by Rachel Smith
18 July 2018
I’m due to have my first baby in November, and while it’s exciting, I’m a bit worried about taking time off work and how things will go financially. Do you have tips for taking maternity leave as a freelancer?
I prefer the idea of giving my editors a heads up (at least those who regularly give me work), although other freelancers have said that’s not necessary. And I can see their point, because at this stage I have no idea how much time off I’ll need to take and may just get stressed about needing to return to work quickly. But I hope to get back in the game as soon as possible (for financial reasons and because I love my work), so I’d hate for them not to send me any assignments for a few months because I asked them not to, and then find I can do it.
Any tips on childcare arrangements would be great – does working from home mean less childcare may be needed? Anon
Congratulations! Your first bubba is so exciting – and all your worries are completely normal. I think most freelancers wonder how it’ll all work – and how things will change, both with the cute newcomer to your household, and the freelance business you’ve nurtured, possibly for years. So let’s break it down one by one.
Of course, this is a very individual thing. I know freelancers who were back to work in two months, while others took a year or more. I thought I’d be back in the hot-seat four months after having Charlie – I was dreaming! At four months I was so sleep deprived I could barely string a sentence together. So while you can take a guess, a lot will depend on your baby: how well they sleep and feed, whether there are any health issues at play, how attached they are to you. All of the above can affect how fast you can go back to work, and also whether you want to, but you won’t know that until your baby’s here, so just resolve to go with the flow – much less stressful.
The good news is, you’re not entirely out in the cold taking maternity leave as a freelancer. Dads can tap into the government’s Dad and Partner Pay – it’s $719.35/week for two weeks while you’re on unpaid paternity leave from work. Mums (or the baby’s main carer) can claim 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay – also $812.45/week before tax. Combined, this means your family can receive up to 20 weeks’ pay from the government. You need to nominate a start date for your payments that’s within 34 weeks of your child’s birth, to get the full 18 weeks pay. My hot tip: darken the door of Centrelink sooner rather than later and make sure you take your partner and every piece of paperwork you think you might need. (And all the bits you don’t think you’ll need, just in case – so you don’t have to go back.)
I understand not wanting to notify editors and clients about your maternity leave, but you’ve fostered relationships with these people. Plus, the baby could put you out of the loop for a while, so I’d be upfront with those you work for regularly. (Having a friendly ‘Hey, I just had a baby…’ out-of-office message is also essential). I had several handovers to other freelancers when I went on maternity leave and from memory all my editors and clients were great. Most of them were parents themselves, and they wished me well and told me to let them know when I was back on deck. I simply started pitching as usual when I went back to work. Which brings me to…
When your bubba is little, it is possible to work – if you’re organised and make nap time your work time! Newborns nap multiple times a day; by 9-12 months old, they’re generally napping twice a day, and by 18 months, it’s once a day). But you will probably want to think about childcare as your kid gets older and stops napping (usually around 2+). Your choices here are: family if you’re lucky enough to have that support (often free), a nanny ($25-30/hour and not subsidised unless you use the government’s Nanny Pilot Program), family day care or a larger day care centre (costs can be $100-140/day but rebates are available through the new Child Care Subsidy). There are pros and cons to each, so definitely chat to friends who have kids and do your research.
I hope that helps and best of luck for November!
Rachel
