When did you agree start back date?

[Flossie69]

Hi there

Was wondering when is generally normal to agree start back date when on maternity leave?
I am currently off with DD, 8 months. I took 1 year, so should be returning approx June, with any holiday accrued etc. I have been trying to contact my employer to agree the exact date, and also to agree which days I will be working, as I am part-time, however, I have not heard back from them yet. This is slightly annoying, as I am trying to sort out childcare, and nursery places do get booked quickly! I have tried to explain this, but have still not heard back, so have paid a £10 deposit to secure a place at my nursery of choice, with my best guess of days/hours.
Should I just wait it out, or are they being unreasonable?
TIA

[indigobarbie]

I'd keep at them, but I'm only saying that because that's what I had to do with my work. I have just returned after 1 year's mat leave. I felt quite out of the loop, but I kept on pestering them until I got an answer! HTH

[indigobarbie]

Meant to say, I had to give at least 8 weeks notice of my return date, so I had it organised in October time last year I think.

[flowery]

The date you return isn't something you 'agree' - it's entirely up to you to notify your employer when you will be back.

If you want to reduce your hours you will need to put in a formal flexible working request and your employer must follow a set procedure and timescale. here and here. Have you put in a formal request?

Who have you written to? Have you rung your manager to chase it up? June is quite a way off so they probably don't assume it's urgent.