Quitting a job immediately following maternity leave?
October 17, 2017 1:38 PM   Subscribe

My wife is currently on maternity leave and is scheduled to return to work soon. She has accrued 12 days of vacation time. Together we've decided that she is ultimately going to be quitting to stay home and raise our child. We're having trouble figuring out how to navigate this and we're finding conflicting information online.

Here are the questions we have: Is there some kind of minimum amount of time she needs to actually work after maternity leave? Can her employer request she pay back some of the benefits she received if she doesn't return to work? Does it make more sense for her to just give her employer a heads up that she won't be coming back and then let them pay her out for the vacation days? Or are there problems doing that? If it matters, I'm located in Ontario, Canada.
posted by Proginoskes to Work & Money (9 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
When I went out of mat leave in Ontario I had the option of paying for my benefits in a lump sum at the beginning of the leave or at the end. I don't believe there is a minimum amount of time that you'd have to return to work after the leave from a regulation perspective. If it was me, I'd just go along merrily on my way until I was contacted about a return to work date and then let them know I wouldn't be returning. They could take any benefits deductions out of my vacation payout and hopefully it'd all wash.
posted by machine at 1:45 PM on October 17, 2017


I feel it would be most appropriate to return to the office for the traditional notification period of 2 weeks (or whatever is traditional/expected in her industry/location).

Obviously the employer was prepared for her leave, and of course it's unlikely they're just completely at a standstill without her. But it is courteous and can be helpful to work out your period of notice -- regardless of your reason for leaving.
posted by so fucking future at 1:53 PM on October 17, 2017 [2 favorites]


Not an HR expert at all but my person-to-person suggestion is why not just ask? You have nothing to lose. They owe her the vacay days, she may owe them the benefits.

Her going back for 2 weeks is disruptive to the baby, her, the office... is that worth it? I don't see why any of you would actually want that.

But letting them know (if they're a decent workplace) makes it easier for them- they can perhaps hire the contract worker who's covering for her, etc- and if you basically trust them to be decent, it doesn't seem like you have much to lose?

If it were me I think I'd just tell them I'm considering it but have some flexibility, and collaboratively work out a good solution.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:17 PM on October 17, 2017 [5 favorites]


I don't know the rules for your location, but where I am it really differs by employer. At my office, you have to pay back your benefits IF you'd been working there for less than a year previously, and if you don't come back and work for a full year after. But, if you had been there for at least one year prior to the leave, you don't have to pay back benefits regardless of whether you come back after or not. That said, this is for 3 months of leave, not 12 days. So, I do think it really differs depending on the specific plan of your wife's workplace.
posted by rainbowbrite at 2:27 PM on October 17, 2017 [1 favorite]


At least in the US, this varies depending on the employer. The company I worked at before I left to be a stay at home parent, had a policy that if an employee wasn't returning to work after parental leave, they would need to pay back their insurance premium for the last month of leave (as in, pay the amount it actually cost the company). So I saved that money accordingly, although they never actually made me pay it, I expect due to HR inefficiency. I have a friend whose company made her pay back three months of her benefits after she decided not to return to work (she knew beforehand so put the money aside).

In my case, I had three months leave and gave my workplace a month's notice that I wouldn't be returning. I had previously laid the groundwork by handing over some projects and leaving very good notes and procedures behind, and I had a good relationship with my boss so I was able to be upfront with her that I wanted to "keep my options open". I worked in a company with a lot of women and I knew of several who had not returned after maternity leave. Everything was very amicable and they paid out my vacation days and wished me well - your experience may vary!
posted by cpatterson at 3:16 PM on October 17, 2017


I did this in Ontario. It was a crappy employer. I Actually booked off my two weeks vacation for right at my return to work date and on my return to work date I gave two weeks notice. I was fine with burning that bridge. I did not have to pay back benefits. It worked out fine.
posted by saucysault at 7:20 PM on October 17, 2017 [1 favorite]


Also, in Ontario it is a really common situation for a parent to explore options for the post-parental year leave. At one employer I actually also took an unpaid year sabbatical (I decided to not return). Have her email the company and ask what her options are.
posted by saucysault at 7:24 PM on October 17, 2017


I did this too (Ontario). Did not have to repay.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:31 PM on October 17, 2017


There shouldn't be a condition of repaying any benefits - they're earned prior to taking the leave.

When I was in HR, this was relatively typical and most of the work was around figuring accrued vacation/sick time.

Depending on the job, it would probably help the employer to have her back in the office for a day or two to transition things. Perhaps that's already been done in preparation for the maternity leave itself.
posted by Twicketface at 10:58 AM on October 18, 2017


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