Betty Buyside: Making sure maternity leave doesn't last forever

It has been rather a quiet summer. Only one of the major companies that I follow report in August, and that was a damp squib, like most sets of figures at the moment.

In fact, if we were to withdraw from the shares of every underperforming company that we own, then let's face it - we would just be holding cash.

These of course are general market conditions, not just that by some terrible oversight we have managed to invest in every disastrous company that exists. Mind you, since the low in mid-July the FTSE 100 has risen by more than 10%, which if it continues should at least bring cheer at the end of the quarter next month.

It never fails to amaze me that, although I am investing money paid in by multiple faceless individuals into their ISAs and other savings schemes, which are presumably being put away with at least a five-year view, I am paid and judged against a three-month performance horizon.

Still, I won't be around at the end of the quarter after this one to worry about that. I finally got together the guts to go and admit to my delicate state before the elastic gave way on the M&S skirt that I have worn to the office almost every day for the last five weeks.

This was after banking the rather derisory cheque for 20% of my basic salary that my employer saw fit to give me as a bonus.

However, I didn't just march up to the head of research and slap my MAT B1 doctor's certificate on his desk, or even pin a copy of my most recent pregnancy scan to the office notice board with a caption saying 'Guess Whose?', amusing though both of those would have been.

Instead, I planned my approach carefully. After all, I wouldn't want them thinking I'm going off to be a full-time mother forever, would I?

So I sat down with a results calendar and my due date and worked out which companies would be reporting while I planned to be on maternity leave, adjusting my planned return date to ensure minimum disruption.

Then I drew up a list of my coverage, together with the dates that I had most recently updated my models. Finally I planned a schedule of work between now and when I would be going, and wrote a couple of paragraphs on who I thought should be covering my various sectors in my absence, and why.

Thus I anticipated questions on every single stock and sector I cover.

The most important rule when it comes to upward management is to take your boss solutions rather than problems. By doing all this preparation and writing a paper on how I planned to minimise the disruption, all before I let him know that I was going to be out of the office on 90% of pay for 18 weeks, I would forestall any wailing and gnashing of teeth.

I commend this to any of you who are planning an extended absence, even if it's just to have a hip replacement.

My boss seemed a little taken aback by how much thought I had put into all this, but at least he didn't have to put any into it as a result. Plus I went to my meeting with him armed to the teeth with lists of other women on the buyside who have had not one but multiple children and still returned to work with as much appetite for the kill as ever.

I think he was convinced by my commitment. I certainly hope so. Anthony Academic doesn't look likely to win Lotto anytime soon, so I will certainly have to come back.

And I don't want to find myself relegated to analysing Support Services or some such sector when I return.

You can contact Betty at: bettybuyside@efinancialcareers.com