Your maternity leave is a time to focus on your new arrival, not worry about work. A well-planned handover makes sure your projects and responsibilities are taken care of while you’re away. That will give not only you but your team peace of mind, and it can ease your return to work when you return from leave.
Let’s walk through the key steps to help prepare for a seamless transition.
How to Create a Maternity Leave Handover Plan
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth and care of a newborn child. While there’s no legally mandated earliest start date, it’s wise to begin planning well in advance.
It’s important to note that FMLA applies to companies with 50 or more employees and to workers who have been employed for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year. The law protects your job and health benefits during your leave. However, FMLA leave is unpaid, so check with your employer about any paid leave options they may offer. Some states also have family leave laws that may provide additional benefits or cover more workers.
Once you’ve decided on a start date for your maternity leave, get working on a handoff plan. Set a date to complete the transition and work backward from there. You’ll want to leave plenty of time before your final day to schedule sit-down times with your teammates, whether to train them on how to do your job or inform them of who will be handling what while you’re away.
Work with your manager on a training timeline. If a contract professional will be brought in to cover for you, ask how much time you will have to show them the ropes so you can plan your training schedule accordingly. Be ready to create a compressed schedule in case there will be little overlap for your maternity cover to work with you.
Start compiling your handover notes as soon as you begin planning. This approach is more effective than trying to write everything in your last week of work. Begin with the critical information your maternity cover or teammates will need, then add to your document as new things occur. This method helps create a comprehensive record of your responsibilities.
In your maternity leave handover document, be sure to include:
Key responsibilities and ongoing projects
Essential contacts and their roles
Regular processes and procedures
Upcoming deadlines and targets
Access information for necessary files and systems
For a seamless handover, align your work efforts with your team’s goals — read about effective strategies to keep your team's objectives on track here.
A thorough maternity leave handover considers the needs of your coworkers, the teammates or contract professional who’ll cover your duties, and the overall business. Schedule brief meetings with colleagues to map out upcoming projects and recurring seasonal activities. Use these discussions to determine which tasks your temporary replacement can manage, if one is brought in, and which your coworkers might absorb. This information will help you create comprehensive handover notes, giving you a clearer picture of how work should be distributed and ensuring all essential tasks are accounted for during your leave.
Also use your handover notes and feedback from colleagues to estimate how much ground you’ll need to cover while training. Plan for enough time for questions to make sure everyone’s up to speed before you leave.
Explore practical tips to strengthen workplace collaboration in 5 Ways to Develop Your Workplace Collaboration Skills.
Are there documents you know your maternity cover or colleagues will need to access while you’re gone? You can create a central document hub using platforms like Google Docs or Dropbox as part of your maternity leave handover.
Refer back to your one-to-one colleague meetings, “big picture” assessment and basic business-as-usual notes to identify which documents will be needed. You can email a short filing system guide to all relevant parties before you leave and offer to take any questions or give a demo, so it’s quick and easy for them to find what they need while you’re away.
If a contract professional will cover for you while you’re out, you’ll want them to feel as though they can integrate quickly with the team and pick up where you left off. You can help speed this along by creating a contact list for each aspect of the job (emails, names, job roles, etc.) and by taking the time to introduce your cover to each colleague during their training period.
If time allows, arrange to have your maternity cover alongside you while conducting final handover meetings with managers and colleagues so everyone is on the same page.
Setting up a clear and informative maternity leave out-of-office message helps your colleagues, clients and contacts remain well-informed about your absence and know how to proceed with any inquiries or issues that may arise while you’re away. Here’s what to include:
Mention your absence and return date (or a general estimate if unsure)
Provide alternative contacts for different types of inquiries
Keep the tone professional but warm
Here’s an example of a maternity leave out-of-office message:
“Thank you for your email. I’m currently on maternity leave until [date/month].
I won’t be checking emails during this time. For urgent matters, please contact [Name] at [email/phone]. For [specific area] inquiries, reach out to [Name] at [email/phone]. For all other questions, our team at [email] will be happy to assist you.
“If your message isn’t time-sensitive, feel free to resend it closer to my return date.
“Best regards, [Your Name]”
Of course, if you wish to keep your private life very private, you can use the same out-of-office message but simply say you’re on a leave of absence or out of the office.
Seamless handovers benefit both you and your team. Here are some ways to reduce stress and ensure a successful transition:
Stagger your handover activities over several weeks. This approach prevents overwhelming colleagues and allows time for questions and clarifications.
Be clear about your boundaries during leave. Discuss with your manager how you’d like to be kept informed about important updates, if at all.
Consider a phased return to work. Many firms support flexible re-entry programs to make it easier for employees to balance their new parental responsibilities with their professional roles. This might involve starting with part-time hours or working from home initially to ease back into the role.
Don’t overthink things. You’re only responsible for what you can control. Prior to your departure, avoid trying to imagine every possible problem. If issues do arise, trust your colleagues to handle them. Your job is to provide a thorough handover, not to solve hypothetical crises.
Preparing for maternity leave is your final project before an exciting new chapter begins. Approach it with the same dedication and skill you bring to your work, and you’ll be ready to fully enjoy this special time.
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