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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not want this much contact with work on maternity leave

20 replies

PossetFeatures · 21/04/2011 15:32

Wow, this the 3rd time in one week that I have posted in AIBU - i'm not normally this grouchy and irate I promise!

Some background: DS is 11 weeks old, and I have been on maternity leave from my work since xmas. My role has gradually expanded, so in my absence has been spilt and my work has taken 2 people on, one full time and one part time, with the aim being that when i return later on this year I will resume the part-time role. I have a 'big boss' and my line manager, both of whom I get on well with normally. A month before I left, I inducted both of my replacements, and said that if they needed to ask anything once i'd left and before baby was born, or if there was anything urgent, then they could contact me. Both have done a couple of times to ask questions on a couple of things, and this I am fine with.

However, in the last month or so, my line manager has been contacting me more and more to query things/ask questions. I feel confident that I handed all the necessary info onto her and my replacements, and we have a fairly easy online filing system to deal with, so most documents could be located very easily should the need arise and they're not sure where they are.

2 weeks ago she text me on a Friday asking if my DP was around to speak to (his company provides a service to our company), as something had gone tits up. She must've known he wasn't in work as she would've contacted his company first. I told her that no, he wasn't around, as he was on a stag weekend and not easily contactable. I probably could've contacted him, but i didn't want to stress him out and ruin his weekend, as he'd be worrying about what had gone wrong, and wouldn't be able to fix it anyway as he wasn't in work. She wasn't best pleased at this, but left it. So after this, I text later to see if they got the problem sorted, and she text back a slightly arsey text saying that she'd contacted our old suppliers, and THEY'D managed to sort the problem out, leaving me feeling guilty when it wasn't my fault, or actually anything to do with me- it's DPs account and i'm off work!

Also, the last week i've been getting texts and phone calls asking where certain documents are- no "hello how are you?", just very straight to the point "where is X". I got a call the other day asking where something was, that it wasn't somewhere it should be, and I said, "well it was before I left, if it's not there now I don't know where it is". I got asked if i'd mind logging onto to the system from home and searching for it. i said I was out and about, and that i'd try later on or the next day. Didn't have time for most of the following day to look as busy with DS, and then get ANOTHER text asking if i'd looked for it yet. So frantically scrabble around and log on, and document isn't there (surprise surprise), so I state yet again, that if it's not there then someone must have moved it and I don't know where it is.

Today I get yet another text from line manager asking about something, and it's again something they should have details of, and something that I handed over to someone else at the time. Also, what they're asking took place MONTHS ago, so I can't remember exact details off top of my head- but i'm expected to apparently! Have text back details that they want, but starting to feel a bit stressed out and harrassed by all of this.

I know to expect some reasonable contact with work, but AIBU to expect that work don't contact me this much, and not unless urgent? I actually like my company and the people I work with (line manager included!), but starting to get the hump a bit. Also making me feel that I did a crap job handing over, which I don't think is the case as was very thorough!

Wow that was long!

OP posts:

NorfolkNChanceOfAnEgg · 21/04/2011 15:37

YANBU that sounds like a lot of contact in a short amount of time. Could you go to the person above LM and run it by them?

Flippingebay · 21/04/2011 15:37

YANBU and I'd be annoyed at this too.

Plus they really shouldn't be contacting you at all, unless it's to update you on something, but I do appreciate that it's not normally black and white and sometimes a quick phone call should be needed, but not to the extent they are contacting you. The texts about your DP is well out of order though.

I'd suggest you have a quiet, friendly word with your HR dept and put them in the picture and ask them to have a quiet, friendly word in your line managers ear. Or you could talk directly to your 'big boss'.

Bananamash · 21/04/2011 15:39

YANBU....

But i am not sure how you fix it with out pissing work off by saying leave me alone!

Mumofaflump · 21/04/2011 15:40

I didn't think work were allowed to do this while you were on M/L? At least my boss doesn't think she is! I met up with them all for a curry evening and she said she had been struggling with an account. I said she could have called me and she answered that she wanted to but wasn't allowed to as per M/L rules...?

stream · 21/04/2011 15:40

That's a lot of contact!

But I wouldn't have sent a text to ask them if they've sorted the problem. It might make them think that you want to be involved more.

RJRabbit · 21/04/2011 15:46

It sounds to me as if someone's in real trouble. It's either the Line Manager who is continually contacting you, or one of your replacements. They're scrambling.

The other thought is that someone is bad-mouthing you and blaming you for the bad job they're doing, hence all the arsey texts. It's always easy to blame the person who's left.

I think you're going to have to go in and speak to your line manager or big boss and clear this up, otherwise you're not going to know what's going on. Agreed, you shouldn't have to, but I wouldn't rest easy if it were my job.

Acekicker · 21/04/2011 15:47

YANBU - that is way too much contact given you still have a tiny baby and are barely into your ML.

Re your DP's company, I think you have to be hard nosed with that and refuse to be an intermediary (unless you want to and it will help DP, don't do it because it will help work, they're taking advantage).

The other stuff sounds (assuming you did a good handover etc) like they're taking the piss and trying to get you to sort stuff out that they can't be arsed to do. I think you have to sort this out with them, especially if you're planning on going back P-T otherwise you'll find yourself constantly fielding calls/emails on your non-working day. It may be that you need to be up front with them about this and explain that it isn't acceptable for them to keep interrupting your ML like this. You have to get them used to managing without you so that they don't hound you to insanity on non-working days once you're P-T.

shemademedoit · 21/04/2011 15:52

I'd be sending them an invoice for your time. List all the times they've contacted you with a minimum call out charge of an hour. The powers that be probably have no idea how much you're being contacted. You have to let them know that you've been onduty when you were not supposed to be.

mousesma · 21/04/2011 15:59

Agree with shemademedoit I don't know how it works in other firms but I was allowed 10 "keeping in touch" days where I could do work for the company during my maternity leave without it being counted as a return to work. These days are paid in addition to SMP or enhanced maternity pay.

I was asked to fix something that my cover broke during my maternity leave and I did so but charged them for it! Check your maternity leave policy.

Original poster

PossetFeatures · 21/04/2011 16:03

Thanks for your feedback.

I would contact HR, but the trouble is... I am HR. We're a smallish company (40 people), so I know our policy states that 'reasonable amount of contact is expected' but this doesn't actually specify how much exactly, so this is a bit open to interpretation! On second thoughts, maybe I am crap at my job and should've sorted this out prior to me heading off on ML

I'm happy to help out work as like my company and take job seriously, but worried as RJrabbit said that replacements might be saying that I didn't hand X over to them, when I did... should probably bite the bullet and say something to line manager. God it makes me feel like a wuss ... making me doubt myself now...

Am pissed off as LM hasn't even text 'thanks' to my last text I sent her a short time ago helping her out!

OP posts:

Ormirian · 21/04/2011 16:04

Could you talk to HR? Ask them to suggest that it stops.

Ormirian · 21/04/2011 16:04

Ohhhhh.. xpost. Bugger!

SisterCarrie · 21/04/2011 16:08

YANBU - you must work in my team! The month of ML I had before DS was born, I was essentially working from home, the amount of emails I was getting. Many of them were from people outside my team who didn't know I was on leave as I deal with the majority of the business in my role.

It's awkward as you're planning on going back - after DS was born, I knew I wasn't going to return, so I've just turned the BlackBerry off and ignore anything that I feel is just my team being lazy that they send to personal email/text. Passive aggressive, I know, but I think they got so much work out of me that final month - which I couldn't claim as KIT as the baby hadn't arrived - that I don't feel I owe them any more. If I had resigned and was working elsewhere they wouldn't be able to get the answers and would have to either look harder or figure out a workround.

Can't you have a chat with your HR contact and see what they are comfortable with? Maybe you can get the time as KIT even though you've not gone into the office if you can record the amount of hours you've spent answering their queries.

GiddyPickle · 21/04/2011 16:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

violethill · 21/04/2011 16:09

Yanbu, I would be irritated by this amount of contact while off work. However, I would try to not show you're annoyed as you'll want to keep good working relationships for your return. Can you make yourself uncontactable for a bit?

SisterCarrie · 21/04/2011 16:09

oops, x-post!

cherryburton · 21/04/2011 16:10

It's a bit of a cop out but can you screen your calls? And claim your phone is off/you're tied up because, you know, you have an 11week old baby ?"

RevoltingPeasant · 21/04/2011 16:12

Posset this is obviousl v sensitive and you want to tread carefully. You don't want to cause resentment.

If I were you, I'd pop into the office in person (so doing nothing in writing) with the baby so everyone can 'ooh' and 'aah'.

Then take LM aside and say in a confidential way that you are a bit concerned the replacements aren't handling things well, as you know you were pretty thorough in your handover, but they keep seeming to bump stuff up to her, so that she has to ask you about it.

This gives your LM a chance to save face and say 'Yeah that new Natalie is a bit crap' or whatever whilst getting the message that you have realised someone isn't coping.

You could even say, 'Do you think it's worth addressing this with BigBoss, because after all I am going to be on ML and therefore out of contact for X more months, maybe we should get this sorted?'

Passive-aggression, works a treat :)

x2boys · 21/04/2011 17:51

i,d tell them where to go my work did nt contact me once when i was on ml just work friends to say congrats etc i think they need to be careful as it could be deemed as harrassment and mat leave goesall to quickly as it is

Icelollycraving · 21/04/2011 18:01

If they contact you by email,can't u put one of those bounce back things on yr account for them? In terms of phoning,just say very clearly,I'm not available unless there is a definite emergency. Start writing down all contact & suggest you have this in additional leave.
When you get back to work,sort out this very vague loophole!

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