To think flexible working requests after maternity leave are very rarely granted?

[NotAnotherNewNappy]

I work for the civil service and went back to work three days per week after DD1 was born. This has worked out really well, both proffessionally and personally, and I've always encouraged my friends to at least try to work moreflexibly after having a family.

However, it seems impossible in almost every other sector. All three of my friends who have made requests have had them refused:one works for a police force, one for a charity and one for a major British luxury fashion brand. I am fuming on their behalf. Is it really so bleak out there for working mothers?

It's bleak out there for everyone.

Just to balance things up, I've never known anyone refused it.

Mine has just been granted but I had to agree to move roles

i was refused it, but this was 1994/5.
and i believe the rules have changed. or it is alledgedly easier.

The flexible working law is lip service.

Yes you are legally entitled to ask for it and your employer is legally obliged to "consider" it. However, they are allowed to say no for reasons such as "business continuity" and you are then not allowed to ask for another year.

Frankly it's a pointless pile of lip service invented by some politician who wanted to look good and get Mum votes.

YANBU

nhs btw

It depends on the job and the industry. As a financial controller, if month end falls on a Tuesday I can't just say "I don't work Tuesdays". I could swap to audit or other accountancy work but I'd get paid less because I have much less experience. I knew that when I chose to become an FC though.

It isn't cost free for companies, our payroll and accommodation and IT costs are fixed per head, not per FTE, because people don't share laptops, payroll processing cost is per head, you need enough desks etc. A lot of companies can't take the hit on the extra costs. Businesses can be negatively impacted by having to wait "for the person dealing with x" too. The public sector doesn't have to worry about profitability and doesn't hav the same commercial pressures so it will be different.

They should come and work where I work.

Hours cut whether you want them to be or not, and whether you have kids or not, at a fortnight's notice because of 'company funding'. Followed three weeks later by the company announcing that they're opening a new office in Dubai.

I worked shifts in my job prior to DS. I requested to have same days each week, didn't mind if the shifts altered week to week, but needed same day so that I could organise child care. Shifts were accross a 24 hour period and were 10 - 12 hours long. This was denied because they said I was asking to be treated differently to people without families and that this was unfair.

Interestingly every single person who went on maternity leave before and after me has ended up leaving because it's pretty much impossible to organise child care when you do not know, from month to month, what days and hours you will be required to work (and those hours included night shifts). Part of me understands what they claim about treating all employees, with or without family, equally when it comes to the rota. But the end result appears to be total discrimination against women who choose to have children.

I work in HR for a fairly large company and we accept almost all flexible working requests as long as they aren't totally impractical.

I think if you work for a company that already has complex working arrangements - i.e lots of people working part time, term time etc then employers don't really want to have anymore people on these types of arrangements however if the majority of staff are full time then its very hard to justify why you cna't have a few part-timers

I went part-time after having a baby. I work for a charity. I've also never known anyone to be refused their request in public or private sector.

My request was granted in 2006. I asked to start half an hour early so I could finish half an hour early, to accommodate childcare. This lasted a week before it was withdrawn due to another member of staff complaining that they started half an hour early but didn't get away or paid any extra, so I had the choice to have my original hours reinstated or have the half hour docked off me every day, I took the pay reduction in the end. It was a solicitors I worked for as well!

3 of us in a team of 10 have flexible working agreed here :)

Well DH is a front line police officer and not only took a 6 month career break when middle child was born but has all requests for flexible working granted. He currently does nearly full time with some changes in work hours to fit around childcare. They were fine about it ( luckily as I am main earner)

I work in the public sector. I have been allowed to temporarily reduce my hours but my manager has told me it's either full time or job share going forward. I'm pretty annoyed because people in other teams have had flexible working requests agreed left, right and centre

I work for a private consultancy and don't know anyone at my company who has had their flexible working request turned down. In my office we have had 6 women return to work after maternity on various hours and one man on a 4 day week.

Interesting point about the cost to businesses made by happy camel, unless you get a job share the company doesn't benefit, other than by paying you less salary.

All I asked was that I wasn't on the call out list overnight for emergencies as I lived an hours drive away from work and DH works nights so I would have had to bring a tiny baby with me. Was refused and demoted. Now do the same physical job (less the call outs) for 1/3 of the pay. :( It has however spurred me on to finish my degree in my spare time and hopefully get out of this industry.

I also know women who work for NHS, ambulance trusts and local authority who have all returned to work on part time hours.

I worked in a call centre. Approx 400 staff all doing the same roll and open 24/7.

I asked to work my hours over 2 days. Any days, any daytime shift. Apparently it wasn't feasible.

They fobbed me off for 4 months so when I started back I still didn't know what my hours were.

Only after I put all the details in writing and sent it to my boss, my section boss and HR did they even properly consider it. Until then they had classed it as an "informal request" . Nice of them to tell me!

Eventually they agreed to bump me to a different dept but it's a temporary move as the dept is closing after Xmas so I'll be back in the same boat again.

It's shit, I've basically been made to feel like an inconvenience. It's so degrading I hate it.

HappyCamel can't you change your days to suit month end if you did work part time? I work part time and will change my days if workloads mean it's necessary. I also increase my hours too if I need to so I do four days in busy periods plus I am contactable on my days off. I am in audit though.

I work in a smallish private partnership where the support staff are mainly child bearing age women and I can think of only one person who's had their request turned down. She promptly left, so when the next person in her team had a baby they bent over backwards to accomodate her.

I work for a bank which wins family friendly awards but unfortunately work for a very male dominated division. Globally, the division has 1000 employees of whom six (yes six) are part time. Don't know whether requests are refused or whether people just don't bother even submitting them. I'm considered part time because I work 37 hours and am not keen on staying in the office late into night.

Quite a few people I know have

I was refused it (was a teacher). And so were many colleagues.

Iggly, nurseries round here are over subscribed, I couldn't find one I was happy to send dd to who would agree to flexible days. I'm quite senior too and realistically my team need one manager all the time, there's too much complexity to handover for a job share.