help! hours reduced whilst off sick!

[GeraldineFangedVagine]

So this may be complex but hope someone can offer advice. I have been on a six month secondment to a higher banded job since august. It officially ended jan 1st. It was a full time post, prior to the secondment i worked part time 27.5hrs
in december I had told a senior manager that i no longer wished to take the new post permanantly due to a clash with my new line manager. Informally, it was suggested the secondment would be extended to feb till someone new could take up the post. I also checked that when i returned to my old band could i still work full time which was informally agreed.
In january i was admitted to hospital with pneumonia and was off sick for three weeks. Upon my return i checked that i would be paid at the lower band as i was worried about paying money back. I was informed i would be paid at my old part time wage, despite the rota still showing me as full time. Im in a real mess now as i wasnt anticipating this. Its also the qualifying period for my mat pay.
I dont know what to do, manager is blaming me but at no point asked if i would be going part time. Can i do anything to rectify this? Its going to wreck my mat leave and is super stressful. I cant pay my bills.
Thanks in advance for your advice!

I'm not an expert on employment. But I think it would work this way. Your temporary post and salary would stop on January 1 and you would automatically go back to your old contract. Regardless about whether or not you were on sick leave at the time. Is the difficulty because the agreement you would be full-time when you returned to your old job not put in writing and was only agreed informally. Hope someone comes with some advice. You could try seeing your union rep if you have one.

Thanks for the reply. I didnt realise i needed to put in writing i wanted to continue full time. I also thought the secondment would go on for one more month. No one asked me if i would go part time again and because i was off sick the paperwork was not discussed with me. It seems like poor communication but im in a huge mess now. The old contract doesnt kick in unless the manager puts in a change form stating hours etc. She did this but i didnt realise.

Im still paying full time hours at the nursery (staff) but only on a part time wage. Its such a mess. Apparently i am full time again from feb 1st but last month wont be backdated this will really affect mat pay. Sorry ive just turned into a big moan :(

Well, ideally it would all be in writing but I think you can fight this. You have two points.

Point one, you were advised by x on x date that your secondment would be extended until February.

Point two, you were advised by x on x date than when you returned to your old band, you would be full time.

Based on both of those statements, you should not have been paid on a part time basis.

There is something else to bear in mind. There is a ruling called the Alabaster ruling which basically means that if a woman gets a pay rise, or would have got a pay rise, after her SMP was calculated, her SMP needs to be recalculated on the basis of the new pay. I'm going to be honest and say I don't actually know if that applies if the reason for the pay rise is an increase in hours rather than an increase to the hourly rate. If anyone out there does know for definite, that would be nice to know! So it may apply to you.

Either way, definitely fight your case as you were advised on two counts that you would not be returning to part time hours, and getting that fixed should be easier than worrying about Alabaster.

That is grim. I asked DH what he thought. And he said you wouldn't have necessarily had to get the agreement to go back full time in writing. Then it would be your word against this managers. And the same with the date the secondment ended. The best thing is to see the union rep I think.

Didn't see your post flowery. Sorry!

Thankyou both for your time. Do you think i would be best to approach human resources directly? The manager who i clash with filled out the change form and is the one saying its too late to rectify. However she says she will go to human resources. I dont trust her and have had issues regarding pregnancy with her already. I could speak to her manager as she is aware of my problems professionally with the hour changing manager. Its complicated by the fact she was recently demoted and i dont think it was really her decision to make any more. Oh dear i hate conflict. Glad you think i might be able to salvage something.

Dont worry about your mat pay - they have to pay you according to your higher rate. I'm a teacher and my qualifying period was during july when I was payscale M4, in the September I moved up to payscale M5 and HR confirmed I would be paid my mat pay at the higher M5 rate as this is the law. Sorry cant help with the rest though. X

Yes you could approach HR directly. It may be too late for your manager to rectify but rules can always be bent if necessary if there's been an error.

Write an email to HR setting out exactly what was said by whom and on what date, confirming that you were advised your secondment was being extended and were also advised that you would be returning to your substantive post on full time hours.

Thanks for the great advice and i have a positive update. I went to work yesterday but was unable to breathe (pneumonia recurrence) i ended up telling a different manager the story and she sorted the whole thing out, shortfall will be paid by friday! Apparently the person who changed my hours hasnt the authority anymore and should have discussed it before going ahead. Shes in trouble. Human resources were really helpful too. Was very worrying for 48 hours but all fixed. Thanks again!

Also, although technically i should have put in writing i wished to remain full time, thats also true had i wanted to be part time again. Part time is considered an application for flexible working. Either way its hopefully sorted now.