Boss giving me unfair shifts on the lead up to maternity leave

[littlemissdozy]

I am 7 weeks away from maternity leave and I've had a day off today and I've just sat and thought about how unfair my boss is being. I've had multiple issues with her since she replaced our old boss in august and she's really boiling my blood.

So I'm already choosing to go on maternity leave at 34 weeks for myself, but also she has played a part in me wanting to go early because I just can't bloody bare her. She's just come back after being suspended for 2 weeks for breaking covid rules, but she's got away with it as someone retracted their statement and there wasn't enough evidence. She's been in the office since Wednesday doing work rotas and yesterday as I was cashing up she called me in and went on a run down of shifts with me. A week I have 2 hospital appointments which are early enough to work a shift around, which I explained. But she's given me those days as my 2 days off. She's then said to me she's put me on a 10am-6pm shift Friday, 4pm-11pm Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday, 5am-10am Monday as we have an inventory count and as staff are all new, all the older staff are the ones counting which is me as I've been there 4 years.

I've said to her I don't mind helping, but there is a line between helping and taking the mick. She's then turned and said leading up to your maternity leave you could be in full weekends to make it fair on others. Fair on others? Excuse me? I didn't even think at the time and I just walked out because I can't bare the woman. But I've sat and thought about it today and she's taking the piss! She forgets I'm pregnant I'm sure of it. Oh and to top it off, I now have to chase payroll myself as my area manager text me and said a 28 weeks risk assessment is due, he's told my boss on her return, she's then come to me and said it no longer needs to happen as a 28 week risk assessment doesn't exist anymore as covid isn't a thing apparently. I'm counting down the weeks to be out of there. The place is toxic🤬

Hugs

What’s wrong with that shift pattern OP? It’s hard to gain perspective without knowing what’s considered fair were you work. But it looks like a fair mix of days and evenings to me.

With the risk assessment I’d text the area manager back and tell him what she’s said as there are still plenty of covid restrictions in place so I’d imagine they do still need to do the risk assessment. Sorry she’s making you feel rubbish though OP, not long left now

Hr.

Go over her head.

She's clearly already got form.

Bullying and discrimination when you are pregnant.

@RedToothBrush I've been to my area manager about her, I've been to HR about her who then got in contact with my area manager, who then told my boss the issues raised and she denied it all. So it was swept under the rug. Another staff member had issues before my boss got suspended and was sobbing because she was that fed up, she's even stepped down and lowered her hours in work because of how she feels. Again, swept under the rug. It's like a circle of nothing getting done or listened to

I don't understand whats wrong with your shifts?

She's given you the days off at hospital which makes sense if there are delays or you get any sort of bad news or need for extra tests etc.

Also the 28 week thing is correct I think, pregnant women are no longer told to shield from 28 weeks as they were last year so no risk assessment needed.

@WorriedGiraffe so the deal since after Christmas has been I work no more than 8 hour shifts and no more than one late a week as 11pm finishing is just a ball park range. I got pulled aside for walking out at 11:30pm on one shift as we were half an hour over and I was in the next day at 9:30am. I was told to stay whatever they needed which I think is unfair because there is only so much I can do on shifts now other than sit on the checkout or cleaning tasks. And the shift pattern of working those shifts is having less than 11 hours between as getting home from work, eating, sleeping, then getting up to be back early is just a lot. That might be me being dramatic, but as I'm rather pregnant I feel like where is the rest given. When she's been suspended the dep doing the rota has given me fair shifts which allowed rest and given me my contract hours. So her coming back and changing all that saying it doesn't work, is just frustrating when it has been for 2 weeks. Also suffer SPD in this pregnancy so I do find it difficult

@JustWonderingIfYou I've gone out of my way to make the appointments work friendly, so for example the times of the appointments can have a shift before the appointment for the reasons above. Just finishing in time to get to the hospital. All my appointments have been pre made and I've rang and asked for certain times changed ect to suit work and be fair on that end so it's easy for a shift to work around it. I get when I have a scan one day and then a consultant appointment the next day, I don't mind having one of these days as my days off. I really haven't got an issue with that. But I don't see why I have to be punished with rubbish shifts just to cater for me being a high risk pregnancy and having appointments thick and fast now I'm in my third trimester. And only so much switching times about I can do. Thankfully my consultant has been really understanding

But it looks as though there is only one late, longest shift is 8 hours, and there are 11 hours or more between shifts? I’m not sure I’ve understood properly.

If she wants to play silly buggers then get signed off. Make sure first though that is won't affect any entitlement to maternity pay/SMP etc.

@TyrannosaurusRegina I've already looked into it and I'm 99% sure it'll mess up me getting SMP🙄 7 weeks doesn't seem long, but my lord I feel like it's going to drag if she carries on being difficult

Your entitled to paid time off to attend your appointments. So you don't need to organise them round your work

And a risk assessment still needs to be done. All guidelines are on the government website.

@wifeyxx this was one of my issues with her. When I first had appointments she said they needed to be taken as holidays to gain my hours, I then corrected that with my area manager and payroll and they told her that was incorrect and she amended it so ive been paid 2 hours for one appointment and all the others I've arranged around work just to save the hassle. I went over my appointments with her yesterday. Sent her a screen shot of a date by date written down of all appointments as she asked for it. Yesterday went through them with her, she's wrote 3 of them down on the wrong days, even tho it's in black and white proof which she asked for. I'm just losing my patience

I've messaged my area manager on Thursday about the risk assessment and the information she gave me once he asked her to carry it out with me. Still waiting on a reply. So I'll push again for it on Monday and chase payroll myself as my area manager said it was payroll who emailed him about it saying it was due to be done

She sounds as if she doesn't have a clue how to run a business. I run a gym and I'm clued up on maternity leave/ rights etc. show her maternity rights you are entitled too. You are most definitely entitled to paid time off for appointments so I wouldn't be doing anything to suit her

www.gov.uk/working-when-pregnant-your-rights

@wifeyxx oh no, she doesn't have the faintest idea and her excuse was "the company fail on training store managers on maternity/paternity as there is higher things to do" but then we have an iPad thing in the break room, which tells you all the rules, all the entitlement, everything. I even text my old boss to just confirm a few things and he knew

Don't let her get away with anything. Keep fighting it and don't let her drive you out. Get all the info you need and go to HR and tell them they need to do something about it. They're not following the laws correctly and can get into trouble

Sounds mighty stressful. That shift pattern would mess anyone up!

I got horribly bullied by boss during first pregnancy, changed my Mon-Fri 6am-2pm to working every weekend.

Some people are very spiteful towards pregnant women.

Your SMP Will already have been calculated using wages in weeks 17-25 of pregnancy so any absence just now will not affect it.

@littlemissdozy do you by any chance work for lidl? I'm just asking as the reference to the iPad thing in the break room, if so have you tried to contact your regional personnel admin,

I still don't understand whats wrong with your shifts? You just sound like you don't like her. None of them them are longer than 8 hours, only 1 late, exactly what you asked for. That's pretty good in comparison to most shift workers rotas.

Was it just that you wanted the weekend off? Or had you arranged late appointments specifically with the idea of forcing work to give you early shifts on those days?

My manager was so bad when I was pregnant I went off sick at my doctor's insistence a month before I was due to go on maternity leave, my husband was seriously ill due to starting with MS & she accused me of faking it.

@JustWonderingIfYou you don't have to understand, that's okay. Everyone else on this thread gets it. I'm not making times or been given times to force working any set shifts. I'm infact catering around work. My problem is that she's been unfair with what she suggested the other day that I have to work full weekends (I work every Sunday regardless) running up to my maternity leave. And she's also being unfair by giving me back to back shifts with little time inbetween once I've finished and got home and slept, and eaten a proper meal. Going from a 11pm finish straight into a 10am day. If I wasn't pregnant, fine I'd suck it up. But I'm 27 weeks pregnant, I'm not sucking it up to suit others. So from the Saturday I'll be in till 11pm, straight back in at 10am till 5pm, then the day after on a 5am start. That's my issue, which I've raised with her.

Unfortunately, an 11pm finish and 10 am start does comply with the working time directive, so you aren't really on strong grounds to complain.