To launch an appeal?

[ricardoshillyshally]

Currently on maternity leave, due to return end of the year. I have requested a reduction in hours to allow me to do school pick ups. I would be working 27 hours over 4 days. Full time at my place of work is considered 37.5.

Request rejected with vague reasoning basically boiling down to it being detrimental to the business.

WIBU to appeal and try and get the reduced hours through? I thoroughly enjoy my job and see it as a career I can stay with for a long time but I just cannot make longer hours work.

I don't want to be that person who is a pain and who causes trouble but feel I have to try every option before the otherwise inevitable resignation.

Don't want to drip feed but equally don't want post to be too long so will answer anything i have missed. Feel I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Thoughts appreciated.

Are you a single parent?

Can your baby's dad do some of the pick ups/drop offs? Then you could compromise and ask for 3 long days 2 short for example, or 10-6 2 days and 7-3 the other two?

Go back and find out what they would be willing to work with- full time but adjusted hours, reduced hours but 3 normal days, two off. I teamed up with a colleague and instead and presented a plan for both of us to cover one full time job, so they only needed to recruit one new person. They were happy with that as it builds in holiday and sick cover too.

If it really doesn't work out and you don't want to resign there are after school clubs and childminders.

Not unreasonable to appeal at all. It's good that your company has the option - usually an appeal is decided by someone different/more senior.

Be aware though that you don't have an automatic right to flexible working. The employer can refuse provided that the refusal falls within one of the eight reasons set out in the legislation. Some of them are quite broad - quality of work, business detriment, and similar (can't remember them all!) Its not particularly difficult for a company to make one of them stick tbh. I would also look at the procedural side and check that your employer has done everything properly in terms of giving you notice, setting out decision in writing and falling within one of the eight reasons, etc.

Ultimately you could take it to ET, but iirc they will not investigate whether the company is "right" to say it's detrimental to the business (or whichever of the eight applies), just that they have followed the law and procedure correctly.

Good luck

You need to tell your employers how it will benefit them (rather than you).

I had my request turned down too. (9 years ago)
They need to be much more specific in what the business need for you to be there 100% of the time. Why can't your role be reduced in hours? Could elements of your role be given to someone else?

If it doesn't suit the business they have every right to say no.

They need to give a more detailed answer though, surely, Rainbowpastel?

You only have the right to request flexible working, they can say no for business reasons.

It has to show how it will benefit the business, not assist you with childcare.

How did you propose they covered the missing ten hours? It's not fair to put the work on other employees and the likelihood of a job share is out for a couple of hours each day.