As some clients may know, Empire HR have had a baby boom this year, with, at the time of writing, three babies born and another one on the way! As one of this year’s new Empire mums I can now write with confidence on the experiences of family friendly policies not just in theory but also in practice.
Having worked comfortably at Empire HR throughout my pregnancy, right up to two weeks before baby was due, going on maternity leave was a bit of a shock to the system. No more so than when, after a difficult time of my newborn girl being in the Special Care Unit until she was 10 days old, we got her home...and I had to take my “Employment Law Advisor” hat off and put on my brand new “mummy” hat!
In my experience of the first few months, time just flies by and new parents have no time to think of anything else but looking after baby. But, as time goes on, I found that when I popped in to say hello to my colleagues, baby in tow, I felt a bit of regret. I missed my colleagues and missed using my brain productively. More and more I started to feel worried about what I was missing at work, that I was going to forget everything I knew, and that when I went back everything would be different. Additionally, with so many of us going on maternity leave and the company doing so well, there were a number of new people and changes in the office and I worried that I wouldn’t know anyone or fit in when I did come back.
In our line of work, I’m lucky that I know my entitlements and I work for a company who obviously know them too! So with that I mind I started to consider whether it was time to go back to work. In the end I decided to bite the bullet and ask if I could use my “Keeping In Touch” Days. We discussed how many days I would like to do and when, and what the company thought I could do to help when I was in.
And here I am...KIT Day number 3, with another 3 booked in next week. The days so far have allowed me to get to know the new members of the team, realise that I remember much more than I thought I did, get back into the swing of things in terms of advising clients, and getting up to date with recent employment legislation changes. But, more than that, it has made me realise that while I want to make the most of the “longest holiday from work” I’m ever going to get (!), I love my job, its part of who I am, and I can’t wait to come back when the time is right for me and my family. I’m not daunted anymore about the prospect of coming back to work.
So what does this mean for employers ? Well, of course everyone is different and while one employee may well welcome the chance to come in for a KIT Day, the next employee may not be interested – and you can’t force an employee to take KIT Days. However, if your employee is interested in using them, make the most of it! You will potentially have an extra pair of hands at a busy time, or to undertake a specific piece of work for you. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to engage with your employee on maternity leave and make sure they don’t feel isolated or far too removed from their workplace. This in itself may help you to ensure you continue to have an open and communicative relationship, helping to discuss the employee’s plans for eventually returning to work.
For more information on Keeping In Touch Days and other entitlements during pregnancy and maternity leave, please contact The Advice Line (and I look forward to speaking to some of you!).
Great to see you back at work Faye!
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