New contract after mat leave, legal?

[Matreturn]

I have worked for a small family run business for 3.5 years, remotely and PT.
I returned from mat leave 2 weeks ago.
I have been trying desperately to buy a house in my local area and the perfect one came up.
My mortgage broker asked me to get a letter/email off my employer to confirm my contracted hours, salary and hourly rate.
I requested this off my boss whom I’m in pretty much daily contact with (director of the company) and they were evasive and awkward. They suggested I send my mortgage broker my p60. I did do this but was quickly advised that it’s the return to work that needed evidencing, not my previous earnings and that I would need at least an email for the mortgage in principle then a letter at a later date to support my actual application. My boss avoided me over the next few days.
I was then emailed over a new contract asking to sign and return. The last contract I signed last year was a very general contract that could be applied to various roles. This was very specific, stating if I didn’t sell X amounts of units (an unreasonable amount in my opinion) then I could be sacked.
This sounds standard for a sales role but without divulging too much, one unit could earn our company £100 or £6k so the amount of units has never been a focus, the focus is always the monetary gain for the business. It also stated the monetary target.

I feel like my employer has used my desperation for the email confirming my return to work as leverage to pressure me into signing a new employment contract.
My employer finally sent over the email I guess because he has panicked and realised how inappropriate it is to ask a returning employee to sign a new contract days after mat leave (I hadn’t yet signed the new contract) but his email came too late and cost me a very rare opportunity for a house within budget in the area I need to live in 🥹

Besides look for a new job 💔 (although my boss sounds pretty awful here we actually usually get on great and I love my job) what do I do?

Are my employers actions lawful?

I’m so angry and frustrated that a simple email which took them no longer than 2 minutes to compose has cost me and my children a beautiful home 💔

YABU my employer shouldn’t be expected to provide proof of income and I should be happy with returning from maternity leave to new T&C’s

YANBU my employer should’ve popped an email over asap and a new contract after maternity leave isn’t legal

I'm not sure what you're asking people here if you know the answer.

Contact ACAS for advice.

Or Pregnant Then Screwed

Sounds dodgy they want you to sign a new contract but also I’ve never been asked for that kind of detail from my employer when applying for a mortgage, just payslips/P60/bank statements?

Can mortgage providers even do that?

Op there are differences in the law relating to Mat leave, the first 6 months and Additional Mat leave over 6 months.

I think under 6 mths they have to give you, your original job back with same T&Cs, after 6 mths they have to give you A job not necessarily the same job.
But look it up.

If you usually get on well. It may be when you asked for details the boss realised your contract was rather vague and they thought it was better to tidy it up for your mortgage application. Maybe even exaggerated your potential income, I don't know the details.

All the mortgage company needs is a brief note with base salary and any commission potential.

It's sounds a bit sketchy that they have sent a new specific contract but first find out if others have that contract already, proving discrimination would be hard if everyone else got the new contract a few months ago or longer but as you were pregnant or on leave you haven't got your yet. If you feel you have been singled out speak to pregnant than screwed

I think you are being a bit over dramatic about losing the new house. You are a party to your employment contract, you should keep hold of a copy of your employment contract / offer letter or whatever.

You don’t have to sign new employment contracts agreeing to different terms if you don’t want to and you didn’t so good. Although I am not sure I understand why you did a year ago either.

Are you returning to exactly the same role with exactly the same pay now that you're finishing mat leave?

When I returned to work after I had my DD, my job had gone but the company found me another role with equal pay for a different, smaller client. This meant I needed a new contract because my old one was no longer accurate and valid.

If you're reducing hours or something and it's well known and previously agreed that would be then yeah, its what I'd have expected. Whereas if you had all agreed before you left that you'd be returning to exactly the same circumstances, then I'd find it a bit cheeky.

No they can't do this, even if others have had theirs changed they need to consult and explain why the change of contract and get agreement they can't just unilaterally impose it, especially if the terms are less favourable than previous.

Its very common for mortgage brokers to ask to see recent confirmation that role is perm/salary etc.

If others haven't had their contracts changed the new contract and situation smells like discrimination, as in it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't gone on mat leave.

It was just because I was returning off maternity they wanted the letter as I would imagine a lot of women return on reduced hours or not at all x

Yes as I would imagine a lot of women either don’t return to work after mat leave or return on reduced hours

I got bad vibes straight away, there was talk of calling accountants etc, I repeatedly said it’s not necessary I just need a simple
‘matreturn has returned to her role on X amount of hours on x hourly wage/salary of x amount’. My boss can be a touch paranoid sometimes 🫠

Whether I’m being dramatic therefore YABU.
I have a tendency to be dramatic sometimes.

I lost the house as a direct result of not returning proof of returning to work after maternity leave within a timely manner.
The email would’ve taken 2 mins to type up, it took a week to receive at which point the house had gone 🥺

Are they actually asking you to sign it or have they just provided you with the information you need for your mortgage application?

All exactly the same

This is sadly what I’ve taken from the situation.
It’s made me sad as I really respect and get on with my boss and he knows I’ve had an incredibly hard time lately and really needed this house, I won’t go into detail as it’s very exposing but I feel like he’s attempted to blackmail me into signing a less favourable contract 🥲

They’ve asked me to print, sign and return.
In my desperation for the email confirming my return I had signed online and returned but they came back saying it needed to be a wet signature, so for the avoidance of doubt is something he really wants. Strange since I never actually signed any contract until last year when I’ve worked there 3.5/4 years.

If they're changing the conditions of your employment there needs to be a consultation.