Maternity Leave and the workplace

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by ThetaDancer

I think you might have hit the nail on the head with why I still feel like this hasn't been handled considerately. Since she's returned, she still takes off once or twice per week with very short notice (as in, a mass email like 5 minutes after she's supposed to be at work announcing she won't be in, or an email over the lunch hour saying she won't return for the afternoon) to take care of her newborn. I really want to be understanding about the fact that newborns are a ton of work and things can come up unexpectedly, but I just have a bad taste in my mouth about the way things have been handled.

The company needs to tighten up on its policies and procedures and tell everyone how much notice is needed for women AND men who are taking care of children (or family members). Emergencies happen but that woman isn't leaving with 5 minutes notice for emergencies. She needs to work that out better with her family and the company (in line with company policies).

I really appreciate the companies that have daycares on site and academic departments that allow women and men to have cribs in their offices.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by ThetaDancer

A slight tangent, but what is the typical protocol for notifying one's employer about the intent to take maternity leave? I ask because a co-worker notified us the day before Thanksgiving that she would be taking maternity leave effective January 2nd, I believe (well, she just wouldn't be returning after the New Years break, so whatever date that was). None of us had any idea she was even pregnant but that's a different story. She had 3 1/2 months off, so giving people a 5-week heads up seems ridiculously inconsiderate and unprofessional to me. I am still bitter toward her because she put us all in a bad spot by not telling anyone until so late. Add in that it was the holidays when everyone is crazy busy, anyway, and well...it was a huge headache.

I believe the protocol is based on HR and the specific policies and procedures for the organization.

I know women who were hired and signed a highly paid contract without telling the company that they were pregnant (or told certain people without making a company-wide statement). They got hired and months after their start date, they contractually became eligible for maternity leave. They took the maternity leave which pissed some people off because they were "newbies" but they hadn't violated company policies or anything. Everything worked out because they were extremely productive and really carried their weight when their maternity leave ended.

[Drolefille]

I don't know for sure that a month is standard, but it's like.. that's a whole month! That's probably as far away as you can get to pin down when you're going to start your leave around your due date.

It's kind of a toss up between giving people really flexible "take care of your family first as long as you get your work done" freedom and people abusing it.