I am on a career break - and work are saying come back or resign

[BumptiousandBustly]

I am on a career break - civil service - I have had one year off, and now work are saying come back or resign.

I have two under 4 - childcare would cost more than I would earn and my eldest has possible additional needs. I REALLY want this job to go back to in a couple of years but simply can't right now.

Does anyone know - do I have any rights in this situation?

I think you want to have your cake and eat it.

What was the original agreement? Do you think it's reasonable for employers to leave jobs open for years just because you had children.

We all have to make sacrifices. Think it's time you made yours.

Thanks Ifeelloved - really supportive and helpful.

The situation is that normally you can have up to 5 years - extended year by year. I am just trying to find out if I do have any rights in this situation or not.

Are there conditions of career break in your contract? Did you get a letter confirming details of your career break? Are you in a union? I think any rights you have would be detailed in these conditions.

Lizcat - am trying to contact the union, who are hopeless. Letter of confirmation just says - let us know 4 weeks before you come back to work - if you don't return treated as unauthorized absence.

Never heard of an indefinite career break before. Sorry. Iam assuming The year you have had is on top of 2 lots of mat leave?

I don't know of any employer who would not be pissed off at keeping a job open for someone for 7 years without question.

I know it doesn't help you hut I really do think you will have to choose. Is pt sn option?

An not sn silly spell check

I'm afraid your work is probably right. If it is extended year by year at your work's discretion and youve had a year off and they are refusing to extend then tough luck. You can legally be dismissed for either conduct or capability. You'll just have to hope a job comes up when you want to go back and re-apply.

There is no law around career breaks. Employers do not have to allow staff to take career breaks. Your rights are entirely based on what is in your contract of employment and any agreement you entered into relating to your career break.

I suspect that your contract gives you the right to request an extension but does not require management to agree. If that is the case I'm afraid you do not have any rights.

My DP is civil service and his friend is on a career break - my understanding is they don't hold YOUR job if you don't come back after maternity/adoption leave (ie 52 weeks) but within the time limits of the career break, when you decide you want to come back you are entitled to be a priority for internal jobs as if you'd been displaced?

Have a word with HR as obviously it may differ from department to department, but I think your individual post is a separate issue to the career break.

I could have been all softly softly Huns and hugs type of thing but that's really not me.

I did ask what was the original agreement and I don't thing it is fair for your employer for you just to say 'right I'm coming back to work now'. What about the person who's been doing your job? Should they just suck it up cos you've decided to go back?

Sorry I've not been more helpful. I'm sure someone will be along to tell you your rights, but I still feel that your expectations ate wrong.

AlanMoore - that was also my understanding - but I think the situation now appears to be that I am still on my departments headcount - so if they get rid of me, they can recruit someone else.

I do think you are all right, it is at the discretion of the employer - but its also hard, as without this I will probably be pretty unemployable in 3 years time and find it very hard to return to the work place.

only4tonight - ironically - if I went back fulltime I could probably afford childcare - but not part time - and I only want to work part time - the children are too young for me to be away 5 days a week, plus DHs job isn't conventional hours - which would make it very difficult!

I don't know the answer to your question I'm afraid, but it may be possible that the terms of the career breaks has changed in the current climate. Where I work used to have quite favourable terms for redundancy, but when the possibility of large numbers being made redundant became a reality - those terms have been withdrawn.
It is possible that the terms for your career break may have changed whilst you have been away - I'd pursue trying to contact your Union Rep and asking for clarification from HR. It does seem unfair that the goalposts have changed if you were relying on using what was a perfectly reasonable arrangement for a period of time that was allowed.

Agree with ifeeloved , you can't expect an employer to keep your job open, you've been extremely lucky to have a yrs break and option to go back to same job.

Hmm, maybe it's management in your dept who aren't quite phrasing it right.
I can imagine it's the case that they can't keep your post open any longer (I was off sick for 6 months in NHS and they gave my very specialised post to someone else!) but if you speak to HR they can confirm you would still be "in contract" for another however many years and could still apply for vacancies as an internal candidate?

Can you get childcare for a day and go see your line manager and someone from HR? It's easy to feel persecuted by your employer when you're not in work, I felt the same when work cancelled my KIT days but there turned out to be no sinister reason once I went back!

You said it extends year-by-year. Sounds to me that you can't assume you have any entitlement to all 5 years and that it's dependant on this negotiated yearly renewal.

This offered choice of return or resign is probably negotiable though- parttime? jobshare? not resign directly but make some other agreement to keep your path back in open? (not sure what you do, so no idea what that might specifically be). You might be able to find another resolution, especially if you're skilled in something niche that they won't want to throw away and especially if you've kept your contacts reasonably up to date (boss/ HR/ current work/ skills etc).

I asked to return pt but was refused so I have had to work full time. It sucks but I need a job so had to suck it up. I feel for you not wanting to leave your dcs but sometimes needs must.

Maybe you could go back. Stick it out for a year then quit for another 2 so you will have something more up to date on your cv when you go for another position?

alanmoore - I don't think thats it - but it is a very good point, and I will check it. Many thanks for that.

As has been said any rights surrounding career breaks will be limited to what is in the policy/agreement you have with your employer. If the terms of your employer's career break scheme are that it's year by year, then you have no right to insist otherwise.

Having your job held open for an additional year on top of your maternity leaves is pretty generous and I imagine in the current climate, your employer is struggling to be in a position to guarantee jobs being held open for long periods of time.

I can understand your disappointment. Why was it only initially granted for one year? Were you led to believe that it would be extended? Have you had another child whilst on carers breaks? If so you can extend for another 52wks.

How wonderful to have had a career break! I never knew they existed. So you can decide to have some extended time off and then go back to a job that's been held open for you? No wonder this country is in such a mess.

If the initial agreement was for one year and that period is now up, the onus is on you to negotiate a further break.

I originally negotiated a three year break which was subsequently extended for a further two years but it was made clear to me at the break period that they were under no obligation to offer this and the current climate dictated that it would be unlikely.

You can make a separate application for a further career break but be prepared for it not to be accepted in which case you will have to return or resign.

If you don't manage to secure an additional break consider the long term position over short term. If you really want the job it may be worth taking a short term financial and emotional hit to ensure future security.

crystal some people are good enough at their jobs that their employers value them sufficiently to ensure they retain them even at great cost.

So an option to take a career break doesn't apply to all civil servants? From what the OP said, I thought it did. Anyway nobody is irreplaceable apart from the Queen - and even that's debateable.

5 year career break option was common in the civil service, not so much now as they are not granting new ones unless the circumstances are exceptional. To be clear though your job isn't held open for 5 years. These are big departments and they will offer you a job of equivalent responsibility on your return. I dont see why people think this is too generous? Having said that most departments are now under massive pressure to reduce head count so it does make sense that they would now be calling time on arrangements like this sadly.

The option to apply might be open to all, but it won't necessarily be exteneded to all, decisions are made on the basis of individual merit.

Recruiting and retaining high calibre staff is expensive, of course no one is irreplaceable but many organisations recognise the benefit in applying a certain amount of flexibility to ensure that talent is not lost. In the long run such measures can be extremely cost effective. Individuals who have been granted time off in such circumstances are hardly responsible for the country being in this "mess"