Parental leave notice

cazg

I've read that you need to give 6 weeks notice when applying for parental leave. There's only about three weeks left to the start of the school year but I'm struggling with the idea of leaving baby, who will be only 5 months then. Anyone know if the 6 weeks is required, or if there is a bit of discretion involved? Anyone get away with less than 6 weeks notice? Tia

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Are you not getting the full 26 week maternity leave?

I gave about 4 weeks notice to my BOM about parental leave of which I took 12 weeks but I had
warned the principal throughout my maternity leave that I would be taking extended leave one way or another after my maternity leave. It is at the discretion of the BOM, I suppose they need to put it on the agenda at BOM meetings so September meeting. Is there any way you could take sick leave as that might buy you some time? Leaving a baby at such a young age would have broke my heart and is hard for you too. You need to buy as much time as you can, especially at this age!

cazg

I took my 26 weeks January to June. Baby was born in March and if I'd gone 2 weeks before dd I'd have been back the first week of September anyway. Seemed like a good trade off at the time but she's so young now, can't fathom leaving her. I've considered the sick leave road incase I got turned down for parental but I live very close to school so it's a question of what particular sickness I might have. Also, I've a very unsympathetic doctor, and I'm a pathetic liar! Stress...

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Poor you. Perhaps you could take sick leave for a few weeks and then decide during it that you want to take the parental leave! Even if it bought you some time up to Halloween! I would not have been emotionally or physically able to go back to work when my daughter was 5 months! I'm still off 2 years later and will be for the foreseeable future!

cazg

2 years sounds amazing! I'm still hoping for a Lotto win to just hand in my notice! Until then, sick leave and some parental might be an idea. Even just a few weeks would make all the difference though I'm sure it'd never be enough!

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cazg wrote: »

2 years sounds amazing! I'm still hoping for a Lotto win to just hand in my notice! Until then, sick leave and some parental might be an idea. Even just a few weeks would make all the difference though I'm sure it'd never be enough!

Exactly! In the grand scheme of things, a few weeks sick leave isn't that much and every little helps! Keep playing that lotto, as will I

man_no_plan

Give the principal a ring and tell them the story. You can have your request for parental leave for up to 6months I think from memory.

We had this last year where a teacher rang at the beginning of august and said she wanted to take leave. We advertised and filled the job so she was fine. If a teacher is looking to take unpaid leave it's a big deal to them so it should be a big deal to the school, at the end of the day you are working there and you will possibly be there for some time so its in the best interests of the school in the long and short term to let you go and get on with what you need to do for you and your family. If you come back under pressure will your heart be in it?

That's my slant on it anyway fwiw. I would be straight about it, cant stand being told lies about stuff like that. The sooner you raise it with the P or DP the better.

RH149

I'd agree with man_no_plan....its better to be straight than feigning illness to get sick leave- I always think that will come back to bite you somehow. You never know what lies ahead and our sick leave entitlement has been reduced so much its unwise to take a chunk of it if you're not actually sick.God forbid you ever need to take it legitimately its better to have it there. Most schools are interviewing in August so it wouldn't be that inconvenient for a school to replace you for a few more weeks. Your maternity sub may not have got work for Sept. yet either so it could be very simple for your school to give them a few more weeks.....and if not there's probably no shortage of subs going by posts on here.

Fingers crossed for you!

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RH149 wrote: »

I'd agree with man_no_plan....its better to be straight than feigning illness to get sick leave- I always think that will come back to bite you somehow. You never know what lies ahead and our sick leave entitlement has been reduced so much its unwise to take a chunk of it if you're not actually sick.God forbid you ever need to take it legitimately its better to have it there. Most schools are interviewing in August so it wouldn't be that inconvenient for a school to replace you for a few more weeks. Your maternity sub may not have got work for Sept. yet either so it could be very simple for your school to give them a few more weeks.....and if not there's probably no shortage of subs going by posts on here.

Fingers crossed for you!

Ok, not getting into a debate as what defines sick leave or not but anyone who has a newborn baby will tell you that it's the hardest job going and at 5 months old, your mental and physical health are extremely delicate! I did not encourage her to feign illness but I will encourage her to mind her health at this early stage of the babies life. Rushing back to work will not help anyone if you're not ready and this government has sold us teachers to the Sharks and I owe nothing to them! A few weeks of sick leave for the goodness of your health will not harm anyone! I knew I would get this response and I wish I had replied in a PM.

RH149

Of course she needs this extra time (I've been there...we used to only get 14 weeks maternity leave up to 13/14 yrs ago and I know what its like handing over a four month old baby to a childminder while I went to school in tears) but the OP said her gp wouldn't give her a cert and she wasn't a good liar so that's what I'm responding to- in this situation she wouldn't be taking actual sick leave. She also mentioned living near the school being a problem if she took that sick leave which is understandable....I'd be afraid to leave the house if I was on sick leave too. In this instance I just think she's better off being honest with the school and asking for parental leave.

Millem

Cazg ask for your parental leave. I bet they will give it to you

I will be very upset going back in 3 weeks myself and my baby will be nearly 20 months. There is no way I could of gone back after baby was 5 months.... Mentally so I defo wouldn't feel like a fraud or listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. I signed up to that corn market income protection and in the leaflet it said the number 1 payout is for mental health.

On a separate note i don't know how the dept have gotten away with us not being allowed to add holidays and bank holidays onto our maternity leave. :mad::mad: in any other job you could add it on.

solerina

Millem wrote: »

On a separate note i don't know how the dept have gotten away with us not being allowed to add holidays and bank holidays onto our maternity leave. :mad::mad: in any other job you could add it on.

It's a total joke, in any other job it wouldn't happen, I totally agree with you....the unions yet again have left us down !!

cazg

Thanks for all the food for thought!

I spent a few sleepless nights, and finally went with honesty being the best policy. I was fairly convinced I'd be turned down, but trying to get a cert and live with that would actually have caused me too much stress.

As it was, I totally underestimated my principals capacity for empathy. She totally understood and, despite the late notice and the hassles it will cause her, agreed to 4 weeks without hesitation. Like you said man_no_plan, its a huge deal for me to take unpaid leave and she appreciated that. Also, she had three children and understood firsthand the trials of leaving a small baby.

So, baby will be just 6 months going back. In a perfect world, I'd love far more time with her, but after the weeks of stressing leaving her so early I'm really thankful just to get this far.