Myself and my husband shared our parental leave, taking 6 months each - he is an HLTA at a secondary school. His school suggested (and in fact, actively encouraged!) him to return to work for the last week of the school year, so that he was back on full pay from the summer holidays.

Now, I could have a very long conversation about TA pay and why it isn’t high enough for the work being done, and how every penny counts... But I have to say that neither of us had even thought about him ’returning’ from parental leave for one week in order to be back on full pay six weeks before he was actually working again. It seemed to be the way things were done in the business, morally correct or not!

Within any system there will be room for interpretation.
A very good friend timed her 2nd and 3rd children so she got paid for the summer holidays.
My daughter in law will return to work to get paid for the summer term
My daughter will make the most of the NHS maternity scheme.
I still remember the bewilderment of a client on finding out that women 'earned' a holiday bonus' whilst on maternity leave.

Whether it is right or wrong that is how systems are often designed - with opportunities to take advantage of them. ther is always the possibility of closing the door through renegotiation, but I don't think many companies would take that on.....
I myself made an instant system gain in excess of £1,000 when I paid a large amount into a french company savings plan twenty years ago. These plans require you to lock the money up for at least five years but unlock when leaving the company; any investment gains are non-taxable. Typically companies also do matching payments to a ceiling. I paid in the maximum the system allowed just before leaving for a new job, and the company matched with a large amount. Three weeks later I recovered all the money, including the company matching payment - all non-taxable. I had no qualms because the system was defined by law and that is just the way it is.

The other way to look at it is, that her contract is term time and she is paid less than what she works to allow her to be paid during the holidays.

She is likely thinking I have already contributed to it, so I may as well get the benefit of it.

Sharon

Yes, this happens a lot with our school. Generally, this has been accommodated as long as sufficient notice has been provided. Usually 8 weeks minimum, as we would need to inform the Mat Cover know as well.

Everyone returns just before a holiday. It might feel harder because she's leaving too, but I would always assume that will happen.

Hi Jo,
I work in a school. Does your school have a policy that sets out requirements around returning to work for x amount of weeks before being able to resign otherwise a proportion on the maternity pay has to be paid back?

Hi Jo

I would say it is pretty standard to return the week before summer holidays, we've had people returning for the last day where everyone leaves at lunchtime! Just checking she didn't receive contractual maternity pay, as wouldn't she need to return for 13 weeks?