Issues with manager while on maternity leave - saying I need to do a full time workload on part time hours

[taye1]

Hi, looking for some advice please.

I’m six months into maternity leave with my second baby and work for the NHS. I’m due to return mid-February and had a phone call with my manager last week that I scheduled myself to discuss whether it would be possible to reduce my hours. I’m contracted for 30 hours over 4 days, but with two small children and a partner who works away all week (home only at weekends), the current setup feels unsustainable—cutting back seems like the only way to avoid burning out.

The phone call did not go well. My manager was dismissive from the start, very blunt and cold. She immediately shut down my request, saying:
my workload would increase, I could not continue with two work-from-home days I had previously and I could not reduce my hours on returning from maternity leave.
L

The main sticking point was her saying that because I requested 30 hours when I applied, the full-time workload would still apply. When I queried how my workload compared to full-time colleagues, she said, literally: “Yes, but you requested to work 30 hours when you applied, so this was you saying you could do the workload in those hours.” To me, that sounds like unpaid overtime.

I rang HR afterwards, who confirmed that this should definitely not be the case. I then emailed my manager formally, outlining my concerns and referencing HR guidance that workloads should match hours. She didn’t reply, but today I got a text saying thanks for my email and asking to schedule a face-to-face meeting. She totally ignored everything I said in the email and this is odd because we’ve never communicated by text before, I feel like she is trying to avoid a paper trail.

I’m now worried about meeting her alone, as there will be no documentation of what’s said. I’m not in a union, and I’ve never had contact with my actual HR advisor, only the person who answered the phone and gave me advice. I try to avoid conflict, but I feel I need to protect myself.

How should I respond, as I would rather do so via email and not reply to her text.

I’d really appreciate any advice on how to handle this.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post!

my assumption was( maybe wrongly) that the manager was trying to say that the caseload needs to be covered by someone, they are not going to be able to recruit to 7.5 hours, so they will only agree to reduction if OP thinks she can do her job in 4 days rather than 5.

That’s not really the case because you can refuse a flexible working request on the basis you can’t cover 10 hours work any other way.
its not like the manager is supposed to add it to their own job. If it can’t be covered it can’t.

although, tbh it sounds like the roles are under utilised if OP was doing in 30 hours what others are doing in 37.

I agree, which is why managers sometimes have to refuse flexible working requests.
When I was offered my current manager role I requested 30 hours over 4 days which had been my working pattern over many years. It was refused but I was told to reapply in a year or so once I had got a few things sorted out including recruitment to all the vacancies. I eventually, a year or so later, negotiated 34 hours over 4 days. I still do a full time job ( ie no- one else covers my dropped hours and I am often late finishing) but get a day off, which is worth it to me for work life balance

They can refuse it but in limited circumstances. It’s their job to worry about who’s covering what not something they can pass on to the employee because it isn’t in the employee’s remit to worry about adequate service and cover etc That is a managers role hence why they’re paid manager salaries.

When is the meeting?

Yes and increased costs and difficulty of recruiting 7.5 hours would be a straightforward, honest and legitimate reason to do so. There is no legitimate argument that the situation described must be granted

because they are saying the workload is full
time despite me only working part time, does that not mean technically they would have to recruit someone for 2 days, 15 hours to cover the day I would lose and the day that needs to be covered? Is that a strong arguments or not? Not sure if job shares are messy!?

You need to join a union. A lot of this sounds like potential indirect sex discrimination- raise a formal written grievance, employer has to follow ACAS code, you can take colleague or union rep to meetings. Ask for HR to be at meetings. Keep everything in writing. Keep a diary of who said what when, who did what when. If you want to make a claim to tribunal for indirect sex discrimination you need to do so by starting ACAS early conciliation process within three months less one day of the date your manager told you she was refusing your flexible working request. You contact ACAs ECN online

This is why working people should join a union. They will give you support and attend meetings with you if necessary. Unison, Unite and GMB are all ok

Put in a formal flexible working request for the reduced hours. Ignore the full time 30 hours comment for now because it’s not going to help you achieve what you want. If they grant it great, if not and you think your workload is the same as a FT worker address it on your return to work.

Screenshot the text for starters. Attend the meeting with a pen and paper and take notes. Keep the notes and straight after the meeting send a write up on email (just a factual summary only) to your manager saying that you want to confirm what was discussed.

Basically: keep records, keep records, keep records.

what is your proposed working pattern? And how old is your eldest? Did you work 4 days previously? What you could do is 30 hours over 5 days, so you get more time at the start and end of each day to sort the house out / dinner / do pick ups etc. time each day might be more beneficial than 1 or 2 full days each week?

It is really hard with 2 kids when you return to work, and my husband is around most days. So you’re going to need all the flexibility you can get. If you did 30 hours over 5 days, you could start at 9 and finish at 3, with time around the working day for family. Although this doesn’t address the fact that your manager isn’t being at all accommodating. A friend of mine works for the NHS and had to drop from a band 8 to a band 5 as her manager wouldn’t let her work flexibly.

As a PA, what are your alternatives? Could you move into another team / Trust?

Well you could employ someone for one day if they are competent. There are lots of people nearer retirement age who are quite capable but would happily do one day a week to keep their hand in. I myself (F54) work 2 days a week and a close friend (55) works 1 day a week.

Firstly, look at when you need to be having these conversations… look at your trusts flexible working policy… this will state what process you have to go through to formally request a reduction in hours post Mat leave. It is only September… and you don’t return until February…. This gives you time to terminate these conversations now… join a union and then work out what you need to do. (I had a very similar experience… also NHS. I also tried to have an informal chat with my then manager… to see how things were.. there were three of us on mat leave at the same time ao wanted to know what their plans were… and got a similar response). Do not enter into a series of unofficial meetings… but keep the correspondence you currently have…. I think you can not get your union involved until you have submitted your official request… and there is a process the manager has to follow to reply.. and if they decline your request they have to justify why on the form…in regards to service provision… not just they don’t want to… they may offer you less hours than you have asked for… or more…and you have a set time period to consider these . this can be offered as a permanent change.. or a temporary one with a set review date… At that point you then have options… you can not be forced to return to hours you do not feel you can do… one of these would be to be considered for other appropriate vacancies within the trust…. One would be to resign…obviously not what you want to do… but it is there as a policy option. (This is what happens within my trust… pretty sure it is a universal nhs policy) Hope this is helpful…

Are you in a union? It may be worth contacting them and asking them for advice and to attend the meeting with you. Keep a paper trail (eg. Thanks for your text this evening. I confirm that I am currently taking advice and will come back to you afterwards to make a convenient appointment. Let them know they can't walk all over you and that you will take proper legal advice.

do you get paid for 37 hours or 30 hours? I do a full time role in less hours with full pay.

I get paid for 30 hours.

You could ask for help from Acas - they can advise you on employment Rights - AND join the union !

Very helpful to have fellow NHs advice thank you, so I’m just on the middle of putting in my flexible request form and am requesting a job share even though I’ve been told there’s no way she will allow me to drop lower than 30 hrs. So im 99% certain they will reject this too and I’m really worried where this leaves me, so is it their responsibility to offer suitable alternatives within the trust? Or can they just say no that won’t work for the business and that’s that and I’ve got to look for another job? My manager is the manager for a great deal of admin within the trust so she covers a lot of departments.

Record your shopping list into your phones audio recorder then “accidentally” leave it on when you go in the meeting. If she lies about what is said afterwards you can say oh I didn’t mean to record this but I inadvertently did! Then you have proof of what she said should anything need to go further. I would apply to work in another job or department though she’s gonna be difficult, make it hard for her and leave

I say this all the time!

I’m a bit confused. If you’re only working 30 hours, then you’re only doing 30 hours worth of work, not 35 or 37 or whatever the FTE hours are. You can’t be doing more that]n 30 hours unless you’re starting earlier and staying later for no additional pay.

I am not very familiar with job share… our department would only accept this if two people put in flexible working request to cover one full time role… so they had already agreed it between themselves… occasionally if two full time people want 3 days and 4 days they have put this forward.. which leaves a 3 day vacancy… which our trust is open to… I think part of the issue is recruiting for one or two days… but if this person manages lots of admin, you may find that there is some flexibility in which department you return to… what does your flexible working policy say about job shares?

Agree with what others have suggested. Join the union. If you are doing a full time workload compressed into 30 hours you should be paid a full time wage. Get an email trail and stop correspondence via text and take someone into the meeting with you who can take notes for you.

I would reiterate join the union. Also put in formal flexible working request and if it is refused go the tribunal route for indirect sex discrimination and negotiate from there. Make sure you do not miss the three months less one day deadline from date of refusal. I would be very careful about “accidentally “ recording conversations- in my experience if employers find out you have been recording convos without asking first they will treat it as gross misconduct so leading to potential fair dismissal, and tribunal judges may well not accept it as evidence anyway