VERY concerned about maternity leave!(long)

Posts: 632
5/19/10 10:28 A

Hi there ~ I need some advice on how to handle this properly. Up until last week I was to be working from home for the last 2 months of my 12-week Mat.leave. Suddenly my boss is apologizing to me saying that it's not his choice & HR has said that we can't do this. He did say that he'd keep trying (esp. since there was another employee that worked from home during her mat. leave before). I emphasized that we need to figure something out as my last day in the office is May 26th. Currently there's no one to maintain the reports/surveys I do and i'm afraid of a) them piling up in my absense and/or b) bosses feeling that they can live without the work I do and I won't even have a job to come back to!
This past week HR did call me & ask what the plan had been for me to work from home, (even which reports I'd planned to keep doing & which I would put on hold), and that she was calling another of the bosses to discuss the matter. No further explaination so I let it go & mentioned it only to my boss. He smiled & said maybe there's still hope...This week the other boss is in town & he asked if I had my laptop ready to work with (from home). I explained the situation to him & found that he NEVER got a call from HR! He said he'd look into it last night and today says that the problem is bigger than us...WTH?
There is another woman in the accounting dept that's going on mat. Leave in late Aug. and she asked her boss to work from home for 6 weeks (instead of taking any break at all-which is insane but she's a 1st time mom & doesn't realise how crazy that may be...). Well HER boss is the CFO & he is probably the one that f-ed this whole plan up now and called in HR to put a stop to it. But I don't know as the "bosses" won't say!
I have 3 more days in the office. What am I to do? A co-worker suggested I call HR & the 2 bosses into an office and ddemand to know what's going on now!
I'm not that confrontational but i don't want this to drag on until next Wednesday so...
What do I do?

Posts: 37
5/19/10 11:22 A

YIKES!!! That is a mess. I understand how you could be so frustrated! If you're not that confrontational, then maybe send an email to all parties explaining what you were told at the beginning and that each party doesn't seem to be communicating the whole story if at all. I'm not really sure other than it sounds like a legal matter if they told you one thing and are now changing their minds at the last minute. Tell them this is not good for you to stress about right before your baby is born! I do think you need to get to the bottom of this asap, though. Good luck! I wish I could help more, but I'm not really sure how...Hopefully there will be some other advice for you soon!!!

Best wishes, and just keep breathing so you and baby are healthy no matter what happens!!!
~Ashley

BabyPoints: 2558
Posts: 540
5/19/10 8:53 P

I agree with pp on this. If you are not comfortable with sitting them all down at once to discuss, then I would email. Outline exactly what you were told. Explain to them what you plan to do (what work you will do at home etc.) Let them know that you are not overly thrilled at the thought of not being able to work from home and then come back to a mountain of work.
If they are not going to let you work from home, it's their responsibility to find someone to train and replace you while you're off. Tell them you are not prepared to train anyone as you were not expecting to have to.

I hope that it all works out for you. It's times like this that I am soo greatful to live in Canada and have a whole year off.
I know that it's easier said than done, but try not to stress too much :)

Posts: 379
5/20/10 11:37 A

I agree with the previous posts. I would also know what legal rights you have in regards to time off (your company policy, vacation, sick time, FMLA, state laws, etc). And if your company is big enough (more than 50 people world wide), your job is protected upon your return, provided you are not gone more than 12 weeks. It really sounds like you need to sit everyone down in the same room and work through the issue, especially since you are running out of time. Trying this via e-mail will likely take longer than you want. At least that's my experience.

Good luck!

Posts: 37
5/25/10 8:26 A

Any luck yet??? Just curious! Best wishes with everything! :)

~Ashley

Posts: 632
5/25/10 9:42 A

Well I spoke with my boss yesterday. I am definitely NOT working from home so everything is going to be on hold until I return on August 24th. Crazy. Also I asked my boss about the issue of my dropping from 3-1/2 days to only 3 days of work upon my return (it's hard enough now to get anything done in only 4 hours but i'll be taking a pump break then too so it's just not worth it!). It was alright before but i wanted to make sure that hadn't changed too. He says everything is fine and i'm just going to have to take him at his word. I said the only thing I've left for others to take care of in my absence is to water my plants. All my reports will have to be made up after I return - so I guess I'll be busy for sometime :) When I asked him "why" I couldn't work from home, He said that the company's grown so much over the recent years and he cannot call the shots as would've been possible in the past. Apparently the Accounting Dept won't let one of their employees work during her upcoming Mat. Leave so that means I can't either. I spoke to that woman and she's been pressured to return after only 6-weeks! I told her that I'm taking my full 12 weeks and that perhaps she should at least consider coming back only 4 days/week to start. It's her first baby and I worry about her... but i realise it's her battle to fight NOT mine. I just reiterated to her that she's allowed to by LAW take more time off! I'm just happy that my boss hadn't pushed me - and that I'll have a job to return to.
Tommorrow is my last day in the office - whew!

Posts: 40
2/17/11 4:45 P

the first 6 weeks (when you are eligible for disablility) you can not work, basically it's a benefits issue you can't receive money for being disabled if you are able to work.

the second 6 weeks (when you are not collecting disability) its up to your employeer - in many states you can also ask to use that 6 weeks sporadically. So, for instance, if your employer agreed you could come in one day a week so that the backlog wasn't so bad
but you have to check with your states' labor law

Posts: 7
3/24/11 1:22 A

Hopefully I can help you with this. I am an HR Rep for a CA company. Maternity leave is very confusing. If you qualify for FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) you do not receive the entire 12 weeks off unless your doctor claims you disabled for 12 weeks. FMLA is a leave that only protects employees when they can not work due to a disability. As for pregnancy most women take 6 weeks FMLA for natural birth or 8 weeks FMLA for a C-section. Once your disability end you can then take CFRA leave (in CA). This is an additional 12 weeks of leave time to bond with a new born. You can take the entire 12 weeks at once or split it up within a 12 month period. It sounds like you employer does not want to get in trouble for allowing you to work from home while on leave. If you work from home then legally you employer can not count that time as FMLA leave. Companies could get in trouble for allowing an employee to work when they are aware an employee was on a leave. It sounds like they are in a round about way informing you that they don't want you working from home period and you either have to take your leave or come back early. Hope this helps. You are welcome to email me if you have any questions.

Edited by: LILDEGAS1973 at: 3/24/2011 (01:23)

Posts: 7
3/24/11 1:26 A

Woops! Just noticed that this was from a over a year ago!