Employer let me go...now what?

[enbh]

I didn't really know where to post this. My employer has chosen not to take me back part time ( 3 days per week) after maternity leave. I know absolutely that it's their right to do so, although have to say I'm very disappointed. Virtually everyone works part time there. Even my colleague with no dependent children finishes at 2:00 as she has to let her two labradors out. Not bitter, honest!

Anyway...just feeling a bit lost and looking for a bit of a hand hold really. I'm going to be looking for a job immediately as i was due to go back next month. I feel like this is such a bad time for me to be starting a new job, baby not sleeping well at the min due to teething and I can't even imagine learning a new skill...I can just about zombie my way through the day as it is!

Has anyone started a new job after having a baby? I just feel like all my confidence is gone (not to mention none of my work clothes fit me at all). I just feel shit!

At least you have a lot of transferable skills and you could probably go for any admin/secretarial job or try for another trainee solicitor or paralegal role.

Be careful what you go for though as I find that to save money everyone is putting an unrealistic amount of work/responsibility on admin staff these days especially in education and councils.

Ok, no need to be a martyr here, folks are trying to help you. The fact is you're acting as a secretary and this company have not treated you well in that they have not met their contractual obligations for a training contract.

I'm not a solicitor so don't understand the impacts of that, but you should, if you've a contract, stating they will give you a training contract then I'd assume there is action you could have taken for them breaching that contract. However going part time and then resigning isn't probably ideal.

I'm assuming you've got a good degree, and as such, you can find another job, I would not be disheartened, if you wish to be a solicitor then this company was not for you. If you have shelved that plan due to family commitments, then you'll walk into another role, as your cv with both experience and qualifications should look good. The issue may arise if you state you're a trainee solicitor, it will confuse employers. I'd think what you want to write there.

I started a new job after maternity.
I was in a temping role as I had moved cities when I was pregnant and didn't want a permanent position which I'd have to leave for maternity (thought it would be unfair on the employer). They said they would keep my temping job open for 12 months to return to, but it was full time and I declined.
When I was ready to go back, I applied for 6 jobs only (they were the only ones available with the flexible part time hours I wanted). I took a fixed term contract at a University, and have been here 12 years now, going full time nearly 3 years ago.
Fingers crossed for you, that you find the perfect job ... don't be down, see it as a new adventure :) Good luck x

If you have legal skills and good admin I’d look at joining a virtual legal secretarial company as a short term fix. Longer term - have you done your lpc? Your options will be quite limited to look for another training contract at this time of year (sorry) esp part time. I would look for paralegal, psl and legal admin jobs.

Sorry your return to work hasn’t panned out the way you expected. I had the same (although very different situation) and had to look for a new job with a non sleeping 10 month old at home. It is awful. Just remember that you were good at what you did before children and that hasn’t changed! Weight will go eventually and the baby will sleep eventually and it’ll all be ok.

@SuckonTHATRyan can I ask when you found a new role? How did you feel being a new mum and starting a new job? I'm hoping just to view this as a new start, chance to learn new skills and meet new people but part of me is just bricking it that I will fail horribly and let everyone down.

I usually try to look for a positive angle but it's like I've ran out of motivation and positivity!

Helloha thank you! That's just what I wanted to hear.

if you're doing lots of unpaid overtime for £17k a year, could there be a risk that you're no even earning NMW?

That and the non-existant training contract suggests that you may be as well using the opportunity to look for part time work somewhere else?

@stealthbanana thank you! Good attitude, I will try to adopt the same!

I stayed at home for a few years with dc1, then had dc2 about 8 months ago. I got a PT (evenings and weekends) job in hospitality two months ago. This isn’t the area I worked in previously and I also have a degree and paralegal qualification, but we simply couldn’t afford for me to go back to my admin job, as childcare is too much and my salary wouldn’t cover it or just barely would. Although hospitality wasn’t my plan when I went to university, I really enjoy it and I actually take home money instead of losing it, as DH has the children while I’m working (he has them for free obviously )!

The obvious downside is that I see less of dh. I’m also still bfing, (exclusively pumping), so juggling that can be fun and games. But I love working and he thought of working for minus money in an admin job really didn’t appeal. The difference for you is that you would be working towards becoming a solicitor (if you got a traineeship). So short term pain for long term gain. For me it wasn’t worth it.

Fwiw I see the evening and weekend work as a stop gap. When dc2 starts preschool and then school I hope to either retrain or go back to weekday work if I can.

To be honest your posts have been very unclear. As a professional I would have expected succinct posts. I wonder if you aren't cut out for Legal work - hence you are support staff work.

This is your opportunity to look for something different that you can work around your DC.

They've continued to employ someone full time, implying the role needs to be full time. How have they been unfair to not let you drop hours?

I'm so sorry this has happened to you - I bet you wouldn't want to go back there now, I wouldn't.

I don't know what you did at the solicitors but if, for example, you were a legal secretary or legal exec you should have no trouble getting another job with hours to suit. This may be a blessing in disguise. You can also take a bit of time to find the right one.

Good luck. Onwards and upwards.

oh do disappear Neshoma. hardly helpful.

To be honest your posts have been very unclear. As a professional I would have expected succinct posts. I wonder if you aren't cut out for Legal work - hence you are support staff work.

Wow talk about kicking someone when they’re down! OP I can’t give any specific advice but really sympathise with your position, when your baby is that age you really just want to go back to something familiar and not have to start somewhere new, I think you’re entitled to feel a bit sorry for yourself! From your subsequent posts it sounds like moving on from there may be the best thing in the long term though. It WILL work out!

@ENBH I was in a similar situation, in a very male-dominated workplace. I was supposed to start training to be in a very well-paid position but as soon as I said that I was pregnant, that was rescinded. I did go back after maternity leave but only for a few weeks before I knew that I couldn't work with such twonks and quit. Took some time off to be with my baby then went into a totally different area where working mums were the norm and I'm so glad I did. My pay didn't even drop and I had better benefits and more flexibility. Some workplaces just aren't worth it. Hope your job search goes well and don't be afraid to try something completely different or outside your comfort zone.

I am surprised at some of the overly harsh posts on here. OP has clearly stated that she is feeling lost and demotivated following an unsuccessful request for part-time hours and the subsequent need to look for a job elsewhere whilst also managing the usual struggles of returning to work after maternity. I don't think making snide digs at her credibility in her former role is going to do anything helpful when she has specifically asked for support and encouraging stories.
I had no choice but to return to full-time work myself and I can totally understand why you don't want to OP. Find a few outfits that make you feel as good as possible, if you don't feel in the right headspace to make a decent CV don't be afraid to send it off to a professional for editing and then look on all the job boards for roles that fit the hours and industries that suit you. I expect you will have some great transferable skills that will give you the choice of work that doesn't stretch you too far when learning the ropes.

I'm sorry you're in this situation but just to give you some comfort/encouragement;

I interviewed for a new job a week after giving birth and started in that new job when my baby was three months old (I had not partner and no option to just stay at home I needed the money).

It was tough working with the usual baby sleep patterns but It worked out fine for me in the end. Good luck.

@Neshoma - yeah thanks for that!

@Rosegoldeagle and @LikesAnimalPark thank you!

I'm not actually sad I've left the company as I know they are shit and have known it ages...just liked the familiarity of it all.

I won't be going going for a trainee role, just want an admin job which hopefully will fit work/ life balance better!

@SuckOnTHATRyan I'm feeling exactly the same. It's not worth it for me at this stage, I really hope I end up with a story like yours...a role I enjoy even if it's not what I envisioned. Thanks for sharing your story... definitely one of the positive ones I was hoping to hear!

If they were holding you out on their website they were acting in all sorts of breaches of the Solicitors' Regulations, the Legal Services Act and the Solicitors Act so there would be consequences for both them and for you if this is discovered! I assume they have since taken you off their website and if they haven't I would strongly urge you to ask them to take it down immediately.

LikesAnimalPArk - in your case you did have a valid claim for discrimination. Did you pursue it?

I started a new job when DD was 6 months old. It's full time and possibly the opposite of a 'leave your job at work' type role but I love it. I've been there nearly a year and am lucky they are very flexible; so while I'm often checking my emails at ridiculous o'clock, having to sort out problems while I'm on holiday with family, and working every evening once DD is in bed, it's not a problem for me to leave at 3pm to pick up DD, or for me to bring DD to work with me if our regular childcare falls through for any reason.

I found it easier to start a new role than I would have found it returning to my previous role. So much can change in the 6-12 months you're off that you're playing catch up on everything, whereas with a new role they know you'll be starting from scratch and have less expectations.

I think it's more rhere was some confusion, from the being let go, when she actually resigned, to the complexity of the traineee solicitor thing.

Op have a think of what you want to do. The worlds your oyster. As said, some recruitment agencies are a great bet for part time work, and your skills might qualify you for paralegal or legal secretary roles.

I'd probably put legal secretary on your cv, as it avoids you looking over qualified, and avoids the whole conversation on the contract. You're going to be totally fine and I too suspect this is a blessing in disguise.

I started a new job after maternity.

Applied to my original employer for flexible working and they said no. Justifiable reasons. However I was annoyed as so many other people had come back on the hours i requested.

So I got upset and started looking for other jobs. Ended up in a much better job/company, on a lot more money, but ended up being full time anyway!

It was the best decision I made. yes the first few months were hard! DD at the time didn;t sleep more than 2 hours in a row, and there were some days I walked into work on less than 3 hours sleep but you do just cope. I was also very lucky to have a very understanding manager who would let me have a day every now and then to work from home so I didn't have to do the 45 min commute (and knew I would probably have a lunch time nap!) (said manager is now also pregnant herself and has openly admitted she has no idea how I came into work on so little sleep!)

i actually love my job and am already looking at my second promotion in 18 months I've got on so well on limited sleep. DD now pretty much sleeps through as well!

Good luck!

I think there has been some confusion over OP's employment status plus posting this in AIBU, some MNers probably not sure where the AIBU is here.

Good luck. I started a new job (albeit similar role but new firm) after DC1 mat leave and I'll be doing the same after this mat leave although this time hopefully it'll be a different type of role. So it is possible and in some ways it's a good time to move as even the same job would feel strange after a long break.

How are you sorted for childcare etc? I was lucky that DH and I worked close to each other so either could do pick up/drop off. I felt that took the pressure off whilst I got settled so I didn't worry about how it looked if I dashed off at 5 to get to nursery. Good luck again, I hope it works out for you.