Performance Review While on Maternity Leave

When You Should Schedule Your Review

Scheduling your workplace review before your maternity leave is a better choice than having a performance review while on maternity leave. Here are some reasons why:

• Maternity leave is just that: leave. While you should stay connected with your place of employment while you are on leave, you don’t actually need to be there.
• This is your leave to take care of yourself and your baby.
• Your focus may not be on work if you schedule a review during your leave.

Since maternity leave covers leave after the birth while you are not actively working, scheduling your leave during this time is a bad idea. Mothers with newborns are notorious for little sleep and trouble focusing--not the best time for a review.

Many new mothers change their mind about their work goals or are unclear about returning to work. These are issues you need to figure out before a review, not during. Having a review during a time of new thought can result in a mom agreeing to terms she doesn't want or taking on work she hasn’t had sufficient time to think over.

Performance Review While on Maternity Leave: How to Have a Great Review

Say your boss or you do decide to schedule a review while you are on leave. Some employers have misconceptions about pregnant women or new mothers in the workplace. Typical terms you may hear include:

• Unorganized
• Lost her focus
• Lost her work drive
• Not the best person for the job anymore

If an employer is using the terms above in a negative way, it's not ok. There are ways you can look like a stellar employee during your maternity leave and receive a great review whether you are on leave or not.

• Be the ultimate planner. This means line up all your ducks in a row before you ever go on leave. This includes things such as:
  • Review the national leave policy and both your state and company leave policy. More information on family leave can be found by reading How to Get Out on Maternity Leave Early.
  • Tell your supervisor about your pregnancy before you tell your co-workers.
  • Write up a plan that sufficiently breaks down your workplace tasks and show who will cover what while you are on leave. This step is negotiable if your company hires a temporary replacement.
  • Decide if you can continue to contribute to the workplace (and if you want to) during your maternity leave. Can you telecommute part-time or make conference call meetings?
  • Create a workplace map. This means you write down how someone else can easily navigate your office. Where are the files from 2003? Is their more than one client contact list hiding somewhere?
  • Make sure regular clients or customers know that you’ll be on leave and give instructions on whom they should contact while you’re gone.
  • Set your email to automatically forward to the new temp, your home office, or your supervisor.
  • Dress to impress. Find great professional maternity clothes or even a maternity business suit if appropriate.

Doing all this and more can help you not only prepare well for enjoying a stress-free maternity leave, but it can also show your boss that you are a seriously efficient and responsible employee even though you’re taking leave.

You can print out a checklist with these sort of tips and more at Modern Mom.

Where to Go for Help

If you do happen to have a performance review while on maternity leave and you get what you feel is an unfair review due to your leave, being pregnant, or being a new parent, it may be discrimination.

It’s your right to take maternity leave and, in most cases, within your rights to get your job back or the equivalent of your job back when your return. Keep in mind that maternity leave laws differ at three levels: national, state, and company. If you feel that you have been the victim of pregnancy discrimination, contact The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission page on how to file a discrimination claim.