When to start maternity leave ?

I’d say that’s a pretty normal time to start. I planned to go at 36 weeks with my first but then it was covid lockdown so I was actually furloughed from 20 weeks, and with my second I went off at 32 weeks as I was way more exhausted

I’m starting maternity a month before my due date. And will be discussing working less hours from now as well. If it works for you then do it. Everyone is different

I was gutted to not have longer off before baby arrived. I worked on the Friday and had baby on the Sunday! (37+6) as he decided to come early I didn’t get much time to just relax before.

Is there any way you can work from home towards the end? You’re allowed to ask for reasonable adjustments - obviously depending on what you do! If not, then doesn’t sound too early as that’s a lot. However you should bear in mind that a lot of babies are late - so say you went off at 34 weeks pregnant, it might be that you don’t have the baby for another six weeks. That can be a lot of hanging around and being bored for some people. And of course like you say, means you have less time at the other side at full pay. It’s a tricky one I know! I finished work at 37 weeks but I work from home - even by that point I found it tricky to do even that, sitting at a desk for 8 hours was very uncomfortable for me. I had the baby at 41 weeks and got bored pretty quickly waiting!

Hi, I’m a full time podiatrist in NHS. So I have to be full on face to face and I have asked if I could triage from home but manager said nothing to me. I figured because of the nature of my job, working from home wouldn’t benefit the trust as they are more concerned about patient service and not the staff.

My official mat leave is 3 weeks before due date, but im taking 2 weeks annual leave before it too, so go at 35 weeks 😊

I'm starting at like 33 weeks. Using annual leave for several weeks then my official mat leave starts around 37 weeks. I work in NHS and can't work from home.

I work in London too with similar commute and it’s long. So agreed with my manager to come in once a week from May & June, then on adhoc basis as and when needed in July & August. I finish at 36 weeks. Not sure if you can do something similar with your work as it’s been amazing not having the pressure to go in.

Hiya.. there’s also the flexible working policy, you should be able to negotiate compressed hours and working from home etc. from whenever you think will work best for you, if you did want to prolong your mat leave x

I’m thinking about starting at 36 weeks … I just want to relax before the chaos of 2 under 2 haha

I am hoping to take 3 weeks annual leave before due date then start maternity from due date. 😊

With that commute on public transport being your concern, is it possible to wfh if you are not wanting to use your mat leave without the baby? This is what I did with my first because I have like a 1.5-2 hr commute each way driving so started wfh 1 week before due date with my first (in LA so don't get the same mat leave allowance as I would at home)

I’m leaving at 30 weeks as I have some leave to take plus it will be summer and want time with my daughter and night shufts are hard already x

My due date was 15th September (2023)I took 3 weeks of annual leave and then started maternity on the 1st September, so had around 5 weeks off before baby came on the 10th x

I thought about doing the same, but have decided I want as much maternity leave after baby comes as possible. So I’m taking a few days of annual leave before my due date. Try and look into flexible working and reasonable adjustments. I’ve only just found out about it and your employer can’t discriminate against you