With the implementation of birth leave applicable from July 1, 2026, I wanted to devote my column to the theme of maternity leave.
Even today, in 2026, we are surprised by the birth rate. Personally, I am especially surprised by the lack of lucidity. Or rather the disinterest of certain companies for a moment that is perfectly predictable: the maternity leave.
And yet, it is not a question of revolutionizing management. You just need to apply a little common sense.
I deliberately use this expression rather than “kindness” or “empathy”. Not because these qualities are not important. On the contrary. But because as soon as we say these words, some people already roll their eyes. So let’s just talk about efficiency. Because a well-prepared maternity leave is good for the employee, for the manager, for the team and for the company.
Maternity leave begins on the day of announcement
The first mistake is to think that the subject begins on the last day before departure.
In reality, it all starts the moment a colleague announces her pregnancy.
This is when the manager must reassure, explain and anticipate. Organize the handover. Plan for replacement. Give visibility. Explain how files will be tracked. And above all remember one essential thing: his job will be waiting for him when he returns.
This seems obvious. However, how many employees leave with the worry of finding an organization turned upside down or a position emptied of its substance?
Uncertainty is rarely a good managerial strategy.
Absence does not mean cutting all ties
Another strange idea: since the employee is on maternity leave, she would have to disappear completely.
I often hear managers say: “I don’t dare check on her. She’s on leave.”
Really ?
No one will blame a manager for sending a message to ask how the mother-to-be is or if everything is okay.
On the other hand, if this message ends with “By the way, can you reopen your computer?”, then, indeed, the subject becomes more delicate.
Maintaining connection is not about continuing to work. It simply involves showing that the person still matters to the team.
Then comes the announcement of the birth.
Here too, a message of congratulations is often enough to make the difference.
On the other hand, avoid jokes from experienced parents about sleepless nights or diapers. They especially amuse those who tell them. Much less young parents who have just experienced considerable physical, emotional and family upheaval.
Welcome the news. Congratulate. Celebrate. That’s more than enough.
The return is being prepared well before the resumption
Returning is often the poor relation of maternity leave.
However, he also anticipates himself.
Maintaining the dialogue allows you to know calmly the resumption date, to know if the employee wishes to continue with the new leave childbirth supplement, leave, parental leave or part-time return. This also makes it possible to organize the return medical examination and theprofessional interview OBLIGATORY.
But above all, it helps prepare the team. But also with… the replacement. This is an aspect that we talk about very little.
However, the person recruited to replace them has also invested time, developed skills and found their place in the team.
Her departure deserves as much attention as the employee’s return.
A good handover works both ways.
The replacement transmits.
The employee gradually resumes.
Returning from maternity leave looks more like a new onboarding than a simple Monday morning.
Do a very simple exercise:
When you come back from two weeks of vacation, how long does it take you to reread your emails, understand what happened and get back into your rhythm?
A day, sometimes two.
So why imagine that a person who is absent for several months will instantly find all his bearings?
No, the return is not “plug and play”.
And those who claim the opposite often give an image of management that belongs to another era. This management which considered that it was necessary to leave its emotions and its personal life at the door of the company. This model makes you smile today. Above all, it scares people away.
Employees expect something else. They want to be led by managers capable of taking into account the person as a whole.
The real role of the manager
The return must therefore be organized.
- Communicate with the team about the resumption date.
- Explain how the files will gradually be transferred back. Specify the timetable.
Yes, some will find that it goes too slowly.
Resist
You are the manager, your role is to protect collective functioning, not to satisfy individual impatience.
When we want to go too quickly, we often do things by halves. It’s a lesson we repeat to children. It remains just as valid in organizations.
- Schedule regular discussion times.
- Leave room for questions.
- Talk about the new rhythm, any constraints, the balance between professional and personal life.
- Adjust gradually rather than demanding everything from the first week.
This time invested at the start is rarely time wasted.
On the contrary.
A prepared recovery creates a calmer dialogue, a more reassured team and a more fluid organization.
The management of maternity leave is nothing extraordinary. Above all, it requires anticipation, consistency and common sense.
Ultimately, this is perhaps what we expect most from a manager?
You rarely recognize a great manager when everything is going well.
On the other hand, we immediately recognize him in the way he supports the moments that matter in the lives of his colleagues.
Returning from maternity leave is one of them.
And ultimately, it’s not a question of procedures.
It’s a question of common sense where everything comes down to conversations.
