Working Mummies Support Group #2

[Teeki]

Thanks sahbear It's been weird. Last week was a bit of a novelty - ooh let's be organised at night, and let's go somewhere different for the day! But this week, Sunday night I was really sad. It was like oh. This is my life now

DD suddenly hates daycare and used to love it. 5 days is just too much. DS has settled on well but picked up a virus - he's been home since Wed arvo which is hard because I don't yet have work at home access, there's been a lot of juggling and I borrowed an access card from a colleague for a bit. DH took today off and stayed home with both kids which was great.

Job-wise though, so far I'm smashing it and feeling good!

[nyigi]

Oh no sorry to hear that MN

[peanutter]

That's awesome, wysiwyg!!

[~TT40~]

That is awesome wysiwyg, why they choose the last minute to do it who knows, but sounds great you just might get what you want out of it!

I'm here, working hard, reading everyone,,,just not posting. I'm currently in a battle to get paid maternity leave, and it's looking very real that I won't get it. I don't have time to post about it now...meant to be getting ready for playgroup.....anyway, I will post later about all my woes =p aside from it though! working is going great =)

[wysiwyg]

I'm here, working hard, reading everyone,,,just not posting. I'm currently in a battle to get paid maternity leave, and it's looking very real that I won't get it. I don't have time to post about it now...meant to be getting ready for playgroup.....anyway, I will post later about all my woes =p aside from it though! working is going great =)

Is that for the government one? Due to the number of months thing? I didn't qualify either I had worked a couple of weeks under - 3 months fulltime and then 3 days a week but didn't meet the time period criteria - it sucks that you can get it if you only work one day a week but if you don't meet the length of time requirement don't get it. My two are just over 2 years apart I had a year off with DD before I started looking for work and then got a job and worked till 35 weeks - I was a contractor so no paid leave to count towards the requirement. The baby bonus at the time was ok so I lived with it - I wasn't prepared to work longer than 35 weeks pregnant for the monetary difference at the time, as I was exhausted. The situation is different now without the baby bonus.

I understand that they have to have limits but I don't think that the current limits work very well - 2 years between children is not unusual - neither is being a contractor (I would prefer to be a permanent employee), if I could have got myself a job for just over 1 day a week, I probably would have gone back earlier than I did but I had to go back full-time just to get back into the workforce. If the whole aim of it is to encourage people to work then as long as meeting the minimum hours why should they be restrictive about the length of time you have to be working. If someone chooses to work 5 months full-time between children (and only 5 months due to the demands of the job being difficult while pregnant, and the care they have available for their children) then why should they not be eligible? Their contribution in tax terms won't be any less then someone doing the equivalent but spread out over 10 months.

If I was faced with same situation again but with the no baby bonus - I would try to negotiate with my employer to do one hour each week 36 - 40 weeks (as would have made me eligible - although my employer at the time would not let you work past 36 weeks) - as you only have to work one hour to count it as a working day apparently - but to me that really is a ridiculous thing to have to do, and encouraging women to work right up to due date seems not an ideal thing to me (large organisations often don't want you there past 36 weeks).

[wysiwyg]

This is my life now

This is what I struggle with the most, it isn't the working, it isn't not being at home with the children, it is the "This is my life now", no more children for us so the years ahead seem somewhat 'unmarked' - just stretching out ahead of me (we have now lived in this flat longer than anywhere else in our lives, maybe I have a bit of wanderlust still). Doing something different to what I do now isn't a possibility till 2017 when DS is in school - but I don't even know what I would want to do (just don't want to float from contract to contract).

OP - glad the conference was good - I have heard alot of good things about it.

MN - sorry you didn't get the job - something good will come up I am sure.

I am frustrated with work, my contract is up at the end of August, not entirely sure what I want to do - the next two weeks they really should have me working full-time due to stuff going on and I am prepared to do that but I just can't get an answer out of them - DH needs to confirm holiday for the 4 days he will need to cover - but I have asked in person weeks ago, and also on Monday and also emailed but still no answer. I need more 'get up and go' from them, the pace is frustrating me (seems I get 3 months in with everyone and something annoys me :-)) - I want to drive things forward but I am not really in that position and I haven't got the impression they want me to.