“I was made redundant on maternity leave. Help!”

0:00Speaker 1:If they want to judge you. I know it's not as simple as like, oh, let them judge you. But stand strong, know your value, Know that this is a small window, and return when you're ready, within what the policy demands of you.

0:11Speaker 2:Also, you do not know how long it's going to take to get pregnant.

0:14Speaker 3:You have no idea.

0:15Speaker 2:It might happen in a sneeze.

0:16Speaker 4:It might take a long time, you might struggle, you might have fertility issues if it takes him a longer.

0:21Speaker 2:Policies are there to be used.

0:24Speaker 4:This podcast was recorded on the lands of the boon Warong people of the Kulin nation, the land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters, always was and always will be Aboriginal Land.

0:36Speaker 2:Hello and welcome to Do You Ready or Not?

0:38Speaker 4:The show where we answer three of your questions on making work work alongside of motherhood. I'm Lou and I am Los And today you are asking us all about redundancy. Well on matt leave, the guilty of taking a second round of parental leave when you're in a relatively new job that's a tough one, and whether to stay in a high pay but soulless job.

0:58Speaker 3:Yeah, so that's a big look at trying to come up with something.

1:02Speaker 1:I'm like, I'm normally the opposite. There's lots of soul, but there's not much money. Question one, my friend, this comes from Tess. Would love your take on Betuda Advocate satire article. I got made redundant while on Matt leave. The whole department got shut down, but the deployment options had no consideration for someone coming back part time from Matt leave. Basically, if I did the redeployment pathway, I would have missed out in ways such as opportunities and pay as I couldn't commit to full time working in redeployment for three months. There were no considerations for mothers on Matt leave in this situation, which was incredibly disappointing.

1:36Speaker 1:I now faced the challenge of trying to find a job midway through the year while on maternity leave with a minimal childcare options help.

1:43Speaker 4:It sucks. That's the first thing that I will say to you. I have been in this situation, albeit at the time I had a four month old, so I was kind of at the very beginning of Matt leave and I wasn't in the zone of.

1:55Speaker 1:Not like the pressure cooker zone of like feck, like I need to find something now.

1:59Speaker 2:Exactly right, so I had more time.

2:01Speaker 4:But it also is so difficult because I think one of the things that people forget about is the fact that you can't really apply for a job in the capacity that you're wanting to return in if that's not full time. Yeah, a lot of people want to do a slower return to work, so they would like to do one, two, three, four five if they're working full time, or perhaps they even want to do that slow return and don't want to return to full time capacity when you're looking for jobs. I mean, my biggest advice to you is apply for full time roles and negotiate different hours once you're a preferred candidate.

2:37Speaker 2:But it sucks. It's so hard.

2:39Speaker 3:Yeah.

2:39Speaker 1:The main thing I was just thinking was like, you're allowed to feel as frustrated and deflated as you are. The other thing is the confidence piece, right, Like that is really challenging. I think Loss's advice here of applying for those full time roles is the best and just slowly chipping away at it. It's also tricky because like if you're made redundant on parental leave and you're not actually ready for another job, but you need to start looking tricky because you can't start applying for a jobs that need an immediate higher So you're in a challenging position.

3:06Speaker 1:I'd say, believe in yourself, apply for the roles that you want, put your hat in the ring. Remember that you're good at your job in a time where you're probably lacking some confidence, and know that it is hard and you're allowed to find it hard.

3:17Speaker 4:It's the same thing with redeployment, I should say, usually with redeployment, which a lot of people consider lucky, and I don't always necessarily think that for this exact situation, redeployment is great because they do offer you differing jobs within the organization. Usually they're not really the job that you want or the job that you were in, so like it's not comparing apples to apples.

3:39Speaker 2:I would still go though, for those.

3:40Speaker 4:Jobs, and I would have the discussion again, because the benefit of the person hiring you is that you've got company knowledge. Yes, so even though they're probably looking for someone full time, and I'm sure that's how the job was advertised, your best asset if you're already within an organization, is knowing the teams, knowing the people, and knowing how the organization works.

4:02Speaker 1:Knowing how an organization works is like such a big part of your job.

4:06Speaker 3:And it's such an annoying part of training people.

4:08Speaker 1:I'm not saying we shouldn't train people and that it's not a valuable task, but knowing how an organization works that is like gold.

4:16Speaker 4:Yeah, it is gold, and it's gold to employers. So don't discount yourself from the redeployment process. Still apply even if it may not be the job that you want, because it is, I think, still easier to negotiate part time hours within an organization that you're already in, even if it's a different role than it is nothing like your old role. Yeah, than it is to apply externally. But it feels it's shit and it sucks that employers do that to people on parental leave. I know that, you know, we should say oh, but you know, it's not about that, it's about the organization, it's about the role.

4:52Speaker 4:I get it, But part of me thinks to myself, that really just further puts pressure on women not returning to work.

5:00Speaker 3:One hundred percent.

5:00Speaker 4:Sorry, that's my take, that's my hot take on that one. Hopefully that helped, Dear listener, Dear tests yes. Question two. This is from Sam. Is it bad if I accept a permanent part time role, work in it for one year, then take two years maternity leave. I feel so much guilt knowing that I will accept this role, then hopefully get pregnant and take a big chunk of time off. I would be eligible for this if I work for six months before taking maternity leave, and the policy states that I can take up to two years off. This would be our third child, and I'm wanting a bigger chunk of time off this time. Totally get but I just feel so much guilt, and I'm scared of the judgment from coworkers.

5:36Speaker 2:Slash my boss.

5:37Speaker 1:I get every single feeling that you have, and I would have the exact same feelings. But the policies are the policies. This is a short window in your life. You'll never regret doing what you want. If they want to judge you. I know it's not as simple as like, oh let them judge you, but stand strong, know your value, Know that this is a small window, and return when you're ready within what the policy demands of you.

6:02Speaker 2:Also, you do not know how long it's going to take to get pregnant.

6:05Speaker 3:You have no idea.

6:06Speaker 4:It might happen in a sneeze, it might take a long time, you might struggle, you might have fertility issues and it takes them a longer. Policies are there to be used. I don't want to say the word entitlement, but I will. You are entitled to take parental leave. You are contributing to the economy, you are raising the next generation of children that will also work.

6:29Speaker 2:So do not feel bad.

6:30Speaker 4:I think so often we get stuck in our minds about oh, I'm only going to be next I'm only going to be back for six months, and I'm going to get pregnant again.

6:37Speaker 2:So it's such a more window.

6:39Speaker 3:You self apologize for it.

6:41Speaker 1:This is what you want for your family, Yes, go for it, clearly derailing the policy anyway, to know that you're sticking within.

6:48Speaker 2:It and people know this.

6:50Speaker 4:I also just want to say, most people that have one child you have an offend or third yep. So it's not going to be totally out of the blue. Your employer hasn't put you in a bucket like we're not going to promote her because she's shit. You're probably great in fact. In fact, by you even writing this in and really thinking about it shows that you care. I know it's hard to put that guilt aside. There are so many people in the same boat, so many people are wanting more children. Yeah, take the additional time off.

7:20Speaker 4:I wouldn't even feel guilty about that, And you won't because once you're in it, you're like, ah.

7:23Speaker 1:And you might have a great parental leave cover too, and they're like, oh, well, that person wants to stay on for another year.

7:27Speaker 3:Like, no one has hurt has been hurt by this.

7:30Speaker 4:No, take the leave, get pregnant, enjoy your life, Your life.

7:35Speaker 1:Question three. This one comes from Kyler. I'm a new mum working in US tech. On paper, I'm living the mum dream, earning three hundred k go girlfriend and working from home. But it's breaking me. Okay, sorry, I take that back, girlfriend, I am now feeling for you. The early wakeups and the lack of culture is demotivating. My own manager didn't congratulate me on my new arrival, and I had to organize my own transition.

7:59Speaker 3:Back to the Do I stick it out for the good pay.

8:02Speaker 1:And remote work or find something new that's more fulfilling, but likely won't pay as much.

8:08Speaker 3:What did you do, mind?

8:09Speaker 1:I think I would just do a temperature check on how just soul destroying it is, because obviously with money comes a lot of freedom and a lot of access to things that might help your life or.

8:20Speaker 3:Set you up for life.

8:21Speaker 1:But if it's like destroying your soul, get the fuck out of there.

8:25Speaker 3:No amount of money is worth it.

8:26Speaker 4:Yeah, I think to myself, if you're at the stage where you're asking other people to help her make a decision, the decision is made, you're so.

8:33Speaker 1:Right, Like you need to get out just to chat to a friend at the coffee shop that just happened to come about. Like you've gone out of your way to write this to us a podcast about motherhood and career.

8:41Speaker 3:I'm with Lass, You've got to get out, get out of there.

8:44Speaker 1:It doesn't have to write this second, but start thinking about it.

8:46Speaker 4:Yeah, three hundred K is definitely a lot of money. I'm not gonna lie, And I think that's what's really holding you back from making the right decision for your sanity and mental health. It's difficult because people don't place a value on culture or people or working lot alongside a team, and that is such a significant value that's underrated.

9:06Speaker 3:It's so underrated.

9:07Speaker 1:Like I still think about my best friendships at like my job before kids.

9:12Speaker 3:Yeah, and I still value that relationship so much that I had with them.

9:15Speaker 4:I'm still friends, Like some of my closest friends are the friends that I've made through workplaces.

9:20Speaker 2:Because you spend so much time together.

9:22Speaker 3:You know the same battle skirt. Yeah, you're the.

9:25Speaker 4:Same battles skirt. You're talking about the same things every day. You innately know each other's lives outside of work as well, Like if you're having a shit day, it makes a huge difference being able to confide in somebody that knows and.

9:37Speaker 1:You like slowly learn things about each other's family life in like a really lovely sort of like low pressure way. If it's a good relationship. Saying all this is just making me realize how much is missing from this person's life and why it does feel so soul destroying because.

9:51Speaker 3:You're not getting any of that.

9:52Speaker 1:And I would argue you need it almost even more when you're a mum returning to work than you did before you had kids.

9:57Speaker 4:Agree One thing I would focus on though, because I would be remiss if I said money doesn't matter, because for me, it matters enormous, enormously if your wage is supplementing or paying for huge bulk of your family income. Have the conversation with your partner and start to work out what reducing your wage is really going to look like. So does that mean less holidays, less dinners out, maybe moving properties? Can you afford your mortgage?

10:27Speaker 2:Things like that? To be honest, like, it's easier said than done.

10:29Speaker 4:If your mortgage is fifteen grand a month, you're living in a beautiful house in a nice suburb, You've got daycarefees, you've got private school fees. I don't know what it looks like for you, but the harsh reality is if you go somewhere else and take a pay card, those things can't happen. So are you going to be okay with that? And what's that going to look like for your family? I want to say, quit your job, get something that you like, get something you're happy with, But on a wage like that, those types of jobs are really hard to come by. And sadly, if you do decide to move industries or move roles, you're probably not going to get paid that, So what is that going to black?

11:00Speaker 2:And will you still be happy?

11:01Speaker 1:And what value is like a good value to you in terms of monetary Yes, that you're happy to settle for, like is it like one eighty K?

11:09Speaker 3:But I really enjoy my life.

11:11Speaker 1:Like you start to set a bar of like what's your best case on worst case minimums of earning money?

11:16Speaker 2:Hopefully that helps you. Yeah, that's it helps you. We're not going to lie.

11:21Speaker 4:I'm looking that if you let me know, send me the jobbling, we will do it.

11:27Speaker 2:I'm up for a remote work for good pay.

11:29Speaker 3:That is it.

11:30Speaker 4:If you have love today's episode, please leave us a review, follow us on Ready or Not dot pod, and keep sending us through your questions.

11:35Speaker 2:We have a backlog, but we like there's a good one. We'll move it to the fram move it. Yeah,