To be annoyed not to be informed about vacancies whilst on mat leave

[FTM1993]

I'm currently on mat leave, returning in October. I plan to return part-time but haven't placed a formal flexible working request just yet. Whilst I've been off there seems to have been a massive restructuring at work, several senior people have been made redundant and vacancies created. I wasn't told about any of this until afterwards. I think my manager has assumed I don't want to know about things like this as I have not asked for any KIT days and have taken the maximum time off. I do keep in touch with some of the girls from work but we tend to avoid the subject of work. One of the girls texted me today to say she's gone for a manger role today and got the job. Am I being unreasonable for feeling a bit miffed not to have even been told about any of this? I thought employers had to keep you informed about stuff like this? It's not that I would have necessarily gone for the job but not even to have been told about it makes me feel quite out of the loop :(

If the vacancies are advertised on the company internal webpages, then it is down to you to keep yourself informed, not down to your manager to contact you.

It's maternity discrimination. Quite clear cut as well. Speak to HR

Not true. Those on maternity should be kept informed of any opportunities the same as any other employees.

How big is your company? Do you want to be informed of every job advert for the entire company while your off, or do you expect the personal service of 'oooh bet @FTM1993 would like this job!!"

Depends on company policy. In our Department, you have to hand all your tech back when you go on mat leave, so i wouldnt even have access to check the intranet.

@FTM1993, our procedures are that managers are supposed to inform those on mat leave of vacancies and restructures. I think you should check your mat leave procedures and see what is supposed to happen at your company. If a manager is supposed to keep you updated, you could raise it with them or HR. I would also be annoyed at this so YANBU.

I would expect everyone on maternity leave to be forwarded the emails with current internal vacancies seeing as I don't have access to the company intranet whilst I'm off so no way of knowing about the vacancies.

OP you really need to review your maternity policies and take into consideration your access to the information. For example in my company access is revoked after a few weeks so there is no mechanism for keeping you informed so managers should have found another way to tell you

This is maternity discrimination.

Presumably all open roles are posted on a job board, career section and website? If so, have you been keeping an eye on these?

It's tough for managers to the level of communication right, some get upset at being contacted when out on leave

OP isn't asking to be made aware of every job vacancy but she should be made aware of a restructuring that directly affects her and any job opportunities arising from that that she would have been eligible to apply for if she wasn't on maternity leave.

It would be unreasonable to expect women on maternity leave to check internal comms with the frequency someone not on maternity leave would be able to. Especially if they haven't even been made aware there is any reason they may need to.

She should have been made aware by her manager of the restructure and it's impact on her.

How do you know that?

From ACAS:
Keeping in touch with work

Before you go on maternity leave, your employer or manager should have a meeting with you to talk about how you'd like to stay in touch.

While you're on maternity leave, your employer must tell you about important changes that might affect you. For example:

• promotion or other job opportunities
• training
• redundancies
• any reorganisation

If your employer does not, this could be pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
You can also agree with them:

• what else you'd like to hear about, for example staff bulletins or social events
• how you'd like to communicate, for example by email, phone or keeping in touch (KIT) days
• how often you'd like to be in touch

https://www.acas.org.uk/your-maternity-leave-pay-and-other-rights/while-youre-on-maternity-leave

I don't have access to anything internal as I had to hand in all tech when I left. I don't know if I'm being unreasonable to expect an email with current internal vacancies as I have no way of knowing about these otherwise. But the consensus seems to be that I need to speak to HR about being kept informed about this as it is not an unreasonable expectation.

They are discriminating against you by not informing you of vacancies and how the restructure might affect you

How do I know what?

That OP isn't asking to be made aware of every job vacancy?
Op says..I would expect everyone on maternity leave to be forwarded the emails with current internal vacancies so all vacancies?

If you don't have access to the intranet where the posts were advertised, then yes, I think they absolutely should have informed you about the changes. It's unusual for women on mat leave to lose access to company email/intranet though.

To be fair I think you should have gotten weekly emails with any vacancies. It’s not up to hr to decid which ones are suitable , it should be all.

I'd call ACAS on Monday morning, then call HR at work. You may be able to make a claim against them.

If it is a restructuring, the vacancies were likely not open to everyone to apply for. They were likely only available to those whose former roles had been disestablished (which was obviously not you). So no reason why you would need to be aware.

You should have been kept informed but would you have applied for a promotional role if you had been?

By your own admission you have met your colleagues but have purposefully not discussed work. You also refer to colleagues as "the girls" which indicates you aren't particularly career minded and have said you want to go part-time.

I'm not clear if you feel denied a career opportunity or if you wish to break professionally aggrieved. But yes, you shoukd have been informed of the restructure and u less vacancies relating to it weren't ringfenced you shoukd have been told about them, along with other vacancies.

Please don't go in all guns blazing vis a vis your rights. It's likely an oversight and a request for KIT day to discuss the changes, the future and that you would like to be considered for promotional opportunities in future, is likely to be far more constructive.

Even if it is an oversight it's not acceptable, employers are legally bound to do this:

Employers must ensure that women who are pregnant or on maternity leave are not discriminated against regarding promotional opportunities. For example, it would be unlawful discrimination for an employer to:

not inform a woman about any suitable vacancies;
discourage an employee from applying for a promotion; and/or
not promote someone who is the best person for the job, because they are pregnant or on maternity leave.

It's discrimination and sounds pretty clear cut from what OP has said.

Check out "pregnant then screwed" if you want information about taking this further.

And may have been a an oversight rather than a purposeful omission.