Home » Blog » How well do you communicate with an employee when they announce they are pregnant?

When an employee announces they are pregnant this should trigger a communication process you start to ensure both parties know what to expect from each other.  The maternity policy should be given to the employee, if they don’t have it already and then write to them to explain the next steps.  The expectant mother will have lots going on in their head, juggling different things in their life and this might be the first time they are having a baby.   So why not make it easy for them, put dates in your diary when you need them to provide documentation, inform you of when they are starting maternity etc.

Before their maternity leave starts it is good to agree how they would like to be communicated and how often.  They may want to log on regularly and read the company updates.  If they do not wish to log on then it would be good to suspend their email account to stop it being overloaded with emails.  It is also good practice to prevent anyone hacking into the account and using it unchecked.

The employee might like to receive emails to their private emails, have a call or meet up. Let them know about the Keeping In Touch Days which they are not obliged to attend, but they may want to use them to reintroduce themselves into the work place.

Don’t just let them go and expect them to return to work a year later as if nothing has changed. Remember they are an employee and keep them engaged with the company.

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