold your position if you are in the top 10 percent of the highest paid employees in the firm. Finally, your employer may require you to use paid sick leave and vacation time as part of the leave.

What if I'm not ready to return when my leave is up?
If you've exhausted all of your maternity and parental leave options and are still not ready to return to work full-time, discuss these options with your employer:

• Flexible work scheduling — you put in 40 hours a week but determine your own schedule.

• Meal-break flexibility, which would allow you to cut out of the office an hour early or come in an hour late each day.

• Job sharing with another employee and splitting the hours and benefits.

• Part-time work.

• Telecommuting from a home office

How and when should I tell my employer I'm pregnant?
Chances are, you get butterflies in your stomach just thinking about breaking your good news to your boss. As eager, or as anxious, as you may be to make your announcement, only you can best decide how and when to let your supervisor in on your secret. How it goes will depend on such factors as the culture of your workplace, the extent to which your office has been affected by other women's pregnancies, and your relationship with your supervisors.

I'm scared that my employer won't take the news well.
Unfortunately, some employers may be less than enlightened about pregnant employees. If you're concerned about your employer's reaction, proceed cautiously. In other words, wait to tell your boss until your pregnancy is 14 to 20 weeks along. At this point, your risk of miscarriage is fairly low, and you've already demonstrated that you can do your job while carrying a child.
You may also want to time your announcement to coincide with the completion of a big project. By doing so, you'll send a strong message: I'm almost half way through my pregnancy, and my productivity is unaffected. Finally, some women wait to tell their boss until after a salary or performance review. The sad truth is that such news can affect how you're rated — among other concerns, they may worry that you won't be coming back.

And if I think my employer will be supportive?
If you feel your pregnancy will be well-received, you may want to notify your supervisor or someone in human resources earlier in your pregnancy. This will enable you to take advantage of any employer-provided services that can help make your pregnancy healthier and less stressful. Some health services offered by employers are most valuable in the early stages of pregnancy.

Is there any way I can predict my employer's reaction?
Parents Talk


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Before informing your supervisor, you may want to confer with other women at work who have already traveled this path. Make sure you can trust them with your confidence. You may also want to discreetly contact a human resources representative who can inform you of the employer's formal policies regarding pregnancy and maternity leave. HR representatives will likely offer you informed and objective advice, since they've probably counseled many women in similar situations, and they won't be personally affected by your upcoming absence.

What's the best way to break the news to my boss?
Plan both when and what you'll say, and then schedule an appointment to talk with your supervisor. On that day, you should be sensitive to the goings-on in the office — and to your supervisor's mood. If the timing doesn't feel right, consider rescheduling your meeting.

As with any professional discussion, try to anticipate your employer's concerns and questions. And steel yourself: Not every supervisor can muster an appropriate and gracious response. We know one mother whose news was greeted with rude dismay: 'Oh no, we've never dealt with this problem before!'

A reasonable response to expect is congratulations tempered with some concern about your productivity. Share your due date and even your current physical condition, but resist discussing maternity leave, when you plan to return to work, and child care options. Wait until you can present a realistic proposal regarding leave and/or your post-pregnancy work schedule. This gives your supervisor time to digest the news and paves the way for further discussion and negotiation.