Manager requesting meeting while on annual leave at the end of mat leave

[OneEdgyTiger]

I took the full year off work and tagged on annual leave to my mat leave which I am currently on now. My manager moved roles after I went on mat leave her replacement then went on mat leave so I currently have a temporary manager until she is back. I have met with the temporary manager to discuss coming back to work as a kit day about a month ago it was left as cool I will log in on the morning I’m back. I’m back a week on Monday so about a week and a half away.

She messaged yesterday at 10.30pm to say would love to connect before your back, I responded first thing this morning to say I can make myself available today for a call, I got a response at 6.450pm after waiting all day saying how about 10.30am tomorrow, I have a jam packed day tomorrow so asked if we could email instead and have now offered 9am but haven’t heard back and I’m not 100% sure if I will be able to chat properly as can’t get childcare this short notice, she hasn’t responded to my questions on what she wanted to discuss only to say let me know what times you can do tomorrow and I am now a bit worried what it could be about.

is this normal when your coming back from may leave? And should you be expected to be available while technically in may leave, and do you think it sounds like bad news for me or something, any advice welcome as I’m nervous
enough about going back to work now I’m thinking I don’t have a job.

so AIBU- this is normal sound likes a typical meeting

or AINBU - unless it’s super urgent should wait a week so it must be something bad/to worry about

If it’s not convenient for you don’t pick up. Especially if they won’t confirm what it’s about or even if it is in anyway urgent.

Also check your maternity leave policy. My former manager insisted on needing to speak to me before I came back (just waffling on about trivial things that could have been done on one of my KIT days). When I read the policy it turned out I could claim a KIT day for that one 20 minute phone call as it fell under the umbrella of return to work activities.

Thank you for your reply, I guess I’m worried I will think about it all weekend if I don’t know but equally if it is bad news I would rather not know so I can enjoy my last week or so of Mat leave so I feel a bit stuck.

If you can’t do the time she’s suggested just offer a new time, I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, just a general catch up ahead of you coming back.

I think it's normal to want a catch up. I'd have waited until first thing on your first day back, but maybe there's a reason she can't do that.

Why wouldn't you suddenly have a job? You were on mat leave and now you are on holiday. Neither is a sackable offence. You are overthinking it. Your manager just want to have a (pointless) chat about your return and duties.

I wouldn't be attending a meeting unpaid. Can it be one of your KIT days ?

I guess her ignoring me asking what she wants to discuss and taking ages to respond to me makes me think she is being cryptic so it makes me think it’s bad, but hoping im just being paranoid soll hearing that it sounds fine helps. But her replies to me seem off instead of saying sorry I couldn’t come back to you today just ignoring I said I would make myself available today she just suggests the following day and then not saying oh just a catch up or I wanted to update you on a change or some kind of info feels like it’s secret.

Also I thought as I’m now in my holiday period as I can’t do kit days taking work meetings wouldn’t really be expected just like they wouldn’t if you were on annual leave on holiday or something.

Thank you, I. Can’t as I’m officially back from mat leave and now in annual leave so I guess other option would be to suggest I cancel half a days leave or something

Thanks I hope that’s the case I guess just thinking they are all sorted so don’t need me back so that’s what they are going to tell
me but hope I am being paranoid

Thanks that’s what I’m hoping but we already had one of these kinds of meetings where we said we would speak again when I’m back so i can’t help but think something has changed

I haven’t had any response to my message to
say I could potentially do early tomorrow don’t know whether to follow up again to ask if she
could email anything urgent and otherwise we catch up when I’m back as she can’t do next week or just leave it and think we’ll not urgent then but I fell like I’m expected to be monitoring my emails so we can speak tomorrow at her convenience

when someone in my team was due back, I asked her if she wanted to meet up for a catch up a couple of weeks before she came back. There was nothing underhand, I just wanted to catch up and see how she was feeling about coming back. We met in a local coffee shop and she bought her son along. I really wouldn’t worry. If you can’t make, it you can’t make it

It's normal to have KIT days or quick calls during your mat leave, but not during your annual leave. She's left it too late.

yes completely makes sense but we already had a conversation like this but you asked her if she wanted to meet up and I assume said it was to catch up or something instead of not saying what it’s about and taking lots of time to respond it doesn’t seem like she wants to check I’m okay more
like
she wants to tell me something and looking for a convenient time

Thanks so you think I should say sorry as I’m now on annual leave im
using like annual leave so not really available? Do you think though would be better to just know what she wants?

Only you can answer whether not knowing will drive you too crazy.

Agree it doesn't sound like bad news to me.

If you decide not to have the call no need to say it's your leave and you don't want to speak - you can just say sorry you don't have any other flexibility - you made a few suggestions showing willing, she had a chance if she really needed to speak to you.