From a hospital bed to a fresh start: Mary Rose's journey

After birth complications and losing her job during extended maternity leave, an accounts assistant returns to work in a hybrid role. Illustrative story: a composite example, not a real person.

Watch on YouTube: When to Stop Working & Take Maternity Leave in Pregnancy?

Illustrative story: a composite example, not a real person.

For six years, Mary Rose built a steady career as an accounts assistant in Nairobi. She was organised, reliable, and the person colleagues called when the numbers didn't add up. When she found out she was expecting, she planned everything: handover notes, leave dates, and a return to work three months after her baby arrived.

Her baby's birth did not go to plan. After an emergency caesarean and serious complications, Mary Rose spent weeks recovering, first in hospital and then at home. Her doctor advised that she extend her maternity leave. She informed her employer and sent the medical notes. A few weeks later, she received a letter saying her position had been filled.

"I was still learning to walk without pain, and suddenly I had no job. I hadn't done anything wrong. My body just needed time."

When she was well enough to look for work again, nearly two years had passed. She applied for role after role. Most never replied. In the interviews she did get, the conversation kept coming back to the same thing: the gap on her CV. "Nobody asked what I could do," she says. "They only asked why I had been away."

A friend sent her a link to GraceWorks. Mary Rose created a free profile, and for the first time, an application started with her skills instead of her dates. She used the Growth Room to refresh her accounting software skills, and followed a GraceWorks guide on explaining a career gap with confidence. A member of the GraceWorks team reviewed her profile and gave her honest feedback on where she stood.

Within weeks, she was introduced to a verified employer looking for a hybrid accounts assistant, with clear hours and clear pay. She works from home three days a week, at the same table where her child's drawings hang on the wall.

"That gap was never a gap in my ability. GraceWorks was the first place that saw that."

Supported by GraceWorks