Employer wants me to increase hours when I return from mat leave

[silver28]

I am currently six months into my second period of maternity leave and emailed my employer recently to advise that I intended to take the full twelve months' leave and then return on the same basis as before, which is 21 hours per week spread over three days. I have done these hours since 2009 (prior to that I worked full time, ie 35 hrs pw).

They have emailed back to say that they'd like me to increase my hours to 28 (ie four days) when I return, as they recently made another manager redundant so need me to increase my hours to make up for his absence to some extent. There are three other managers; one full time and two part time.

I really, really don't want to do it. I don't yet know whether they are suggesting it is as a possibility but leaving the decision with me, or if they will try to force me to do it. I am calling someone tomorrow to discuss it and will have a better idea of things after that, but in the meantime I wondered whether anyone has any experience of this?

I guess I want to know whether they can force me to increase my hours when they agreed three years ago that I could work part time. I hope not to get to a situation where they're forcing me or I'm waving my 'rights' about (if I have any!) but it'd be useful to know where I stand. I guess I should contact HR but I don't want to look like I'm getting all defensive before things have even been discussed.

Thanks in advance.

No real advice but didn't want to leave you post unanswered (had plenty of crap from employers myself). I can't see how they can possibly do this if you had an agreement of 3 days in place already!! I'd check everything first and then tell them thanks for the offer but you'd like to stay with your agreed hours that you had since 2009. What a cheek! Good luck!

You don't have to increase your hours when you return. Your entitlement is to return to the same terms and conditions you had prior to taking your maternity leave. Simply say thanks but no thanks and if they persist then contact your HR dept.

I think it's unlikely they can force you.

Do you have a contract which says what hours you do?

Could you meet them half way?

I would recommend you phone ACAS. They're usually pretty good.

Thank you all.

I've been with the firm for 12 years and they've always treated me well (and I them) so hopefully this can be sorted amicably.

I recall now about being entitled to return to work with same t&c, thanks for the reminder.

I have been trying to think of possible compromises, but will try to keep them in reserve as if I propose them I expect I'll find that's the minimum I'll end up conceding. I really like working my current hours!

I don't think I have a contract that says I work 21 hrs. I signed a contract when I joined the firm, at which point I did 35 hrs, then in 2009 I submitted a flexible working request (formal online application) which rescued my hours to 21.

Anyhow, thanks again for the support. Fingers crossed for tomorrow (I do feel a bit sick about it, hope I get some sleep tonight!)

I'll see how the call goes tomorrow, but will bear acas in mind. The thing is, I'd probably rather concede (well, compromise at least) than have things become unpleasant, but what I really want is for things to stay the same!

Well they can't unilaterally force you to change... But if their business needs have changed, then your PT hours are not set in stone forever and a day

What they can do is consult with you over the changes they are proposing...hopefully reach agreement, but if not, they could ultimately look to dismiss you and reinstate you on new T&Cs

This is a very simple summary, there are lots of steps to get there, but ultimately, employers do have the right to manage their business

PenguinFeet1 is right, they have to allow you to return on your previous terms and conditions. As for your contract, don't worry about not having anything in writing as it is basically implied in that they are paying you for 21 hours as opposed to the original 35 hours.

If they have treated you well in the past there is no reason for them to not do so in the future. It might help if you turn it round to a possible employers explanation: due to a restructure they now have some extra hours that need to be covered and they thought that before they go elsewhere they would give you first refusal (she might appreciate a few extra hours, etc).

It could be as simple as that so nothing to worry about at the moment. If you don't want to do it, just tell them and it should be fine.

You should have received correspondence at the time regarding the redundancies if they really expected you to assume extra hours as a result of a redundancy situation, so if they did not do that then you can point out that they can't really take the redundancy situation into account given the consultation with you about this obviously didn't happen as part of that process.

Saying that, although your flexi hours are normally considered to be ongoing and permanent, a firm is entitled to vary contracts sometimes for genuine business needs. However, this needs to be done in consultation with staff and ideally with their agreement (don't see that happen often, mind). If they can genuinely argue that this is the only alternative to redundancy then they may have a case, but if so, they would have to offer you redundancy as an alternative to accepting the new contract.

But, as others say, we are probably getting ahead of ourselves if they have been reasonable in the past. I think you should just go in to clarify what is going on, why they didn't consult with you at the time, and what the alternatives are for them. I think if you keep on coming up with the comment "But this flexi ruling gives me a permanent entitlement to work those 21 hours, so I'm confused" then they may eventually get the lightbulb moment and check themselves. They could simply have assumed that flexi time is only a temporary arrangement.

Thank you everyone, some really good advice there which I really appreciate.

I've just spoken to my line manager and it's all sorted. They are dropping the issue of me increasing my hours (I didn't have to push for this, tho I did make my feelings clear - politely! - by email yesterday). They do want me to do a job share with another part time manager and change my days to enable that, but that's fine by me. I'm so happy and still love my employer!

Thanks again for the advice and support, hopefully it'll be useful to others in a similar position.