Where do I stand? Furlough/back to work/mat leave

[Babyshine2020]

So, I always planned to take 2 weeks holiday prior to starting my mat leave. And then covid hit. I've been furlough since 1st April. I've had several calls with HR about this and they've always said I'd stay on furlough until baby was born and the start my mat leave. As a result, the 2 weeks holiday I was saving they "cashed in" last month.

I've now been told I will be return to work full time (baby due 30 days) and if I want to leave early I must start my mat leave.. can they do that? I had the appropriate measures in place and they're the ones who changed the plan. I know it's only a few weeks work, I'm just getting to the sleepy stage and I don't want this to reflect on my performance.

If you are on furlough then you can't use your AL. How have they managed to furlough and put you on AL?

If they are bringing you back off furlough then your options are take holiday or start maternity leave early, or maybe unpaid if they allowed that but just from a common sense pov it makes more sense to keep you furloughed 🤷‍♀️

You can use annual leave whilst on furlough, but I'd imagine they would have to have discussed it with you. You could try ACAS for some help but government guidelines on furlough are fluffy to say the least.

When using annual leave, the furlough 80% has to be topped up to 100% so you would have seen the increase when you got paid

Unfortunately i dont think they are doing anything wrong. Realistically it would be easier if they just kept you on furlough but i think theyve realised that if they get you to start maternity sooner rather than later then they arent paying you to not work for as long.

Would you be able to work from home or would you need to go into a workplace? Ask for a copy of their covid/pregnancy risk assessment for the workplace and see what they say?

Op do you mean they asked you to use some of your annual leave before they started you on furlough?

Our company did the same, 1 week annual leave in full pay, rest of furlough on 80%. Its to stop all the furloughed staff then having a tonne of annual leave when they returned later in the year.

All the WFH staff, who are not furloughed, have had to use a certain percentage of annual leave before end of this month too. Otherwise everyone would want holiday at the back end of the year..

Appreciate you would be on maternity anyway, but sounds like they applied a 1 size fits all approach. Unfortunately I don’t think there is anything you can do? You agreed to your furlough terms and have received your holiday pay (not covered by furlough).

Sorry to clarify work said they were furloughing me until baby arrived. I have this on an email. My holiday year resets at the end of this month, hence why I saved 2 weeks and planned on starting Mat leave at the start of August. Work topped up 2 weeks wages last month from 80% to 100% as they said it was better for their wage bill to pay me in June and not July but not to worry because I won't be returning to the office.

I'm not back in the office, have no holiday, and literally waiting to drop!

You can use AL on furlough; in fact it's a positive for your company if you do. I'd get signed off for the last month OP and just start mat leave. Would be silly to go back now.

So you've esstially been asked to use the 2 weeks a month earlier than planned?

Remember, you accrue leave during Mat Leave. So you could start your Mat Leave two weeks earlier, then tag 2 weeks of the new years leave on the back end and you've got the same amount if time off.

I understand what you mean. It sounds like they've been quite annoying, but I'm not sure there's much you can do about it if you agreed to take your AL 🤷🏼‍♀️ I think you'll have to just start your maternity leave 2 weeks before your due date (that's quite a normal thing to have to do 😊) If you want to extend your mat leave by 2 weeks you could use AL at the end of your ML?

@bluemoon2468 that's the plan already as my AL resets on 01/08 so I'll have a years accrued to tag on once my paid leave is up.

It's just frustrating that I let them change my holidays on the agreement that I wouldn't be returning so it would have minimal impact and not they've got me going into the office until a week before my due date when I agreed my mat leave would start (even before furlough came into action).

Im just trying to figure this out. So prior to covid you were going to take annual leave from being 38 weeks pregnant? Or earlier?
Can you not go back to the original plan pre covid and go from there? I know a lot of people plan to work right up until due dates but nearer the time I've found most of them leave earlier than planned.
I believe the company can ask you to come back any time from furlough and You have been off since April.
I left at 34 weeks for my maternity leave due to the nature of my job and complications in pregnancy meaning baby had to come early. No way could I have worked any longer (baby came at 37 weeks) x

You can't be forced to take mat leave before 36 weeks, as it would be discrimination. After 36 weeks your mat leave can be triggered for preg related illness, or health and safety issues. Have they done a detailed risk assessment for your return? Have they gone through how they will ensure social distancing etc? The risk assessment is a legal requirement. The RCOG guidance still states that women in the third trimester should be given the option to work safely, or work from home.

@Metallicalover
My baby is due 08/08/808
I planned on starting Mat leave 01/08/2020
I saved AL so my last working day would be 17/07/2020.

This was all signed off in Feb.

I was then furloughed 01/04/2020 and I was told I would not be returning to work until after my maternity leave next year. It was agreed I would have my 10 days holiday paid at the end of July (when they were approved for). I then had a phone call 2 weeks ago asking if they could put my holidays through June's pay as it was better for their cash flow so I had not problems with that. I then had a call on Friday to say I will be returning to work today (Monday) and I will be expected to work as I have no AL left. I have no AL left as they changed it on the agreement it wouldn't matter to me as I wasn't returning to work.

So now I'm working in the office until 31/07 and they won't allow me to change my dates as it's "too little notice"

They aren't allowing to change your dates to start maternity leave? That's wrong! I was still on annual leave when I gave birth so I rang up that day to start my maternity leave. Same with my sister when my niece decided to come 5 weeks early. You can start it anytime you want.
They have been annoying changing your annual leave for the month before then changing their mind to furlough you. However I don't think there's any other option that either going to work (if it's safe to do so with the appropriate risk assessment especially around pregnancy and COVID), or working from home, taking unpaid leave or starting your maternity leave.
However you have been off work via the furlough scheme since April getting 80% pay and they have to get the business/company up and running and probably took everyone off furlough

What kind of job do you have OP and have they done a risk assessment for your return?
What they’ve done re your annual leave is totally unfair on you but it’s done now. I’d be more concerned that they expect you in the workplace at this stage of your pregnancy. If they’re not able to have you return safely then they should medically suspend you however I understand that if that’s the case they could expect you to start your maternity leave from 36 weeks.
So the short answer is they should continue to furlough you if applicable or you should start maternity leave.
Do you have an HR team?

Sorry I did realise I was repeating some of @Maincat’s good advice!

Thank you all. I wasn't sure if I had an argument as it was an email from the head of my HR dept that asked me to move my holidays to help them with payroll as a lot of people had unused holidays that they were cashing in for Julys payroll.

The business has around 300 employees and 70 are still on furlough. They furloughed just short of 100 of us and have brought us back in dribs and drabs.

I think the reality of it is they haven't recruited my replacement and are having a last ditch attempt to catch up as the work I'm doing is a backlog over the last 14 weeks of stuff I'd normally do!

I really appreciate the furlough scheme and it probably has saved several jobs in my company, I just feel like they've tricked me into swapping my annual leave so they have me for the foreseeable to catch up.

They said I have to inform them in writing 28 days prior to when I want my mat leave to start, if baby was to arrive it would be different, but just for general "time" they must have notice.

I'm an assistant management accountant so it's just office work/computer work but as a business we never had laptops, we bought some at the start of lockdown, but not enough for everybody!

OP I would look at the government guidelines for returning to work, in an office environment. The advices states:

Clinically vulnerable individuals, who are at higher risk of severe illness (for example, people with some pre-existing conditions), have been asked to take extra care in observing social distancing and should be helped to work from home, either in their current role or in an alternative role.

If clinically vulnerable individuals cannot work from home, they should be offered the option of the safest available on-site roles, enabling them to maintain social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable). If they cannot maintain social distancing, you should carefully assess whether this involves an acceptable level of risk. As for any workplace risk you must take into account specific duties to those with protected characteristics, including, for example, expectant mothers who are, as always, entitled to suspension on full pay if suitable roles cannot be found. Particular attention should also be paid to people who live with clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.

I think it’s wrong they have now taken your holidays away. But if your office based and could work from home if a laptop was provided, they should take reasonable steps to do this. Have a look at the guidance, as there is a lot which should be in a risk assessment. I’ve agreed with my Employer to work from home until my maternity date (due October), based on this guidance.

Thanks @DressingGown87 I'll have a read up now & arrange a meeting with somebody from HR this morning