Maternity Leave is designed to allow you to rest and recover throughout the first months of your baby’s life, which means that there are some restrictions on working during your leave. These rules are in place to encourage you to relax and make the most of your leave, as well as to make sure that you do not get more payments than you are entitled to receive.
Returning to work after maternity leave can have mixed feelings. I know this for sure because my sentiments were quite different after each of my two maternity leaves.
For our first child, I remember crying all the way to the train station. It was nothing, in particular, just the thought of leaving him with anyone, compounded by the guilt at even thinking about heading back to work, leaving my first fruits with complete strangers.
Yesterday, we gave you a rundown on what to expect at work during your pregancy from first to second, to third trimester. Today, we’ll be looking at what to do if your employer turns nasty during your pregnancy.
Making a decision to take your employer to a tribunal won’t have been easy. However, if you don’t do something about it, they get away with it and will likely do it again. Every wonan has the right to be treated fairly at work – pregnancy can be stressful enough if you have health issues; and there’s so much you may already have on your mind in prepapration for your bundle of joy anyway, so havig issues at work just compounds the issue.
Firstly, congratulations are in order! If it’s your first child you’ll know doubt have a mix of excitement and a ting of nervousness every so often – life is about to change, for the better! If this is not your first child, you know what to expect during the pregnancy and the mix with work, but you’ll no doubt be wondering how to make the room in your life (and purse!) for the addition to the family.
Dressing during the second trimester of pregnancy can be a real challenge. Many women find that their pre-pregnancy clothes are starting to feel a little tight, but full-blown maternity clothes are too big! Stylists Colour Me Beautiful believe that every woman deserves to feel and look her best during this life-changing…
If you’ve suffered from indigestion before, you’ll know it’s quite an uncomfortable, and often excruciating pain in the chest and upper abdomen. If you’re pregnant, and working, it can be even more uncomfortable, as you’re expected to work through your discomfort and get on with the day’s work.
New mums are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave and get up to 39 weeks of statutory maternity pay.Despite this, according to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) 43 per cent of mothers on maternity leave are too afraid to take their full maternity leave.
Baby brain really does exist – well according to researchers at the University of London, anyway! If you keep forgetting things, are a ‘little’ oversensitive at times and find it harder to stay focused, there may well be a valid reason for it.
Examining the brain activity of 39 pregnant women and new mothers as they looked at images of adult and baby faces making either positive or negative expressions, the University of London researchers discovered that pregnant women used the right side of their brain more than new mothers, particularly when processing positive emotions.
If you’ve just discovered that you’re pregnant, you may be worried about how your pregnancy will affect your job. The likelihood is you will need time off for hospital appointments and check-ups, as well as a lengthy break to have your baby and nurse it through those all-important first weeks of life.
Business women with successful careers are often shocked at the inequalities that still surround employees who take their full maternity leave.
When it’s time to go back to work, the choices available to women can be quite limited, with a common complaint being that the career break has affected the woman’s chances of promotion (35% of mothers said they felt discriminated against on their return to work).
Whilst commuters rush around on their journey to work or business meetings, focusing on juggling their coffee, hand or manbag, free issue of Metro newspaper on route, pregnant women are struggling to get a seat.
Trying to avoid an elbow or just being knocked into while pregnant, with the side effects of dizziness, swollen feet and nausea during pregnancy is not something to smirk about.
Rochelle Humes is The Saturdays fame has recently tweeted about being bored on her maternity leave from the band as she is not used to just relaxing! And this is something that many pregnant women experience. By the time you’ve reached your third trimester and are on your maternity leave,…
Pregnant women between 28-38 weeks pregnant are being asked to get vaccinated against whooping cough (pertussis). This is due to a sharp rise in the number of whooping cough cases in the UK, and eight babies dying from whooping cough recently.
In an ideal world, every employer would do their best to ensure that their pregnant employees are well looked after – or at least ensure that their legal obligations to them are met.
But, for many pregnant women, announcing a pregnancy can be the start of difficult times, with employers working out ways to make them feel so uncomfortable that they feel they have no choice but to leave. Things that employers should know better about doing when they have an expectant mum in the workplace…