to ask advice on how to approach this

[sallysayssosillysausage]

I returned from maternity leave in April after a year off. In the year I’d been away my work made it possible to work from home.

To cut a long story short, I asked to work from home on a particular day every week because it would have helped with picking up and dropping off my dc at nursery.

I should add at this point, for the avoidance of doubt, that at no point would DC be in the house when I was working from home. it was solely to help with commute/work life balance.

Anyway the request was rejected on the basis that they don’t allow it on a specific day every week.

I accepted this and returned to work.

Last week, a person I work with who is same level/grade and does the same job but in a different team (we’re a made up of 5 teams) was talking to my colleague next to me and said “Oh I can’t do that meeting on Tuesday because I work from home every Tuesday.”

He does the exact same job - absolutely no difference. The only difference is that his manager (who coincidentally is my back up manger should mine be off) is lazy and doesn’t give two hoots what his team get up to.

Now I just feel really angry that he gets every Tuesday working from home when we’ve been told it’s a no go.

I’m unsure what to do?

Btw please don’t pounce on me...I am genuinely quite upset that it’s one rule for one and another for someone else.

They've now set a precedent, put your request in again citing this. It will be harder for them to say no.

@iamkahleesi

I was wondering if I should say in conversation to him

“oh mark (not his name) do you work from home every Tuesday? How are you finding the working from home thing?”

Then if he says he does indeed wfh on a specific day I’ll....what would I do?

Assuming it's as you've reported and you and your colleague are in the same role and his working hours have resulted from a flexible working request etc...I agree.

Are you 100% sure though? For instance, are you sure that he wasn't recruited whilst you were on maternity leave and has had those contractual hours from the start?

It does sound off that flexibility to work from home has "come in" whilst you were on maternity leave, but is being denied to you upon your return to work.

Resubmit your request if that's allowed, specifically mentioning the precedent that's been set.

Alternatively, if you're unable to resubmit your request then I'd put in a grievance.

@elvis86

Exact same role. In the course of the conversation, he stated his preference to work from home on a Tuesday because it broke up the week. I’m certain there’s no flexible working agreement in place for him - he’s just decided to do it and his manager hasn’t cared enough to stop it.

He also wasn’t employed during my mat leave - he’s been there longer than me

Would I have a case for a grievance if this turned out to be true?

Who would the grievance be against?

I wouldn't put out in a grievance I'd out in a new fw request for what you want.

His Manager would have to take responsibility for this and he will probably be stopped from working at home on that day.

That doesn't get you what you want and makes you very unpopular.

It would be better to speak to your manager and use him as an example, rather than a grievance.

@Ponoka7

That seems like a more reasonable thing to do.

However, knowing what my work is like they’ll deny my request and I’ll be no further forward 🤦🏻‍♀️

I think he’s already told you that he works from home every Tuesday, hasn’t he? So no need for the weird subterfuge question. If you want to check, just ask him straight “Do you work from home every Tuesday?”

Next step, repeat your request (by email so there’s a record) for a regular day working from home, stating that you understand a colleague has this arrangement.

Don’t worry about the grievance procedure right now. In my experience, management will probably put a stop to his arrangement rather than allow you what you want, but it’s worth a go.

I’m certain there’s no flexible working agreement in place for him - he’s just decided to do it and his manager hasn’t cared enough to stop it

If this is true his manager's taking a heck of a risk, but if what the colleague's doing hasn't been formally agreed, that might complicate any claim around a precedent

It's fair enough to ask, but bear in mind that the result could be neither of you being able to WFH … and that probably wouldn't make you very popular