Advise needed please

[user1478688308]

Hi all, any advise would be greatly appreciated as I just don't know if I need to suck it up or do something.
My boss is very anti-children and often talks of how much she dislikes babies which makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable. When I informed her I was pregnant (nobody in her team has children) I have never been so scared in my life.
As I earn more money than my boyfriend and childcare costs are so high we found we would be better off if he stayed at home with our little girl and I returned to work. I have returned to work this week after taking 9 months and I have found this very difficult to deal with as I'm sure a lot of you guys will appreciate.

Upon my return I have discovered that all of my IT accounts have been deleted (email, windows log in...everything...I don't exist) so I have not been able to work and it will probably take weeks to fix as there is a lot of logins to different systems and shared drives I need to have again. I have been here for 17 years and IT told me I took too long off so I need to complete a new starter form (amazingly, its a massive global company I work for). Apparently after 60 days you are deleted, I guess I am the only person to have ever taken maternity leave?!?! Also, on top of this I manage 2 teams of people, both with very different jobs...1 side of my role I love and enjoy doing, the other I don't. Whilst I was away they were split to report into different people to cover for me. I have been told that I am not going to have my 1 team back and they will continue to report into the cover manager. I am so upset about this as my boss knows this was the side of my role I enjoyed and did a lot with. My job will now just focus on 1 half of what I was doing with expanded responsibilities that I just have no interest in and I know will fail (its an impossible task).

I feel trapped as I cant just quit, I am now the only person earning money, also I have to give 3 months notice which I am sure would put off potential new employers. Feel a little lost and deflated. Please any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[prh47bridge]

3 months notice will not put off new employers. It is common for companies to require long notice periods for important members of staff, often longer than 3 months. Most employers will be happy to wait. It is also possible that you will be able to negotiate a shorter notice period with your employer. When it comes to it, many employers would prefer to get rid of an unhappy employee quickly rather than have them hanging round the office for several months serving out their notice.

As you took more than 6 months maternity leave your employer can argue that it is not reasonably practicable to give you your old job back. They are allowed to reorganise. If this resulted in minor changes to your role it would still be considered as the same job. I'm assuming your salary, location and hours are unaltered. However, it sounds like your job has changed significantly and may be of lower status so you may have a claim for sex discrimination.

If your home insurance includes legal cover you may want to see a solicitor who specialises in employment law. They will be able to advise whether you have a case.

[HeCantBeSerious]

As you took more than 6 months maternity leave your employer can argue that it is not reasonably practicable to give you your old job back.

The OP has protection for 9 months of mat leave and was entitled to return to the same job (provided it exists - and the work clearly does - and thatvshe hasn't asked for a change such as part time working).

[prh47bridge]

The OP has protection for 9 months of mat leave and was entitled to return to the same job

I'm sorry but this is wrong.

The first 26 weeks of maternity leave is classed as Ordinary Maternity Leave. If the employee only takes OML she is entitled to return to her original job. The next 26 weeks is Additional Maternity Leave. If the employee takes AML she can return to her original job if it still exists. However, if it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to allow her to return to her old job she must be offered a similar job. This is set out in the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999, regulation 18(2).

I therefore stand by my last post.