Jessica Chivers is a coaching psychologist, author of Mothers Work! How to Get a Grip on Guilt and Make a Smooth Return to Work (Hay House, 2011) and founder of The Talent Keeper Specialists
In a nutshell? “KIT days allowed me to settle back in more quickly – a benefit for both me and my line manager.”
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
The legal bit
- You can have up to 10 ‘keeping in touch’ or ‘KIT’ days during your maternity leave without bringing your statutory maternity pay or leave to an end.
- Both you and your employer need to agree to KIT days as there’s no legal right to them.
- They can be taken at any point during maternity leave except for the two weeks immediately after your baby’s birth. You can even take KIT days before baby is born.
- Any part of a day worked on maternity leave (even just an hour) counts as a whole KIT day. A KIT day might include working from home.
- No law exists about how much you should be paid when doing a KIT day. This is something to agree with your employer in advance (see below).
Consider your KIT preferences
KIT days are a tool to smooth your transition from maternity leave to being back at work. Anecdotal reports are that employees who make use of them have an easier return to work – and that’s good for wider team as well as you. There’s no prescribed format for KIT days and they can be used to undertake a large range of work-related activities. It’s helpful for you to think about what activities you would be like to be involved in when you’re on leave, before you sit down to discuss KIT days with your line manager.
Possible uses of / activities to do on KIT daysยท
- Planning meetings
- Budget meeting
- Project scoping meetings
- Annual strategy meeting
- Attending a conference
- Training
- Client events
- Team away day
- Team meeting
- Meeting new members of the team
- Recruiting new member of the team
- Conducting direct reports’ performance reviews (in conjunction with your cover)
- Agreeing your ‘comeback plan’ (see below)
See KIT days from your manager’s perspective
This was my manager’s first experience of KIT days and so we learnt together, largely bypassing the minimal HR facility that my employer had at that time
One study found 71% of women want to have KIT days, yet only 31% in the study had done so. Part of this was due to lack of encouragement by line managers. By considering the benefits of KIT days from your line manager’s perspective and thinking through any objections she or he might have, you’ll be able to make a good case for making use of them. “This was my manager’s first experience of KIT days and so we learnt together, largely bypassing the minimal HR facility that my employer had at that time.”
The money side
Maternity pay and KIT day arrangements may be set out in your contract and if not, you and your employer need to work this out in advance. There are no regulations about what an employee should be paid on a KIT day, although you must be paid at least the minimum wage. Many employers top up employees’ maternity pay on a KIT day to the equivalent of a regular day’s pay, although they don’t have to. If you need to negotiate what you’ll be paid think about travel and childcare costs and use that to make the case for a pay top-up. Whatever you agree, ask for it in writing.
Fixed or flexible?
It’s a good idea to discuss how far in advance you would both would like to set the KIT dates and agree any flexibility for changing them once agreed. Things may happen in the organisation or in your personal life which may mean it’s better for one or both of you to revise planned dates. For example, whilst one person might prefer to come in once a week in the run up to their return another person might prefer an ad hoc agreement, coming in for specific events as and when they happen. Childcare can be a stumbling block to being able to come into work at short notice, so setting expectations about how much warning you’ll need for changes is useful to you both.
DURING LEAVE
Be in touch about keeping in touch
Depending on how much your line manager wants to know, you may want to agree in advance of each KIT day what you’ll be doing and when you intend to arrive and go home. This may be a simple phone call or some thoughts from you by e-mail a few days in advance. It also serves as a reminder that you’re coming and acts as prompt to have desk space available and time in your line manager’s diary.
Be creative about childcare
If you and your employer are up for KIT days, be confident to suggest ways you can do them with baby in tow if necessary (particularly if you are breastfeeding). Many women talk about not being able to do KIT days because they don’t have formal care in place, yet there are many ways to make it work. From making a direct request to bring baby into the office to attend a team meeting and sift through e-mails to arranging for your partner or a friend to accompany you and take care of baby outside the office whilst you take part in a strategy meeting, you can make it work.
Creating a ‘comeback’ plan to get the balance right
‘Proper preparation produces performance’ so the saying goes. It’s much easier to feel confident about returning to work when you’re certain about what’s expected of you in your first few weeks and months. Using part of a KIT day to sit down with your line manager and map out your activities and deliverables for the first 4-6 weeks is desirable. Whilst it might change, having this conversation flushes out implicit hopes and expectations on both sides, avoiding nasty surprises from hidden assumptions. Even the most well-intentioned employers can ‘get it wrong’ by under-stretching returning employees (to show they care) or over-stretching (to demonstrate their confidence in you). Do talk to your line manager about these 4-6 weeks being a period of transition where you’ll be building up to ‘business as usual’ but not operating there yet.
OVER TO YOU
The prompts below have been written to help shape your thinking and structure a conversation with your line manager.
You might even want to send this guide to your employer.
- What activities would you like to use KIT days for?
- How will doing these things help you make a smooth return?
- What are the benefits to your line manager of you having KIT days?
- Are there additional benefits to your wider team or clients?
- What do you know about pay arrangements for any previous employees who have done KIT days?
- What would you like to suggest to your employer?
- What might your options be for childcare whilst taking part in KIT days?
Follow Jessica Chivers @jesschivers and The Talent Keeper Specialists @TalentKeepersUK
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