Secondment issues

[Storminateacup1]

Good morning all!

I work for a well known retailer and they like to rejig store management quite a lot.

My manager and assistant manager are currently seconded in different stores, and I applied for the AM secondment and was successful.

As far as both my old and new manager are concerned the AM wasn’t coming back to our branch, it’s more of a formality in case she doesn’t enjoy what she’s doing or she’s not the right fit, but our regional manager is always singing her praises.

My confusion is that she has now fallen pregnant, something she’s said to me she didn’t intend to happen and wasn’t part of the plan, and we’re both unsure of how the secondments will now play out.

Will it just be that she will have her secondment ended after the 6 month period, and return to our store, therefore moving me back to my previous role due to them needing to keep her original job for her? Or would they end her secondment, knowing she does a great job where she is, but won’t be there for long before she’s off to have her baby?

If anybody has any experience in the matter any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[daisychain01]

In honesty, I think you should seek clarity from your manager specific to your own employment situation in light of your colleague's pg news, rather than try to second-guess what they intend to do in the future.

Your colleague will need to return from Mat Leave on the same employment basis as she left, but which store she will be assigned to is anyone's guess. Presumably they need to arrange cover for that store while she is on Mat Leave, so those discussions must be happening now, as your colleague's announcement is so current.

Your question to your employer has to be, "what decisions are you taking that will impact my employment, both where I will be located in the next 6-12 months and what my role will be" and " how can I ensure I have early visibility of any such decisions".

[maxelly]

^what daisychain said, there's not really a hard and fast legal answer to this. Your colleague is entitled to return after maternity leave to her substantive post and on the same terms and conditions as when she left, but in practice that could mean her current AM post or the one she's seconded to. If it was my team/I was the manager I would ideally try and get your colleague confirmed as permanent in her seconded post (assuming that's what she wants as well) before her mat leave, meaning I could fill the vacancy left behind permanently and then only have to look for one temporary cover position, but there are all sorts of internal/company policies and politics that could get in the way there! So you may have to sit tight and wait and see I'm afraid...

[Storminateacup1]

Hi @Daisychain01, thanks for the reply.

I have asked both my old and new manager but neither of them can give me any answers, nobody is giving her any either.

I think a little part of me wouldn’t mind either way as I’ve changed amount of hours and therefore spend less with DS now, however the uncertainty is horrible.

I know I need to give them time to sort a plan of action, it’s just all a bit up in the air.

[Storminateacup1]

Thanks for the reply @maxelly , I know you’re both right it’s just a pain.

My old AM wants to stay there as she loves being a store manager, but she’s worried they’ll use this as a reason to put her back where she was despite all the hard work and the obvious capability.
She’ll have little proof if they do to take things further though.

[daisychain01]

I think a little part of me wouldn’t mind either way as I’ve changed amount of hours and therefore spend less with DS now, however the uncertainty is horrible.

I know I need to give them time to sort a plan of action, it’s just all a bit up in the air

Storm I'd be exactly the same, it's the lack of clarity that would be playing on my mind.

If only for your own peace of mind, you could drop an email to you manager along the lines of the above ^ I.e that you recognise it's early days and that decisions are likely still being made but you'd like to clarify that you'd appreciate being part of the ongoing discussions * and that you are content to be assigned to either Store A or Store B. This could help them with their staffing decisions, knowing what your mindset is.

• you'd like to think they will keep you in the loop, as you are a Manager yourself, but you're giving them a little nudge just in case