Review of flexible working - 4 months after trial period has ended

[Poosnu]

I hope that someone will be able to help! I have also posted this in employment issues.

I am returned from maternity leave in early September and my employer agreed to my flexible working request for a 3 day working arrangement (I think in part following precedent as another colleague already has this arrangement).

This was stated to be subject to a 3 month trial period, and in early December the head of my department was supposed to discuss the arrangements with me to see if they were working and whether they would become permanent. A meeting was not scheduled and no one had any sort of discussion at that time with me about my working arrangements.

I had my annual appraisal yesterday. My line manager told me that the department manager wants to meet with me to discuss my flexible working arrangements. I have now been working on this pattern for more than 6 months. It will most likely be 7 months by the time the meeting is scheduled.

I understand that they want me to increase my hours a bit because the department is busy. I suspect they would prefer not to hire a new member of staff as this would cost too much, and are instead trying to get me to do more. I also suspect they see me as a bit of a pushover as I am hardworking and generally non confrontational.

I do everything possible to make my new working arrangement work; working from home most evenings to meet deadlines, monitoring blackberry on non working days, coming into the office on non working days for client meetings where necessary, making myself available for conference calls from home and exceeding my pro rata billable hours (I am a non transactional lawyer).

I feel very strongly that I don't want to work more than 3 days a week. As an aside, I am 9 weeks pregnant with DC2 so will be going on maternity leave in October of this year.

Can my employer now seek to review my flexible working arrangement even though the 3 month trial period has long since passed? Does anyone have any other thoughts about how I should approach the meeting?

Thanks in advance.