No defined role on Return to Work

[Bramley12]

I work for a large multinational and am coming to the planned end of 9 months of mat leave in two weeks. The problem is that my manager has not yet defined a role for me to return to. There is a vacant role at my grade which I would like but which he says must be advertised and I must apply and interview like everyone else and this won't happen by the time I get back. If I don't get this role then it's not clear what I would be doing, there is probably enough work to go around but there isn't a proper "role" with a title and forward path.
The role I was doing when I left is now no longer available and in any case was also badly defined but I took it after my first maternity leave because I knew I was planning to go on leave again (I was back for 18 months between leaves). Accepting that role was a mistake I don't want to repeat.
I'm not sure whether it would be better to start again and pootle about waiting for either the vacant role or for them to define me a new role or to delay my return (I can be flexible as I've currently only taken 9 months) and make sure everything is sorted before I come back. Can anyone advise?

How about offering to go in as ‘acting’ for the role that is vacant that you want. Then when the interview comes round you’ll have relevant experience of the role to talk about. It’ll give you a head start and benefit them by filling the role in the interim

Thank you for your reply @Hermanfromguesswho. I'm not sure this is possible because much of the initial work to be done will be setting out plans for the next period, etc. and so can't necessarily be done on an interim basis but I guess it's worth asking.

Surely this is your managers problem and not yours? Legally you must have a suitable role at the same level and same pay and benefits on your return. It's not up to you to figure out unless your manager has a few options that you need to discuss.

What happened to your old role? Has it been made redundant? In which case you should have first dibs on any suitable alternative. You have additional protections being on maternity leave.

https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/discrimination-during-maternity-leave-and-on-return-to-work/

They must offer you a job that is no worse than your current one.

I had this after a return from sick leave after a stroke , I just worked at a lower capacity for a while until a new opportunity came up and moved then - it might be a blessing in disguise returning to a situation of less work related pressure as you readjust to work

In my workplace I had to be offered a job in line with the one I was doing prior to going off on leave. I’d worked there for 10yrs but on my return, they asked I sign a new contract that was less favourable than my previous one (I was to work in multiple locations as opposed to my previous contract where I’d one base establishment). I refused to sign it even though HR were pushing it. I spoke to a solicitor friend who said not to sign it; then my Union Rep. My Union said they’d had this before. Once they were on the case, HR relented. My terms of employment prior to my leave were reinstated &, after my friend read through my contract, I signed it. HR weren’t pleased.

Sorry to hear about your stroke. It's a different situation after parental leave though, as there are additional protections as to the type of role and pay that you return to.

I echo the PP regarding getting union support and legal assistance/advice

See "Pregnant Then Screwed" - they're a great organisation for this kind of stuff!

https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/