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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to lose my rag completely with my employer?

183 replies

Edumacator · 23/02/2023 13:16

I was a science teacher in a secondary school. When I fell pregnant, I told my employer early on because I had a high-risk pregnancy and needed lots of appointments as well as obvious issues of my role (chemicals, fire, fumes but also working in a school with poor behaviour and very frequent physical alternations and incidents). Within a week, my school posted an advert online for a new science teacher to start as soon as possible. I raised it and was told that they’re intending to expand the department - first time that’s been mentioned and the school isn’t growing in student numbers (it’s not a school of choice locally). Not to mention, they wouldn’t expand a department mid-year because they’d have to reshuffle all the timetables and room allocations etc. But, the state of teaching being what it is, they didn’t get any applicants so no one was hired. I’m currently on maternity leave and I won’t be returning - I have a job that’s not in teaching lined up. I just gave my employer my notice to leave at the end of the Easter holiday - giving the required notice. Just got my payslip via email and the bastards haven’t paid me anything this month. AIBU to be absolutely sick to death of this shit now?

OP posts:
DDivaStar · 23/02/2023 17:04

So you've posted here and phoned a union. Have you called payroll yet ? They arevtge only ones who can tell you whats happened.

As for them recruiting,its irrelevant. They have every right to recruit whenever they want, you are making huge assumptions that they intended to sack you unfairly.

Xol · 23/02/2023 17:08

kidsatuniemptynester · 23/02/2023 16:17

Frankly, you sound a bit entitled. You quite rightly gave your school advanced notice of your pregnancy and then got upset because they advertised for a replacement teacher. Now, you have decided not to return and are still raging at them. Why not give thought to : the children who now don't have a science teacher, and why not just politely ask why the deductions (if they are such) have been made. Schools can't just decide to take tax off, that is down to HMRC based on info provided, I would have thought you would know that. Now, calm down, lots of women have babies, please don't make it even more difficult than it is for other female staff at your school.

This wins today's prize for Most Patronising Post.

DysmalRadius · 23/02/2023 17:18

Actually, without people like the OP, who clearly has her shit together, people who are struggling during maternity leave might just assume they had misunderstood when faced with this kind of thing. It could be a massive deal for someone with PND to pick up the phone and sort something like this out, do the fact that the OP is addressing it from the perspective of knowing that they've flicked up should help future mothers at that school as they will be less likely to face anything similar once it's been dealt with (or you'd like to believe that would be the case at least!).

WombatChocolate · 23/02/2023 17:38

There’s no need to lose your rag.

You quite simply need to contact HR and ask them to confirm the dates of your maternity leave and period of statutory payment and correct them if this is incorrect.

You need to query your payslip for this month.

Errors happen all the time. They can usually be worked through and sorted out.

Regarding the employing someone else…..they told you at the time that it was an expansion of the Department. They were making clear it wasn’t to replace you. So even if they had hired, there wouldn’t be a problem.

If it turns out they have ended your contract now, before your resignation date, or withheld maternity pay you’ve qualified for, you can challenge it and if you’re right, you will get the money. It seems unlikely they would set out to do something illegal.

Runaway1 · 23/02/2023 17:41

Congratulations on your pregnancy and new job and YANBU. Anyone who’s worked in a school knows that they were intending to illegally replace you - there weren’t any classes for a new teacher to take. Your position should have been advertised as a maternity cover. Schools pull this kind of stunt all the time. I’ve seen so many women lose out in schools due to having a baby.

rocksonrocks · 23/02/2023 17:43

AFluster · 23/02/2023 15:28

The OP says she’s going to contact her employer, she’s literally asking what tone that contact should take. Repeatedly slamming at her for not contacting them when it’s 100% apparent she’s imminently contacting them is ridiculous and futile. No one, literally not one person, thinks she shouldn’t contact her employer - it’s not exactly high-level strategy that’s only occurred to you. Even if you did think you’re the only person to come up with the brilliant plan (despite it clearly already being a plan in the OP), you didn’t need to state it so many times. Your comments were rude and you know they were, if they weren’t then your tone wouldn’t have changed so suddenly when PP called you out.

Has it occurred to you that, seeing as your answer was so so so so obvious, maybe it wasn’t the question actually being asked?

Show quote history

Yup exactly this! Pop a sock in it @MrsBennetsPoorNerves

IsaacNewtonPoppleford · 23/02/2023 17:50

Sounds as though you may have been constructively dismissed.

Coffeellama · 23/02/2023 17:55

IsaacNewtonPoppleford · 23/02/2023 17:50

Sounds as though you may have been constructively dismissed.

Why?

ellesbellesxxx · 23/02/2023 18:09

Just to say I didn’t think you could get paid for the Easter hols… I did the same, handed in my notice for Easter after Mat leave (I was in the last 13 weeks of Mat leave when l did this so already had received all my smp) but didn’t receive any Easter hol pay🤔

elephantsbreafh · 23/02/2023 18:17

MN is ridiculous sometimes.

You're not being unreasonable. I’d be pissed off too. My employer was awful during my entire pregnancy and subsequent mat leave. I squeezed every last penny out of them before handing in my notice before I came back after mat leave. Make sure you get what they are owed you. Contact Pregnant then Screwed if you need to, they’re fab!

Cocobutt · 23/02/2023 18:18

If you are 100% sure you are entitled to it then it’s obviously a mistake.

They would have needed to advertise for a maternity position anyway and although the advert said start as soon as possible, it’s usually advertised for 4 weeks and then interviews and handing their notice in etc so it would have been a good few weeks before anyone started and therefore your maternity leave would have probably started.

I’m not sure why you are so annoyed tbh.
You have a job there, you haven’t been replaced and it’s you that is choosing to leave.

Ontheup75 · 23/02/2023 18:22

Have you actually phoned the HR dept yet?

Always best to assume it's a genuine mistake - more than likely it is.

My place do actually over staff for science as decent science teachers are hard to find, and can usually pick up maths / psychology hours too. It's virtually impossible to get a decent science mat cover teacher as they get screwed over for summer hols pay (post holder would return at the start of the hols as is their right) and there are plenty of regular teacher jobs available.

magicthree · 23/02/2023 18:26

Surely you should have phoned them before ranting on MN - it might be a genuine error. It's all a bit dramatic.

Oblomov23 · 23/02/2023 18:32

You aren't speaking sense. A negative figure? You can't have a negative figure as net pay. Do you mean -tax? Which is a tax refund?

Oblomov23 · 23/02/2023 18:34

Send an email. A polite one. Please could someone check my pay because .....

moleeye · 23/02/2023 18:38

YABU and come across as very entitled and self serving

Hope that helps

ArtixLynx · 23/02/2023 18:41

Can someone please explain to me how exactly she is being unreasonable for being annoyed that her employer has failed to pay her the Statutory Wages she is meant to be paid while still on her 39 weeks maternity leave?

pigsinoodies · 23/02/2023 18:47

Pinkdelight3 · 23/02/2023 14:37

Not sure how it whiffs of constructive dismissal when she's not been dismissed, she handed her notice in, and they haven't hired anyone else. She has her own theories about them recruiting, but that's about the size of it.

That's literally what constructive dismissal is.

If they'd dismissed her rather than her leaving voluntarily because of their actions then it wouldn't be constructive dismissal.

DDivaStar · 23/02/2023 18:48

ArtixLynx · 23/02/2023 18:41

Can someone please explain to me how exactly she is being unreasonable for being annoyed that her employer has failed to pay her the Statutory Wages she is meant to be paid while still on her 39 weeks maternity leave?

It would be advisable to ask payroll whats happening before ranting on here and trying to get a union involved. It might be a genuine mistake, not spiteful.

SweetSakura · 23/02/2023 18:48

ArtixLynx · 23/02/2023 18:41

Can someone please explain to me how exactly she is being unreasonable for being annoyed that her employer has failed to pay her the Statutory Wages she is meant to be paid while still on her 39 weeks maternity leave?

Presumably it's just an error though? Op hasn't check that yet?

SweetSakura · 23/02/2023 18:50

pigsinoodies · 23/02/2023 18:47

That's literally what constructive dismissal is.

If they'd dismissed her rather than her leaving voluntarily because of their actions then it wouldn't be constructive dismissal.

Show quote history

What are their "actions" that are problematic though?

Op has no real idea why they advertised an extra post. It could have been for myriad reasons

The payment thing could just be an admin error. Op hasn't checked yet

Sirikit · 23/02/2023 18:55

Why are you so cross about them recruiting a new teacher? How does that affect you in any way? Were they going to sack you? And isn't it just as well they advertised since you're leaving anyway?

Have you asked payroll yet, or are you just wallowing in mindless drama?

Ballcactus · 23/02/2023 18:56

Speak to Acas, you’re still protected for maternity discrimination. Pregnant then screwed are great too, they know what they’re doing and it’s illegal!

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 23/02/2023 19:03

pigsinoodies · 23/02/2023 18:47

That's literally what constructive dismissal is.

If they'd dismissed her rather than her leaving voluntarily because of their actions then it wouldn't be constructive dismissal.

Show quote history

Well, yes, but if the only evidence is that they advertised for another teacher, I don't think a destructive dismissal case would get anywhere. There doesn't appear to be any evidence to suggest that the OP has been forced out.

pigsinoodies · 23/02/2023 19:04

SweetSakura · 23/02/2023 18:50

What are their "actions" that are problematic though?

Op has no real idea why they advertised an extra post. It could have been for myriad reasons

The payment thing could just be an admin error. Op hasn't checked yet

Show quote history

I wasn't commenting on whether a constructive dismissal claim is likely to be successful, just on the assertion that the OP can't claim it if she's resigned.

I think it's being suggested that advertising her job as soon as she informs the employer that she's pregnant, and then not paying SMP may be grounds for a claim.