I am currently on Maternity leave from my job. I have until next July receiving SMP and have requested the further 3 months unpaid maternity leave so I can have until October off with my LO.
I have just seen a position advertized in a different division of my company. They want the position filled ASAP. If I applied and was successful, would they be obliged to keep the positon open for me until the end of my maternity leave in September given that it is the same employer I am currently on maternity leave from? (i have stated previously I would like the full 12 months of maternity leave).
I know they want someone to start immediately, but that would mean giving up my remaining months of maternity leave (5 months SMP) and as the job is only part time, I would only be earning the equivalent of SMP after childcare so for those 5 months I would work for nothing plus I'm not quite sure what to do about my LO as she will only be 4 months old, is EBF and I have never managed to express anything with a pump!
I really don't know if I have any right to request that I start following the end of my maternity leave (this would be ideal for me as I am not keen on putting my LO in nursery so young) or how to handle it if the question about my earliest start date came up at interview. I suspect if the interviewer knew he/she would be obliged to leave the position open for me or find someone else to temporarily fill it, they might want to save themselves the headache and employ someone else!
Should I agree to an early start at interview and then, if successful turn around and say that, on reflection, I would like to take all my mat leave afterall (a bit sneaky I know)? Any advice appreciated on how this could be handled.
I remember chatting to the HR dept at my last employer and they mentioned that they did once hire a pregnant lady as she was the best candidate for the job. They then employed someone else to do the job until she could take on the role permanently. So this lady did apply even though she was unavailable for some time to do the job. HR said they could not discriminate against her for being pregnant so I was wondering how this applied to my situation? The role that has come up is exactly what I am looking for and not advertized often - I don't want to miss out because I am on maternity leave. The loss of SMP and working for the equivalent of SMP is not the main issue (I am willing to take a hit for the long term benefit)-mostly the problem is the breastfeeding and finding a nursery spot for my youngest with only a few weeks notice -virtually impossible where I am and the nursery days would have to be the same ones that my older child is also in nursery. I would need more than a few weeks notice to get this sorted -most nursery waiting lists around here are about a year! Any more advice on this would be appreciated. Thanks