Creative Work Arrangements with Employer vs. Maternity Leave

[thebomb]

Hi all,

Hoping the ladies (or men with relevant expereince) can help me out here. I am in an exec position with a company and my employer is well aware that I will be more than likely trying to get pregnant eventually....(sooner than they think, or then I let on). They are very interested in accomodating me if I wish to work during my leave. Basically- they dont want me taking a year off. So now I need to figure out some creative options. Reaching out to those who have had a similiar expereince- did you work from home? were you able to defer pay until you returned to work (and collected EI while off), did you work part time (financial pro's and con's and impact with EI)? what did you do for childcare? Are there places that allow part time daycare with pay per use vs. contract?
My current idea is to possibly NOT be physically present in the office for atleast 8 wks. I think I would be ok answerwing emails within a couple of weeks....though not sure. Return to the office 1 a week by month 3? Attend our monthly exec meetings each month.Possibly consider 2 days a week at month 6??

Any ideas welcome. Not doing it for the money, though it wont hurt. Mostly because I 'think' I want to.

[LondonHomes]

If your an executive then the money EI is going to be paying you will be chump change and not worth your effort to try to meet the requirements for.

Make a deal with your employer that works for both of you and forget about the government EI program.

[Four Pillars]

DaBomb is back! Good luck with the baby making...

I wouldn't worry about EI - if you are going to work part-time, then you aren't eligible. "Deferring" is not allowed.

I think your plan to work part-time is very doable - in the US, most women don't take a long time off work like they do in Canada. You'll have to investigate day care options - start calling and look at Kijiji etc.

Not sure about the work at home part - might be tough with a baby.

One thing to keep in mind when you talk to different people is that "the new baby experience" can vary widely.

There are different types of moms and different types of babies. Some babies are angels (for a while at least) and some will make your life a living hell for a few months. Tough to predict in advance.

Some women love hanging with the baby all day and some can't stand it. You'd think this would be easy to predict, but I don't think it is.

[Toronto.gal]

"the new baby experience" can vary widely. There are different types of moms and different types of babies. Some babies are angels (for a while at least) and some will make your life a living hell for a few months. Tough to predict in advance.

So true; in fact, it is not 'tough', but impossible to predict in advance.

My kid did not exactly make my life a living hell, but close enough.

I took 2 years off; have NO regrets & was lucky that my employer took me back [it took close to 2 years for the then baby to sleep well at night].