Request for statement from work - on maternity leave.

[TheDetective]

Trying to keep this brief - but would just like to know my rights here. I will give my union a call, but I've never found them much use to be honest

A statement has been requested from me by my manager (NHS). The email with the request was sent today. I am 39+6, so due my baby any day now. I have been told that I must provide the statement. I have been asked for a 3 week turn around.

I'm very upset about this, naturally. I know what the incident is, and am quite sure although it involves me, I was not to 'blame' for the incident, but having seen other colleagues in the past be dragged through all kinds of investigations and sanctions for things which they were not to blame for, I have no confidence that the same won't happen to me. I actually completed an incident form for said incident. It happened over 5-6 weeks ago, I only finished work just over 2 weeks ago.

Any advice appreciated. Thank you.

Yes, I'm in a union.

I have to go in to work to write the statement, as I will need to access patient notes. I wouldn't be able to write the statement without. I can't access the notes til Monday at the earliest, but unfortunately it is an inset day, so have DS with me. So it would be Tuesday before I can actually go in and do it. By then I could easily of had the baby.

Any other advice? :)

It really depends on what has happened OP.

If the incident is life/death (ie NHS related by any chance?) then it could be argued its reasonable to ask you to come in to work to make a statement.

However given that you are on maternity leave, you are in your rights to refuse the request until you are ready to return to work. I've dealt with investigations whereby we've formally invited the employee in for a meeting whilst on maternity leave, but they've refused and we haven't been able to proceed or do anything else. It has been addressed on their return to work (or a few days before their return if more serious allegations)

I would call Acas if you don't have faith in your Union.

The 3 week turnaround is ridiculous and not 'reasonable' in employment law! Especially if you're full term now- how stupid.

I would personally send you line manager an email clearly stating you are not prepared to complete any work related activity until you return to work after maternity leave (which you don't know will be) or on a KIT day, again but you don't know when that will be.

If they continue to contact you, it could be deemed as harassment if you've told them explicitly not to contact you during your maternity leave.

It is NHS, but AFAIK isn't life or death, no!

Thank you for the advice!

Spoken to another colleague this evening, who is also on maternity leave, and got the same request for a statement (different case) when her baby was 6 days old.

I feel less singled out anyway!!

It'll have to wait.

They'll probably have a service level agreement of sorts to meet (ie investigations completed within x weeks) and this one wont be. It's how it is with people on maternity leave. Working in HR myself it is frustrating when you want to close things off but since having my baby last year, my attitude has changed. I'd go mental if someone wanted a statement from me at 39+6, I was huge, swollen and had no capacity in my brain to think properly!

Does your organisation have some kind of history of asking women on maternity leave to make these kind of statements, OP? It sounds a bit fishy to me.

Of course you can't go into the office at full term, this is their problem to sort out.

Not as far as I am aware! No one else has said anything to me anyway, although not had the chance to ask anyone else!