Flexible working request refused and urged to resign during maternity leave

[TheHazelViewer]

Hi all, just wanted to get some perspectives and hear what you might do in this situation.

Currently on maternity leave & my flexible working request was rejected due to being unable to find someone to job share (there was NOT a thorough process but I can’t prove that). I appealed this & asked that they re advertise the job but take out the part where it says that a degree is an essential requirement - because it isn’t and this may have put applicants off. My boss said they might do that in future as a degree is not necessary for the job but they’re not going to do it just to fill my job share.

Lo and behold, a week later, a full time version of the same job and a more senior version of it has been advertised with a degree as not essential.

I had 3 months of enhanced maternity pay and part of my contract says that I must pay this back if I do not return to work for at least 13 weeks after my maternity ends.

Work told me yesterday that if I hand my notice in by Monday, I won’t need to pay it back. It needs to be Monday as they want to advertise and interview for my job with the other ones they have put out.

I’m actually heartbroken as I love my job but I just won’t go back full time as I want to spend time with my baby. This is a job I went to university for and it seems so sad that I have a few days to make a decision about my whole career. I have never done anything wrong there and have only ever been praised for my work, all I have done ‘wrong’ is go and have a baby 😭

I am due to return in July. What would you do?

They've made no offer, but a threat.

OP could ASK for an offer IE a settlement, but threatening to try and reclaim an employment benefit ain't it.

What is the evidence that they did and made reasonable efforts to try and recruit someone? It seems they have now changed the criteria for what they want on the basis of it being full time. We simply don’t have enough information either way which is why I’m advising the OP to get legal advice. She should not resign from her job without understanding her legal position.

It always astounds me on mumsnet how a significant amount of posters twist themselves in knots trying to defend the employer.

Personally, I want to support mothers who want to work and ensure that employers are acting in accordance with the law to enable this.

Have you looked into shared parental leave? I believe you end your maternity leave and you and your partner can take blocks of shared paternity leave. The amount of weeks depends on how much mat leave you took but max is 52weeks max paid is 37weeks at same rate as SMP. From my workplace which is a school this is used often. I don’t think employers can refuse.

but her partner who’s approved to WFH presumably can. They need to tackle it as a team so he takes the leave if OP can’t negotiate in time.

But ultimately ask for an extension. Keep trying to negotiate. If they advertised the roll and didn’t find anyone suitable (they presumably can’t really share confidential reasons why each candidate was ruled out).

it’s a big adjustment going back to work. But you’ve got a great set up with going back for a week then another few weeks off. Albeit that might drag out the adjustment period for longer. Perhaps try to call their bluff and reapply for flexibility in September (or a new job)

Teaching is a weird one. You don’t accrue annual leave on maternity leave. And there are specific resignation dates and dates you can leave.

OP can return to work at the start of the summer which counts as 6 weeks. She then needs 7 more weeks, but she can’t go 7 weeks in to the autumn term. She can resign by 31st October, to leave on 31st December (realistically she’ll finish before Christmas). So she’ll actually have to return for a whole term. Unless she returned7 weeks before the summer holidays but that’s next week and it’s too late for that.

you also cannot use annual leave to be part time when returning.

resignation deadline for summer term is 31st may hence the school want her resignation asap so they can appoint before then (though this will be hard over half term!), as after that date you only have people who aren’t currently employed to choose from.

this all assumes standard teacher pay and conditions. I’m not sure what the OPs role is as teachers need a degree (unless private/academy - but she says she thinks the role doesn’t need a degree, which I’ve never heard an actual teacher say before!) and I don’t know of any non teacher roles in a school which would require a degree. Plus non teaching staff often aren’t tied to terms and standard resignation dates like teachers.

The child remembering or not remembering this period is absolutely irrelevant.

I second those saying get in touch with Pregnant Than Screwed https://pregnantthenscrewed.com and Maternity Action https://maternityaction.org.uk

are you part of a union? Have a union rep with you when you go in. By law flexible working request outcomes need to be told face to face, if you are on mat leave I take it they did not even do that? Are you able to log into your work emails and find the email trail where you requested a job share? And find the original posting for the jobshare. Makes no sense they would advertise it as full time when you were clear you wanted a job share.

speak to pregnant than screwed and do not respond to your employer until you have their advice, and do not sign anything. They are shafting you over while on mat leave which is vile and also a protected characteristic

If OP is returning in July then assuming she will have taken 52 weeks by then she won’t have many, if any, leave to share. You need to give 8 weeks notice to change your return date.

Good point - I was forgetting the fixed notice times/periods for teachers. It's complicated!

Except that she hasn't applied for a job share. She has applied to work part-time. It is her employer who has decided this must be a job share, therefore the onus is on them to resource the other "half" of the job. It would be very strange if everyone applying to work part-time was held responsible for staff resourcing to cover the hours they don't work.

OP it may have been completely fair to tell the internal candidates a full time vacancy would be coming up, they shouldn’t hide information to help you.

Is your current cover full time? If so then if they applied for the job share, was appointed, then applied for the full time role as they actually want full time hours, and were appointed to that instead you’d be in the same boat. Presumably if they wanted to work part time they’d have applied regardless to your job share vacancy.

If you know exactly what was said and it was along the lines of “we’ll also have a full time vacancy coming up soon, Mr X will be retiring at the end of term” that’s much more of a leg to stand on than “don’t bother to apply we’ve just had to put the advert up but we’re not really looking for anyone. We’ll have a proper job ad up soon wait for that” which would be much more damning.

I agree. In teaching there are always loads of people wanting part time. I know loads of people who have worked part time as teachers (probably 30+ Across many many schools) and not one who had to source their own job share partner.

Have they put this offer in writing?

I’m a bit confused. Did they agree to a job share and then change their minds when they couldn’t recruit anyone? Or did they just say no? Surely now they’re advertising for a similar full time post, they could extend the advert to include a job share, and combine the interviews?

I agree with others about seeking legal advice. But also I’d have thought it’s worth going back if it’s only going to be a week or so before the summer holidays. Presumably the summer holiday weeks will count towards your 13 weeks, and then you’d only have to do a handful of weeks in the autumn term. That would buy you some time, and also you might be in a better position to renegotiate a job share when you’re actually back in the job.

I based my opinion on op saying that they ‘re advertise the job’, so i took that to mean they already advertised the job as part time and were unable to find someone.

I am definitely not falling over to back up businesses. In my line of work i have seen it both ways. Sometimes the company has treated a new mum unfairly. Other times a new mum is making unfair accusations on the business because they didn’t like change and played the discrimination card.

But also yes i agree there is not enough info to make a definite conclusion here.

I’m still of the belief that the ‘degree’ argument is a red herring here.

I agree. There’s much cheaper ways to refuse a flexible working request than to stage a recruitment process including a job ad and interviews. Not sure many schools would have the spare time or money for that.

Do you remember when they actually published the job vacancy after you made the request in Jan? And how long it was live for?

Tell a lawyer the situation regarding refusing to advertise the job share without the degree requirement then advertising a full time job without the degree requirement - it sounds like they are advertising your job while you are still in it.

If the situation is in your favour, ask the lawyer to write them a letter. That should shake them up a bit.

Yes exactly this. And that is my thoughts exactly but they won’t do it.