Flexible working - have been refused but other haven't

[mummy2myhoney]

I wanted to know if anyone knows what I should do.
In the end of 2009 I have requested flexible working hours with 3-2 hrs reduction a week (on the grounds that this will help me balance work and family as i was getting really stressed and depressed). I was refused on the grounds that this will leave the team (for 1.5hrs) with untrained staff and with an exchange staff. However after few months HR has given part time (3days a week) to a collegue (a man) on my team. Nothing has changed ecxept the fact that it was OK for them to leave me for TWO days every week with untrained staff. I did not know what to do, although I have been furious about it. Now again I have found out that yet another person is going to do 3 days a week (coming back from maternity). I do not know what to do now. they have discriminated me over the months.

I know that I could take them to the employment tribunal but does this mean I will have to resign?
thanks

If you have all this as evidence i,e. e-mails etc then you could make a simple outline of your complaint and make it formally, directly calling it a grievance, but emphasising a wish to resolve informally.

eg.

I am writing to renew a request for flexible working made on xxx which was originally refused, because my working flexibly would have left the team without trained staff for 1.5 hours a week.

I have continued to work as requested and maintained a high level of performance, as I believed it was operationally imperitive that flexible hours were not granted. I have since learned that other trained staff have been allowed to work flexible hours without the same resrtrictions being put in place as below:

Mike Whatsit -Male - reduction by two days
Ben Fiddlethum - Male - reduction by two days

This has additionall meant that I have effectively had full responsibility for the operation of the team, as the only trainined member in attendence during these periods, which both seems at odds with the original decision on my request. In addition this increased sole responsibility has not been rewarded with an additonal responsibility allowance, as I believe would normally be expected.

I would like both these issues examined fully by managed mediation in line with xx company grievance policy, and hope that we can reach a positive outcome for all parties.

(then make a case based on fair apprecitation of all needs for flexible working, your level of seniority/experience and theirs, and then propose a way to allow you flexible working for a period, without reducing team hours overall (i.e. putting your colleagues back to work for a day more each to allow you to have two days off).

I wouldn't resign yet as the ET will look to see if you have reasonably tried to raise these issues within the employment contract. UNLESS you have lots of other examples and evidence of unfair treatment.

Well you can't go to a tribunal complaining about the outcome of a flexible working request refused in 2009, you are way way beyond the time limit.

However you can do one a year, so do another one now. Then if they refuse it on the same basis you will have good evidence that their argument doesn't hold and can take things further then. If your complaint is about flexible working a tribunal will certainly expect you to have actually requested an arrangement.

Also - ask for the time off on days when other people aren't also taking time off. Our office always seems to empty itself on Mondays and Fridays as people try to extend their weekends. Try to negotiate Wednesday mornings or Tuesday afternoons off instead.

I am waiting for another girl to come back on part time basis and will be speaking to HR. Heroine, many thanks, greta advise, have spoken to another friend of mine who works for employmet solicitors and she also advised me to speak to HR in a diplomatic way first and see what they say.

Any adivise is very much appreciated.
thanks you

Obviously you are free to disagree with my advice, however I do find it strange that you would consider complaining (either formally or informally) about someone else getting part time arrangements without first putting in a request yourself. Your request 2 years ago is irrelevant and can't be complained about now, so put in a new one! Just because an employer refuses a request once doesn't mean they have to then refuse similar requests from anyone and everyone. Things change and requests should be considered on their individual merits at the time.

As I said earlier, if you put in a request now and it gets denied, you have much more in terms of genuine grounds for complaint but if you complain without bothering to actually put in a request that really won't help you. Any normal HR department will just tell you to go away, put in a request for what you want and it will be considered.

Hi OP. actually I skim read the date and imagined it to mean the end of last year - sorry - I would make the request again first as flowery suggests -

If there are other reasons you think that victimisation/discrimination/slightly unfair treatment is happening regularly that this issue is crystallising, then have a cool, objective plan (diary it!) something like -

1. request into line manager/copied to HR Feb 1st Gently mention managing work attendance time to support dependents. (i.e don't mention, but imply by not mentioning it that you are not necessarily talking about workload)
2. Feb 14th if no response: reiterate request asking for expected response date copy to HR
3. Feb 28th If no response: Send grievance to line manager copied to HR re lack of response to request - don't mention possible discrimination yet.
4. March 28th if no satisfactory response, issue grievance as above to line manager copied to HR.

(you will now have two grievances in 1. re slow response 2. re unfairness of granting flexible hours)

this process will make them feel pressured, but you can then be all 'oh no, sorry it felt like that, I just need to make sure this issue is squared away as soon as possible and really I have been asking to arrange this since 2009, but have held off as I know we were under pressure - it just seems that flexible working is on the table again and though I've held off I really think it would be beneficial to my performance here, what do you think??

It might get more wobbly than this, as no doubt the manager will not particularly like an HR copy, but don't treat it as an angry attack say 'oh sorry I think that's what the policy advises me to do.. isn't it?' etc.

You are comparing 2 requests to work part time, with a request to reduce your own hours by less than half a day. You are not comparing like with like at all.

From an HR/managerial point of view, I can see someone thinking "Ah yes, 3 days a week, could advertise for another part timer to back fill, even if we don't want to/need to/have the money to right now". Your request to reduce by a few hours may have met with "on no, those 1.5 hours left with no trained staff will be difficult, no I need Mummy2myhoney to be here for those hours".

Each individual case will have been considered on how it affects your team right at the time of application and into the foreseeable future. More than a year later is probably not foreseeable future.

Could you resubmit your request for a time when other trained staff will be in ?

Can I also just dispel the myth that HR will have 'given part time' to anyone. HR quite rightly don't get to decide on staffing in other departments, other than advising on procedure/likely issue/legal concerns/making suggestions. Managers of departments do that themselves.

If someone else has been granted part time working it will be because their manager was happy for them to do it.

She is requesting a work-time reduction, not necessarily a work-load reduction, (and in fact possibly an attendance time reduction rather than a work-time reduction) and the argument back in an ideal world ought to be able to explain why her request would mean a reduction in team performance, not just something vague like 'because it will' or 'well if someone works longer hours they get more work done' neither of which is true. It does depend on the job and on the situation, but it seems that reduction in hours has been possible for others - even without getting into whether they are paid full-time or not, this would suggest that their original argument about it being soleley about suitable cover to be invalid.

The last point about HR isn't always true, but mostly - some HR departments do indeed get involved directly in managment activities, but the most common model is that this part of the HR function is given to line managers/teams collectively.

It could be that your manager is making this decision without making it from a 'team' perspective, instead separating requests out and dealing with them asw individual, so I would advise making a team functioning appeal, including workload - not heavy, but just to emphasise that it is team performance and team goals that are important to maintain, within which is the management of individual needs.

In your discussion, (if you have one) try to get an agreement at the beginning of the meeting -eg. Can we decide that the overall goal is to keep the team functioning, to make sure all the work is getting done on time, and secondly that we agree that above all team cohesion must be maintained, as a result of our discussion.

You can then make appeals based on your need to manage your workload, as well as the relationships with others and you feel that at a time of need for you, after a period where you have been managing to be in full-time when others are not, that perhaps whilst you are in a more demanding period, you could lean on others for, say six months, without a reduction in workload (for example).

I think you have a strong case.

Hi again and many thanks for all your comments/advise.

Just wanted to clarify. My manager always goes about that on out team it is not possible to go part time/job share yet there are is another lady who does shorter hours (not sure about details but seems to me some sort os shattered hours or something like that). When they refused me they said that someone is going on maternity leave till Dec10 (in fact till now and she will be coming on part time basis - 3 days a week, I am 100% sure that if I would have asked for 3 day they would have said no);in fact she was not from my team dirrectly so would not make any impact on the workload as she is not doing the same work. Now she will be coming to my team which would mean another untrained staff to train and monitor.
-one member on exchange programme from July 10-Dec10 (again not directly from my team) and so when they granted this guy part time circumstances has not changed;
-the team will consist of myself and another two member one of which will be not be experienced. when they have given the other person (in September) part time they have employed a temporary person (no experience); so this leaves me two days with two new people to train and monitor and correct mistakes. I have to add that this is stressfull for me as I seems to be responsible for all them.

The reason why they have given the guy part time that they were afraid that if they want he might take them to tribunal. He has some medical condition (sorry cannot say) and stress makes it worse. In fact he does hardly anything and I think that he has been given a verbal warning for his perfomance thus he went on to take time off as they have been on his back.

I am very stressed myslef not only with workload but also with the whole fact that other people requests are accomodated yet mine are not. When I asked my supervior why the girl from maternity leave is getting part time work he said' what do you mean? she just had a baby'. I have a daughter myself, she might not be a baby (11years) but I am still a mother and it seems unfair. Also when I asked to work ealier shift so can get home earlier firt everyone has been put on this rota then when I complained the guy (the one given part time) was given it as well (as a father); and we have been rotating on two-three days equally and no one said 'but mummy2myhoney is a mother and should be given more days early shiftfor example'; also my superviser has already told me that the person who is coming from maternity might need to take time off during summer/easter/xmas breaks as she might have no option (she has a baby, well so do I)(it sounded that she will be given again priority); so it is OK for me to make arrangments for my daughter but not for her? I am just so fed up with all this. getting so stressed. Also when I requested part time this was also due to the fact that I have been stressed and depressed (HR were aware).

"other people requests are accomodated yet mine are not"

But it sounds like your more recent flexible working request was in 2009? The woman who has just had a baby obviously just recently put in a flexible working request, it was looked at and your employer decided that they could accommodate that particular request at this time. They are not obliged to refuse all requests because they refused one for you two years ago.

Why assume yours would be rejected? Put in another one, then if they reject it you can decide at that point to appeal it and/or take it further should you wish to.

sorry most recent

many thanks, yes I will put a request again and will take it from there. thank you