Angry my manager has taken away WFH perk?

[ZaHaK]

Am I unreasonable to be angry that my manager has taken away my wfh perk whilst I’m on maternity?

I have put in a proposed flexible work plan.

I used to do Tuesday - Thursday on site and Friday morning at home.

I requested to do less hours so I can drop the kids off to school and pick them up and keep my wfh Friday morning hours.

He’s rejected it and basically cornered me into just doing Tuesday- Thursday on site but I don’t want to reduce my hours too much so I’ve had to add an hour in the morning which means rushing my kids to breakfast club and nursery.

I am annoyed because on my last maternity 6 years ago, I applied for another job in another department which guaranteed wfh and my manager promised me more flexibility and wfh when I able to to keep me in his team.

But I feel like he’s used this maternity as an excuse to take it away from me. It’s not in my contract, it was an agreement between me and him.

What would you do? I feel like emailing him to say I am disappointed in him. Not many of our team like him but I used to rate him quite highly on the surveys etc because he always let me be. But I am really disappointed. I should have gone to the other team.

OK, so if you don't like your manager and you haven't had a proper pay rise for 5 years and your working hours are no longer convenient for you, why don't you look elsewhere?

No it isn't. What you said was:
I'd email to say the current system you agreed back in 2020 has been working very well for you for five years now and you don't agree with the proposed changes to your employment contract.

and that it was "tough titty" (I assume that is a legal term I haven't come across previously) if the employer didn't like it.

So you are now accepting that if someone ASKS for a contractual change then the employer is able to suggest an alternative to their proposed changes?

No. When you’re a self employed contractor and you take a contract, you do have to fulfill that contract which can mean set hours for parts of a job. You’re still self employed.

Self employment isn’t just plumbers or whatnot booking in their own clients.

There are rules for when you become an employee instead of self employed, but a contractor fulfilling their contract is still self employed.

@SirHumphreyRocks put forward the same argument - they said OP asked for the contractual change. It is the employees responsibility to understand the implications of their actions before taking them.

You told them they were wrong, but they’re actually correct. It was OP’s responsibility to make sure she knew the implications of asking for reduced hours. She instigated the change, but she seemed to be under the impression that the employer had an obligation to accommodate her child care needs. This is not the case, and a quick call to ACAS beforehand would have confirmed that the employer was within their rights to change her terms and conditions according to how the reduced hours would impact the business.

You also told the same poster I'd email to say the current system you agreed back in 2020 has been working very well for you for five years now and you don't agree with the proposed changes to your employment contract.

It’s not about whether the system they agreed to is working well or not. It’s about whether what OP is proposing now works for the business. And clearly it doesn’t because it was rejected.

I agree- frame the Friday off as a positive.

If I were you I would consider whether you can add those hours to your days in the office Tues- Thurs with minimal pain- both so you continue to get paid, because I think you’ll probably still get the same volume of work and, in a way, attending breakfast club 2/3 days a week is actually fine for the kids (especially if you are off Friday and Monday too).

Because I doubt there are many jobs going that offer the hours:

8:30 - 3:30
8:30 - 2:30
8:30 - 4:30
9 - 11:30 (wfh)

So it's better the devil you know, and she's happy with the Friday situation now so all good for the meantime.

I clarified this later. OP was asking about whether WFH could be take away and I answered this. I then added a clarification on the flexible working request.

Well, yes, obviously. 🙄

The point is, the arrangement she requested didn't suit her manager, and no amount of "but I don't think I'm being unreasonable" on AIBU is going to change that.

So she either accepts the decision or she looks elsewhere, if she can.

But as I correctly stated, it was always still possible, even without her asking to change her contract, that wfh might be removed and legally so. It could have been, even if deemed to be contractual due to custom and practice; and the only way to test it if enforced would have been a tribunal. Unfortunatelt "fire and hire" has become much more commonly used recently, even though the power was always there, and a number of employers have used it to change such terms. Few people are prepared to risk their entire employment over wfh for a few hours.

I am sure that you will be aware that what is "fair" and what is "fair in law" are vastly different things.

This is also my interpretation

I went all the way to ACAS with my issue regarding change of conditions when I was on maternity leave. Maternity action are also helpful

It ddidn't get to tribunal as I was able to submit a formal grievance, then appeal the change and won.

Are you in a union?

So what would your ideal arrangement be? I haven't been able to work this out?

Surely her ideal would be the hours that she asked for:

8:30 - 3:30
8:30 - 2:30
8:30 - 4:30
9 - 11:30 (wfh)

But that didn't work for the co - if she'd reduced her office hours Tues-Thurs like that, they wanted her in the office on Fri too. At least with the arrangement they've now come to, she gets the full Friday off.

Although I'm now unclear what you actually asked for 😅

I'm not sure I'm reading it properly, so to be clear....
You asked to reduce your hours which would mean coming in late and leaving early your 3 in office days and working your normal WFH 4 hours on Friday. He says it doesn't suit for you to be coming late and leaving early but has offered to go back to your original contracted hours of t/w/th and not doing the extra Friday hours you d taken on since.
If it's us the case it's nothing to do with perks being taken away while on maternity, you requested the reduction of hours and he's given you the option that suit the c

I think this is an excellent example of why we have employment contracts. Too many times I have seen managers, often well-intended, promise additional flexibility/over-time/promotion prospects if a team member doesn’t take another job and, without exception, these perks (which often contravene company policy anyway) fall away after a few months once the alternative prospect is no longer available and their panic averted.

I’m really sorry OP and hope you are able to maintain your previous working practice but next time take the job with benefits in writing and not the one with benefits in your manager’s promises. That and kick up a stink with HR if you don’t think it will make your position even worse.

Surely by starting earlier you still have to rush dc to breakfast club, so not sure what that would gain. Your wfh half day was never a “perk”. Do they need you on site Tues-Thurs or could you wfh for any of that? Are others in office ft?

After 6 years, a perk is no longer a perk and can be seen as legally binding and to take it off could be seen as a change in contract. Get legal advice and Google ‘Custom and practice’.

What statutory reason has he given you for declining Fridays ?

Custom and practice doesn’t apply. OP herself has opened the door to her working hours being changed because she has applied to reduce her hours. The employer is well within their rights to refuse if the reduced hours cause operational problems, and to provide an alternative, which is what they have done here. Equally, OP is within her rights to withdraw the request and stick to the previous arrangements.

He doesn’t need to give a statutory reason. The employer is under no obligation to accommodate OP’s request if it hampers the running of the business - which is why her manager has offered an alternative. She has applied to reduce her hours. Of course the employer is going to look at stopping her WFH hours rather than further reducing the time she spends in the office. All he has to show is that the hours OP has requested are not convenient to the operational needs of the business. OP opened the door to the change. If she’s not happy with it she can always withdraw the request and go back to the previous arrangement.

The wfh half day isn’t in the contract - it was a private arrangement between herself and her manager. OP asked for reduced hours so of course they’re going to look at the wfh before reducing further the hours spent in the office.

You don’t have to give a reason for your request. They have to give a reason for the refusal.

@Rosscameasdoodyhe absolutely does need to give a statutory reason as to why she can no longer work from home on Fridays when she did that previously. There is only 8 reasons why he can decline this.

The half day is in the contract. What isn’t in the contract is that is wfh - I agreed that with him.