Why you should have work conversation before maternity leave

A new survey of working mothers has found that it pays to have conversations about moving to flexible hours before going on maternity leave. Job website workingmums.co.uk asked 1100 women about their working arrangements post-baby and found that 57% of mothers who discussed the possibility of flexible working either got what they wanted or were able to reach a compromise with their employers.

Many of the women surveyed said they'd taken a pay cut in order to be able to achieve a better work/life balance, even if they hadn't changed their hours. 53% said they earned less than before they had children even if they were to work full-time on their current rate of pay.

'There remains a large number of women who continue to be unaware of their rights to work flexibly or unable to discuss this with their employers,' said website founder Gillian Nissim. 'What's clear is that mothers need to maintain communications with their employers to achieve a mutually beneficial ongoing working relationship.'

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