request to drop hours after mat leave refused sort of - confused please help!

[nothingcomestonothing]

I posted in legal matters first before finding this board, so sorry if you read this twice.

I am on adoption leave, and requested to drop 1 1/2 days when I return to work, as the children have additional needs and can't cope with much childcare/after school care. Today I got a letter from my manager saying she won't allow me to drop the hours. However she will allow it, if she can recruit someone else to take the hours I drop. Then she says she if she can't recruit into those hours, she is expecting me to come back on my full hours.

I am due to end my leave in 10 days, but have got annual leave to take so won't be going back until late next month. the letter says this needs to be resolved prior to my official return, ie the date next week when I officially change from being on adoption leave to being on annual leave. I don't know what resolution she is expecting, and I don't know what or even if to reply. I cannot go back to my old hours, the children's needs just don't allow it. I made this very clear when I put in the request. Should I reply saying that? Or saying if I can't drop my hours I'll have to resign, because that is the reality? Or would that be shooting myself in the foot in some way? I'm confused as to what reply I should make or what my options are, can I appeal or something? Please help if you can!

What date did you put in the request & what date are you due to return.

It sounds a reasonable response to me. If she can't recruit someone to cover those hours then that classes as a good business reason for refusal & the fact she has tried to recruit someone shows she has considered the request and tried to accommodate it.

It becomes unreasonable if for example you made this request 2-3 months ago & she hasn't so far attempted to recruit anyone.

She has 28 days from the date of your request to meet with you & discuss it/any arrangements/compromises needed & 14 further days to give you a final decision.

nothing, if you can't go back to those hours, and they can't recruit to one and a half days, your only option is to leave. I applied to reduce my hours after maternity leave, but was only offered a 50% reduction of my hours to make an adequate job share or leaving or remaining full time.

From the employer's side, this isn't about keeping nothing employed, it's about getting the hours filled. If they can't accommodate your requested drop in hours (and you're lucky in that they will try and recruit to the 1.5 days, I wanted a similar drop and they refused to even try and get someone for those hours) then they've done all they have to by law and you either work FT or leave.

You could request a meeting to discuss & perhaps compromise by dropping to 2.5 days to make it easier to recruit a job share.

Thanks for replies, still not sure what to do in terms of responding to the letter. I get that my employer need the hours they need, it's just how to respond now really. The letter reads that she will start trying to recruit now - I work in a profession where very part time working and patchworks of several different small jobs is the norm, so she should have people biting her hand off for the hours, although if any are suitable I guess is a different matter. I don't know how to reply or if should, since it's not enough time for recruitment to have been done so no one will know if anyone suitable will apply for my other hours by the date she's saying she wants it resolved by.

You can (by mutual agreement) agree to postphone a final decision to give her more time to recruit but that would entail you either being able to go back full time for the interim or taking unpaid leave.

What is your notice period? And how was your maternity leave covered.

Also what date did you put in your request?

Did you put it as a formal flexible working application?
Did your employer reply within the 28 days formally?
How long before your return to work did you make the request?

Pictures My notice period is 3 months. If I don't go back though I lose all the mat pay I got above statutory pay, which is quite a bit and I can't afford to pay it back especially if I'm going to be out of a job! My mat leave was (and still is) covered at my original number of hours by someone employed for that purpose, (but they have been employed on a payband below what I get if that makes a difference), the cover wasn't put in place until after I left so that person's contract runs til November I think. At the meeting where I submitted the request we discussed whether I'd be willing to jobshare with that person if they wanted the hours and I said yes of course. That meeting was 13th August, the letter I got today was dated 1st September.

Lonecat yes it was a formal request on the employers required form. The reply came today so yes within 28 days. I put in the request 13th August and my official return date is 12th September - though due to some complex issues re adoption it was mean to be 1st October and that's been fudged around by giving me last year's annual leave to take me up to that date.

Thanks for all replies, I rang the CAB but they couldn't help and I am a bit panicky that my manager wants a reply by next week and I'm afraid anything I could reply would somehow shoot me in the foot.

The law regarding flexible working changed at the end of June. Your employer no longer has to come back to you within28 days and then 14 for an appeal. The new time frame is one defined simply as reasonable, including a trial period. Things should be done and dusted within 3 months to be reasonable though. Ask your employer for a copy of their flexible working policy to see what timescales they have in place now. I am less sure but I don't think there is a right to appeal any longer, you would go through your employer's existing grievance process.

I think your employer is acting with the law here although I appreciate it is disappointing for you.

Can't you use your annual leave by taking a day off each week - at least for the short term until they can recruit someone else? Obviously you'd have to go back to work in 10 days rather than wait until next month. Just an idea.....

baffled I've asked HR for a copy of the flexible working procedure and grievance policy, it says if your request is turned down the letter should inform you of the appeal process - the letter doesn't, but from what you say maybe that's because it's a recent change and the policy has been updated.

Cointreau it had occurred to me to reply that I'll come back on my full hours but will have to take annual leave for every day I don't have childcare but I'm scared I'll somehow be backing myself into a corner or showing my hand or something if I say outright in writing that I can't do what they're asking - maybe I've got very paranoid! It just seems suspicious to me that they on the one hand refuse my request but on the other say they'll allow it, as long as something happens (the recruiting) which will take some time, but I have to respond in less than a week when no one can possibly know by then if the recruitment succeeds or not, because it won't have happened yet!

Could you do anything to support her in finding someone to cover those hours (or as any type of job share)? Do you know anyone who might be interested?

Oh there will be loads of people interested, at any number of hours. I'm a counsellor, and it is very rare for counsellors to have one full time permanent post they make a living out of, most work several small jobs, bits of private work, volunteering teaching - people will be biting her hand off. The mat cover and the counsellor who works there voluntarily will I'm sure both want it, for starters. The chances of it not being filled are small. It's that recruitment will be slow and I'm being asked to respond before it can happen, that's worrying me, I'd be shocked beyond measure if they couldn't appoint to the hours I really would.

Can you reply with something along the lines of "Thank you for your letter. It would seem that it is appropriate for both parties to await the outcome of your recruitment initiative before finalising my return to work. IN the meantime, I will liaise with HR regarding my annual leave. I look forward to hearing from you within 14 days with an update in relation to the recruitment".

I rang ACAS for advice, who said my employer seems to be confused, and that this doesn't need to be resolved by my official return date - i.e. Friday - only by the date I'm actually coming back, so that is a help. They asked whether I thought my employer was trying to get me to resign, and I had kind of thought that but on reflection feel it's more likely my manager has just panicked and written ineptly. It's possible, but doesn't feel as sure a thing as it did when I got the letter. I have emailed to my manager today, just saying that as discussed when we met I'd be happy to job share and I'm sure there will be plenty of good candidates for the role - I made no reference to what will happen if the recruitment doesn't succeed, or (much more likely) isn't done by the time I'm due back. Will see what reply I get. Thanks for replies.

I asked for my hours to be reduced after DC1 and my boss said no. By law they had to consider my request, but they did not have to agree to it.
If you feel you would be better off not working (there), look at your notice period. I have known mums come back for a couple of weeks, hand in their notice and use the accrued annual leave.

Sapat I have to go back - it's a secure (as secure as can be, anyway) and relatively well paid post in a field where qualified candidates vastly outnumber paid jobs, and I'd be very unlikely to find another one.

Today I got another letter (!) in response to my email, reiterating that what hours I come back on will depend on the recruitment situation, and asking me to fill in a payroll form so I get paid for what is now my annual leave rather than adoption leave. But it asks me to sign that I'm coming back on my original hours, and I'm scared to sign it in case that means I won't be able to appeal or whatever, if the recruitment isn't done or doesn't work out. I rang HR who told me to sign it but add in a letter saying I reserve my right to appeal if the recruitment is unsuccessful. I'm worried this wouldn't stand up though, so have left a message for an employment solicitor and hope they ring me back. Sigh.