Question:
If I get pregnant and then decide to leave my job after the maternity leave is finished, do I have to 'pay back' the maternity leave pay? I know this is the case in some countries (UK?). I work in Basel at a large company.
I would like to notify my employer soon that I am both pregnant and will not return to work after the maternity leave. I plan to work up until the little one arrives. I feel that giving them the most notice possible is the right thing to do, however, if it compromises 18 weeks of pay, then well, hmmm, not so much...
I am hestitant to speak to HR about this.
Thanks in advance!!!
Yes, it will.
- Termination by the employee
The ban on terminating a contract is only applicable for employers. Employees who are pregnant, women who have just given birth and breast-feeding mothers can serve notice on an employment contract at any time. They are obliged however to respect the correct legal or contractual notice periods and dates or those defined by overall employment law.
Termination of a contract by serving notice or by mutual consent on a date prior to the birth signifies that the employee loses her entitlement to loss of earnings compensation upon maternity. She only retains her entitlements if the contract is terminated on a date after the birth.
http://www.seco.admin.ch/dokumentati…x.html?lang=en
euh... yes but she said she wants to hand in her notice AFTER maternity leave is over and is asking about whether she will be asked to pay back anything and I think answer is no.
OP: you just have to time handing in your notice in time for your notice to run out when maternity leave is over so you never have to return (if this is what you wish)
K
Would I be right in thinking she would be paid for her notice period, too? Probably two or three months? Or would it fall under the maternity umbrella?
Actually, she said that little word “If”. But I was mainly replying to her second paragraph. There’s nothing in the document I linked to that says money has to be paid back.
From the link Medea posted, and from speaking to our HR person today, I understand it like this:
I can tell my employer today that I am quitting the day the baby is born (6 months from now). I am fully entitled to full maternity leave, no need to pay anything back, etc. They can't fire me (unless I do something insanely egregious) while I am pregnant. Also, of course, I can also take up to a year unpaid leave after the maternity leave, which is helpful since the company then pays for accident insurance, etc.
However, if I quit before the baby is born (like quit in August, with baby arriving in Nov), and the company also agrees that I can quit in Aug (i.e. I gave them 3 months notice, as is stipulated in my contract), then I do not have the right to claim maternity leave (as I am no longer an employee when the baby is born).
I hope that helps some other mamas and papas out there.
In the end, I think its a pretty good deal.
Where do you get the idea you can have up to a year off work unpaid? Yes, an employer isn’t required to pay you after the 14 weeks of maternity leave ends - unless you’re still breastfeeding - but they’re also not necessarily required to keep you on either if you’re not working. If you don’t want to return to work, you could be let go at the end of the maternity leave. Or is your company that generous in granting leave time?
She says in the OP that she works for a large company in Basel so I suspect it's the company generosity coming into play here. It was obviously the company HR department which gave her the information.
Sorry, I was unclear.
My company is generous about allowing someone to take unpaid leave after the paid maternity leave is finished. This would be a company specific thing. There are several stipulations with this. You can come back to your same job after 2 months unpaid leave. After 6 months unpaid leave you can come back to a similar job, and I think that up to a year after the birth you can come back to a job (not necessarily one you want).
yes but company could ask her to go to work