Worried about being moved departments after maternity leave… or is it more likely you return to the same job?

[heydorothy]

Hoping to take 9 or 10 months.

In contract it says if you return after 26 weeks of maternity leave you are entitled to return to the exact same role that you left.

If after 26 weeks, it must be a role in no less favourable conditions but not necessarily the same

I work for local gov. Get on well with my team and particularly love my role which is quite niche. I know there’s quite a lot of people who would probably also love the chance to do it, though. The current dynamic works well as it is and can imagine if going back after maternity leave and moving to another department to do something totally different, it would be a lot of change/unsettling. I don’t think they will cover rather will find someone who’s happy to join the team in my absence, I’d imagine

Did you go back to the same identical role, or did you have to slot in somewhere else? Is it crazy to decide how much leave I want to take on the basis of this, if it does guarantee I’ll go back to what I love?

Bump

I think it's a valid basis for making the decision about the length of leave to take.

In each of my maternity leaves I have gone back to a similar, but not exactly the same, role. But everything was shuffled around to cover my work, perhaps it would be different I they had employed specific cover.

How long did you take off?

I was off for 13 months with my first and 14 months with my second. Public sector organisation. I went back into my old role, but my responsibilities changed slightly each time.

I went back to a different role but in the same team.

I love it, and ended up much happier because of it.

For most employers do you think you can ask the question before you decide how much leave to take, or is that cheeky?

That’s good!

I went back to a sideways move, and a newly created role for a boss above me who was in a job I could have done easily.

Refused my work from home request for 2 days a week due to business need, I left for a 30% pay rise and 2 days WfH 6 months later.

12 months later Covid happened, and that whole company went WfH overnight 🙄🙄🙄

Even if they answered, I'm not sure you could hold them to it.

True. Think the 26 weeks ‘ordinary mat leave’ is ACAS standard though.

If you love your role and want to 100% bank on returning to it, then your best approach is to make that clear all the way through, use your KIT days to stay visible, and give the right amount of notice to return.

Anything else leaves you open to uncertainty, which it sounds like you don't want, so worth being clear and within the terms for your own peace of mind.

It's not Acas's standard, it's what the law states.

My point being - even if you say you want the same role before going on leave, if you take more than 26 weeks and things change within the organisation in the meantime then they can legally make a different decision by the time you come back.

Would it be alright (still the law to return to the same role) if you took the 26 weeks and then your accrued annual leave, meaning you’d been off for 7 months in total?

The only 100% guarantee is if you take 26 weeks or less.

Given that you’re back on the books and full payroll when taking the accrued annual leave?

You can't take annual leave on maternity leave, so you would have to end your maternity leave to take the annual leave. Therefore you would have returned to work.

So that type scenario would be fine then

Off topic but would you really accrue a whole month in 6 months? That would mean you get 9 weeks a year.

No, you’re right actually. I’d probably only get 2 or 3 weeks.

Thank you. Maybe conversations with the people who would make those decisions would help as well? I feel able to approach them and think they like me in the role I’m in atm