Flexible working issue

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Hi there

I have been put in a bit of a difficult situation and wonder if anyone can give me som advice.

I met with my boss before returning to work and asked if my hours could be changed from 9-5 to 8.30-4.15 Tue & Fri and Mon, Wed and Thu 9-5.

She said she agreed to this and that I should expect something in writing from HR (I have this in an email).

I didn't receive anything from HR and asked about this when I returned to work. She said she hadn't sent over the 'paperwork' yet. I waited a couple of weeks and asked again and she said HR said it was fine and was a bit snappy about it.

Anyway, it didn't seem correct that I had nothing in writing so I asked again. She then said that we had a flexible temporary agreement. I was quite shocked at this and explained that I thought that this was a permanent change. She said I had never said I wanted this permanently and I explained that I had and that was why I kept pursuing confirmation from HR.

She then emailed to say that I would have to put a case forward and it would be reviewed by the Head of Department and they would decide whether I could get this time.

I am really upset at this because I have made childcare arrangements based on my leaving times. I also know that other women in my department have been given flexible working arrangements like 3 day weeks and another went to 8-4.

I am going to wait for their decision but feel quite nervous. My main question is- can they change their mind after saying it was fine?

I would complain to your manager in writing, forwarding the original e-mail where she agreed to it and said she would send to HR. State that you had never asked for this to be a temporary arrangement and that her e-mail doesn't say this either.

If you have something in writing, it must be quite difficult for them to back out. If other people have flexible working, then at least you're not the first one going through this. I would be quite confident that this will work out. Good luck.

Thanks FairyPenguin. Grateful for your reply.

I went through something similar but didn't even have it in writing. Complaints to manager and HR, and threat of raising a grievance against manager finally resolved the issue. Lots of sleepless nights and tears. Hope yours is easier and works out ok.

Thanks- I've been really upset too. Got upset in front of boss and bit worried she might use that against me but nothing I can do to take it back now.

Just feel upset because I've always worked really hard and think it's very little to ask for given all the extra hours I've worked over the years. Just could do without having to fight for this after only being back a few weeks.

Glad it worked out for you. Shame you had to be put through that.

As much as I understand your frustration, you should have finalised your request initially - that's the best way as you then avoid any misunderstandings/back-tracking like this.

Having worked hard and extra has nothing at all to do with your right to request flexible working arrangements. It's about business case.

You need to now approach this as a formal, business based request, following the company policy and making sure your request includes your suggestions on how this can work for them as well as you.

Good luck.

As you have an email from her agreeing the permanent change, you need to use that as evidence to raise a grievance about this back-tracking on her part. Look up your company's grievance procedure and follow it.

Do everything in writing rather than verbally.

I agree to everyone saying get whatever you can in writing.

I had a nightmare with my boss in the months leading up to redundancy, and it stems from her continued reluctance to put anything in writing. Any difficult issues surrounding my working patterns (and even my redundancy) she would meet with me face to face, and then not confirm in writing. I could ask until I was blue in the face, but anything I requested in writing I'd get a verbal response to. It made me so mad!

It put me in a really difficult place, so I would definitely pursue getting it in writing. Go straight to HR and kick up a fuss if you need to, just do whatever you can to get it written down.

Hope it goes well.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I always asked for this in writing but she has just been stalling me for weeks. The email she sent actually states that I should expect something in writing from HR in the future to confirm. When I didn't get anything that's when I started to ask questions.

In our initial meeting I did ask if there was anything for me to fill out and she said no and the confirmation would be sent to me.

I came back to a real mess at work because my cover made a real mess of things. I'm trying my best to get everything sorted but half of the team are off with long term sickness (one stress related) and as the manager I'm really worried they are going to blame me on all of this. I've only been back 1 month!

Really worried that this sudden change of plan on flexible working is just the start of them trying to make life hard for me. So upset- will start to get everything in writing and pursue right away if nothing is forthcoming. Am sure that will wind them up, just hope they don't make things hard for me.