Desk taken at work while on maternity

[Flopsy145]

I'm coming to the end of my maternity leave and have found out that a man in my team has moved into my desk while I've been off and replaced it with a standing desk. I love my desk, it has a window and privacy which I need more than him in the role I'm in, and I can see my daughter's nursery.
He's on more money than me, and didn't even ask to have my desk, which still has a locked cupboard of mine next to it which I need.
The desk I've been moved to is pretty shit.
AIBU to demand my desk back?

[madisonbridges]

It could be worse. A colleague of mine went abroad on business and not only did he lose his desk, he lost his office as well. He ended up in a broom closet.

[tympanic]

@madisonbridges

It could be worse. A colleague of mine went abroad on business and not only did he lose his desk, he lost his office as well. He ended up in a broom closet.

That’s terrible! How did he take it?

[forressttheouut]

Do you deal with confidential information such as HR matters where it would be inappropriate for him to overlook your screens? if so then you can reasonably ask him to move. If its just you don't like him looking at what you're doing (and I completely understand i'd also find it really distracting) then you probably aren't going to get very far in having him move

[ElftonWednesday]

He ended up in a broom closet

That’s terrible! How did he take it?

He made sweeping changes to the workplace gets coat

[GrendelsGrandma]

I get why you're annoyed but you need to make a distinction between personal reasons why you like it and business reasons why you need to be in that spot (privacy and quiet calls). If you can explain why it affects your with performance then you might get somewhere.

[BuanoKubiamVej]

You have the right to return from maternity leave to the same role and terns and conditions as you had before leave. Any reduction in status or the favourability of terms that wouldn't have happened without you being on leave is likely to be discriminatory. It's true that in some work cultures there's no expectation for a desk to be reliably always available to a particular employee but in your particular employment it's normal to expect to keep your desk. You need to make a formal complaint that the relocation is materially detrimental to your wellbeing at work and to your ability to perform your duties and that it being firces through while you were on leave is discriminatory.

[sofato5miles]

You say that he is on more money than you. Is he senior to you and could irritating him have a negative impact?

Also, on honest reflection was it because you liked the window and watching your daughter primarily?

[tympanic]

@ElftonWednesday

He ended up in a broom closet

That’s terrible! How did he take it?

He made sweeping changes to the workplace gets coat

bristles at the bad puns…

[sofato5miles]

Does UK maternity law apply to you? As every country is different too, though the PP's above comment on discrimination is interesting

[SD1978]

Maybe it was a decision based on him not then being stood in the middle of the office, and instead is on the side? I'd assume it would stand out/ be potentially intrusive if he's looking over 4-5 desks, and now he isn't.

[RosieGuacamosie]

You need to make a formal complaint that the relocation is materially detrimental to your wellbeing at work and to your ability to perform your duties and that it being firces through while you were on leave is discriminatory.

Please don’t do this. I’m a senior manager and there’s frequent desk reshuffles in my department due to new joiners etc etc. honestly if someone tried to claim it was discriminatory because they wanted to look out the window I’d think they were batshit.

[Danh22]

Completely unreasonable to expect no changes to your workplace during your maternity. Let's be honest this isn't about some business need for your desk, you likes the position it was in so you could gaze at the nursury.

You need to suck it up, if you have a business need for privacy that should be raised so an appropriate desk can be found or you can be provided with a privacy screen for your monitor.

47BuanoKubiamVej, that sounds deranged.

[Mintyt]

I get where your coming from, but he saw it as a nice empty desk. You can ask to have your desk back.

[Snowiscold]

I don’t think you’ve got a case here, but you can ask by all means. If he’s got a standing desk, then surely you can have your desk back - just not in the same position.

[LagerthaofKattegat]

You can ask, but I wouldn’t mention the nursery. I mean my DC nursery is 10 miles away from work. I’m not sure why you’d need to see the building from your desk.

Or could he turn his desk somehow/or you move yours a bit? So it’s not so intrusive

[Aubree17]

I totally understand and don't think your being unreasonable at all.

Your suggestion of telling him when you'll be back and asking him to move is perfect.

If he says oh your desk is over there now ... just say I'd like my old desk back.

If I'd taken someone's desk I couldn't imagine refusing to move.

[sonjadog]

You can ask, but just because you liked your desk doesn't mean it is yours. It is a desk your workplace own, not your own personal space. Take it up with whoever allocates desk spaces, but I wouldn't expect much.

[stayathomer]

I've no experience of this but I have been away from work and had things change while I was gone and would assume this goes into the 'things change' department. I'd definitely talk it out with your manager though

[tttigress]

I would be happy I still have a desk.

The last 2 places I have worked introduced "smart working" / "hot desking"

[Darbs76]

I’d just email him and say ‘just to let you know I’ll be back on x date so grateful if you could arrange to move back to your desk’

We have some standing desks in our office and they need to be on the end of banks but sounds like he could have put it where his desk is but he might say it needs to be there for x reason. We hot desk but those with standing desks have a fixed desk.

[LondonQueen]

Presumably he didn't put the desk their himself, it will have been deemed the most appropriate place by someone more senior. You could raise it with your boss that it is more suitable for your desk to be positioned there, for the privacy issue only, don't mention being able to see your daughters nursery as a valid reason! Other than that you don't have a leg to stand on.

[Ricksteinsfishwife]

Don’t be claiming it’s discrimatory, I cringed even reading this. You don’t own the space, it was not yours, and businesses can move staff around. He moved there as you wer off and it was an empty desk.

Email your manager and say you’d like to sit at your old desk, try to find some business reason, do not say it’s because you like looking out the window, at your child’s nursery or you don’t like that he can see your screen (unless you do confidential work he can’t see, which it doesn’t seem you do). You can build in he’s not there often, don’t go on about him being paid more than you, that’s a different argument, and much depends on roles and seniority etc.

As they have already told you where your new desk is, I would expect a no.

You can also approach him and ask if he’d mind swapping with you.

As a pp said, this is why office moved are a nightmare, people become so attached to where they sit and consider it theirs rightfully. When actually it’s jist a desk in the office.

[OverByYer]

Maybe it was noticed that you spent time starting out of the window so have moved you somewhere where you can’t? ( I am being deliberately obtuse but thinking from employer perspective)

[shrunkenhead]

It's a desk. To complain about a bit of wood on four legs will just seem petty. Let it go.

[itrytomakemyway]

Why do you need to be able to see the nursery from your desk? I would actually think this would be a reason for you nowt to have a desk there as your company are paying you to give your attention to your work.

Also, those posters telling you to pull the discrimination card are doing such a disservice to women who genuinely do face discrimination in work. Please don't do this.

Whilst I understand that it is annoying and inconvenient to be moved to another desk it is not unreasonable. You do not own that space. It is also unreasonable for you to expect for it to sit there empty whilst you are not in the office. In many workplaces people get shuffled round all of the time - and I suspect for this very reason. People can get very territorial about 'their' space. It is why hot desking is commonplace. No personal items on desks, no permanent desk, just use any desk that is available.