Maternity leave / return

[RogueRascal]

Looking for opinions, tried contacting g pregnant and screwed but the lines were closed today

I went off on maternity leave a month before I was due however 2 weeks before this was told my role (secondment) was being taken off me early due to current projects which would run better with someone in place from start onwards.

Contacted work about 9 months after birth to request flexible working (e+ws on a hybrid basis) up till then I’d been wfh for 4 years and my role was one I applied for internally and nearly didn’t as I was wary of wfh.

Anyway, I was given shift options but wfh wasn’t a possible. In the end I asked for a demotion and have been trying to make it work but got signed off with anxiety after my DS had terrible vaccine reactions. I’ve since returned again and 3 weeks later went off again after being left with nothing to do all day.

i really resent the fact I’m being forced into an office when I could be with my child on breaks and lunches but despite raising it again prior to my return promised discussions haven’t taken place.

suppose I just want to know, AIBU? Maternity leave was more than 6 months so technically they can make changes to my role but it feels unfair to me. Lots of people still wfh, they just live further away in most instances so can’t physically change

It all depends what it says in your contract - that will be the driver, whether you feel it’s unreasonable or not is an emotion not fact - which you need to decide on next steps. Dig out your contract and role profile, this will help you understand whether you have a case or not. You can also explore with HR about putting in a formal request for WFH and the business would need to give you a reason if they were to decline your request.

Curious how you would be with your child during breaks and lunches if you worked from home ? Unless you have someone else at home undertaking the childcare ?

Yeah someone else would be at home with my child, I’d just provide milk when able instead of pumping in a toilet lol.

I never received a new contract when I took on the promotion, was told the internal pan was all that was necessary.

I reached out to HR when I first returned however my company went through a merger while I was off so I have went from being incredibly knowledgeable about internal processes to not even knowing how to make contact or find out information.

Flexi req went to my line manager by email, no meeting was booked, just an informal chat. I raised it with my managers manager this time who said we’d chat but then didn’t show up on the discussed date