I met with the HR rep for my library job this week, to go over maternity leave details. She gave me all the forms to fill out and explained how the leave works with FMLA, short-term disability, and vacation time. I was very honest with her and told her that I’m not at all sure that I will return to my job after I have the baby. I told her that I’m not planning to make a final decision until after we’ve had a few weeks with the baby to see how everything is going and see how we feel then. She said that’s perfectly ok, and that at any time during my 12 week leave I can let them know that I’m not coming back, and they will just cash out my remaining vacation time. I asked about taking the disability leave if I don’t end up going back to work, and she said that the disability leave is a benefit that I’ve already accumulated based on the amount of time I’ve worked so far – it has nothing to do with future employment. Right now I qualify for 6 weeks of paid disability leave at 60% of my normal pay. Until I met with her, I had been feeling like I should not accept the disability pay, since I can’t promise that I’ll be going back to work. But she made me feel like I should go ahead and take it, especially when she described it as a benefit I’ve already earned.
The 6 weeks of disability pay comes out to about $1500. I’ll also have about $2700 worth of vacation time built up – I haven’t taken any vacation time at all since I got pregnant. So that will be helpful this summer. It’s nice to know that I can have the baby and take some time to figure out what will work best for our family – I don’t have to make any promises or decisions either way until after the baby is born.
Out of respect for my supervisor, I’m going to give myself four weeks to make a decision, and if I decide at that time that I don’t want to go back to work at the library, I’ll let her know so that she can post the job opening. My disability pay would stop at that point, but I would still be able to cash out all my saved vacation time. The lady in HR said I could wait until the day before I’m scheduled to start back to let them know my decision, but I think I will have made a decision long before then, and I don’t think it would be fair to my supervisor to let her know at the last minute.
So overall I’m feeling good about my options. I love my job at the library, but I’m not going to put my family in a position where we feel overwhelmed. So I’ll wait and see how things go this summer.
Chief Family Officer says
I think it’s wonderful that you’re so considerate of your supervisor, and also, you seem very mature and calm, so it’s quite possible that at four weeks you will have your act together and be able to think quite clearly.
However, I wanted to caution you that that might not be the case. When my oldest was four weeks old, between not getting much sleep and having incredible difficulty breastfeeding, I was in no position to make any major decisions.
I guess what I am really trying to say is that I recommend being prepared for things not going according to plan (much like the birth itself, actually). Babies have a way of throwing new parents for a loop!
Good luck!
Surprised Spectator says
Congratulations on your upcoming family addition. I, too, am expecting. #3. Yikes!
I agree that it’s a good thing you were honest with your HR person about your current indecision. But I would recommend not waiting more than 30 days if you need to change over to your spouse’s insurance coverage. Usually, 30 days is the limit for changing during a plan year, and the birth of your child is typically considered the “triggering event.” We barely made it in time after my first child was born.
FrugalBabe says
The 30 day rule is a good one to remember – but my husband and I have our own health insurance that we pay for ourselves; it’s not tied to any employer. We’ve had it for years, even since we became self-employed in 2002. We do have to add the baby to that policy within 31 days of the birth in order to avoid medical underwriting.
make art every day says
stay flexible! you may be overwhelmed by the desire to stay with your baby, or you could feel like you want the break you would get from returning to work. at least think about the possibility of lining up childcare in case you do go back. good luck with your decision!