Checking work emails whilst on maternity leave

[Hopingforpeace]

Just a quick question. I have contacted my union but they won't be able to reply until tomorrow, hoping some clever people here will be able to tell me if i am in the wrong or not.
I am half way through my maternity leave. I intend to take the full year and return next June. They have all this in writing.
When I went on maternity leave I handed over my work iPad for the girl who is covering my leave.
I was phoned today and asked to go into a disciplinary meeting next week.as I am not replying to emails.
This threw me as I didn't think I had to look at anything to do with work right now and I certainly don't think I should be disciplined about this.
The only way I could look at my emails would be through my personal iPhone or personal laptop. Are they right to demand that I check my emails daily? To be honest, sometimes it is a struggle to even find time to brush my hair daily let alone reply to work emails.
The back story is there is just about enough evidence for me to go for constructive dismissal due to bullying. I haven't done anything about it as I have enough on my plate with a three year old and 5 month old.
I cannot see anything specific to maternity leave in the replying to emails part of my job description. Usually we have to reply with 2 working days unless on holiday. I'm not on holiday so I don't know if that means they have found a loop hole to get rid of me. They probably know that the union and I have been building my case and want to not pay me off.
I said, I wasn't able to sort childcare for next week's meeting. That is true but mainly this was to buy me some time to speak to the union. I feel sick.

[tribpot]

x-posted with you, OP. Glad the union are dealing with this. Sorry to hear about your job share partner, what a shower.

[tribpot]

flowery I think the Union said this prior to the OP finding out she's up on a disciplinary for the crime of not working whilst on leave. I quite agree that this latest incident needs to be challenged now - she can't claim not to know about the disciplinary since they called to tell her.

[Hopingforpeace]

Yes, I personally won't be doing much but the union are on it. So things are being done on my behalf but not by me personally, iykwim.
I already have a part time contract but when I went on mat leave they filled my post with a ft permanent person - my job share partner was told she was no longer needed. They won't say what there plans are for me - as far as I see, I'm surplus to requirements.

[skyeskyeskye]

hoping I have been thinking about this and afaik, an employer can make "reasonable contact" which is agreed in advance before you leave. So yes, a question along the lines of - do you know where the doodah is, you are the only one who uses it..... should be ok. Harrassment about anything is NOT ok. They are not allowed to ask you about returning to work etc.

If you have handed back the ipad, then how do they expect you to read the emails? and WHY haven't they followed the emails up with letters or a phonecall if it was vitally important and you havent replied?

If you want to return part time and they cannot accommodate this, there is a set procedure that they must follow to prove why they will not allow flexible working.

I am not an expert, but have quite of lot of knowledge of SMP and ML through doing payroll for years.

The Union need to contact your employer and remind them that they are not allowed to hassle you, that any KIT days etc should have been arranged before you left.

[flowery]

"The union said to just bide my time whilst on maternity leave and just ignore them at the moment. We will deal with them in the new year."

I completely disagree. Disciplining a woman on maternity leave for not working is discriminatory and ignoring them isn't the best response. Discrimination should be challenged. Apart from anything else, you only have a short window to bring a claim following an act/acts of discrimination.

Plus if you do want to add constructive dismissal into the mix, you can't just say in three months time that this constituted the last straw in a constructive dismissal. There needs to be a trigger, and if they don't do anything else between now and whenever the union want to challenge it, it will be more difficult to claim that this and earlier instances made your employment untenable.

[Vikingbiker]

Also just wanted to point out that they took your iPad and also failed to clarify in writing or in person, their contact expectations whilst you were on maternity leave. You had no idea they were contacting you by email and why should you? Also I'm not sure they can do a disciplinary whilst you are on maternity

It sounds like you are being set up

[MaybeDoctor]

Shocking.

Stuff like this should be linked to the 'family friendly workplaces' thread to give the CBI an insight into some of the real problems women have to face (I was going to write 'parents' there, but in respect of maternity leave I think it is safe to say it is 'women').

[Figster]

Constructive dismissal is very hard to prove though OP so I hope your evidence is really strong as your union is suggesting

[CurlyWurlyCake]

Sounds like you have good support. I agree you should get written confirmation of the disciplinary to add to your case.

Bonkers behaviour on their part.

[Essexgirlupnorth]

Completely unreasonable I checked mine occasionally in the first month, logged into let people know baby had arrived and then my password expired so didn't look at them till my first day back in the office.
Glad you have union support on this!

[Hopingforpeace]

They are a shower of shits. In comparison of my treatment whilst pregnant, this is pretty tame.
Hence the reason the union are gagging to use the portfolio of evidence against them and get constructive dismissal.
The union said to just bide my time whilst on maternity leave and just ignore them at the moment. We will deal with them in the new year.
Thank you for all the support. I thought this was the case but thought they couldn't be that stupid.
I'm looking forward to updating the union tomorrow. He will love this.
I'll update, hopefully about handing them their arses on a plate.

[TimeWarp]

Send an email from your private email address asking the person who phoned you to confirm the time and date of the disciplinary meeting. Otherwise they might just deny ever having made the phone call. They sound like arseholes (technical term).

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

Or maybe they have a blank cheque they want filling?

I've worked with some idiots and seen some stuff but this is incredible.

[Vikingbiker]

What's in thier emails? Are they demanding you to work?

It's totally unreasonable to remove your iPad and then expect you to read emails. Correspondence should have been by letter or phone.

Google Michelle Stone. Sorry can't link. She was bombarded with demanding emails then awarded 18k at a later date. They also wanted her to work 2 days after giving birth among things!

I think they are fine to contact you about things like pensions or a special code etc. Not ok if they are expecting you to work half an hour a day

[flowery]

They are going to discipline a woman on maternity leave for not working? Perhaps they have an HR manager who's dying for a bit of tribunal experience or something. I can think of no other explanation for that level of stupidity.

[Partydilemmas]

Crazy! What time frame would they have expected you to start answering? The day after birth?

[drspouse]

You can still take up to 10 KiT days which are either paid themselves or you get ToiL (we get the latter).

You are supposed to be in touch otherwise to the extent that you can for example reply to an urgent email/phone call regarding something reasonable (e.g. where is the code for the safe) or regarding your return to work, I believe, other than that. If you can't check emails owing to not having work equipment at home, you would be reasonably expected to respond to a letter or phone call, but not immediately.

[Fattyfattyyumyum]

Ludicrous.

You're actively not allowed to do any work while on mat leave, except as part of KIT day. You only have 10 of those to use and if you do any work after that you are effectively ending your leave and they don't have to pay SMP anymore.

[Tiredemma]

I was bollocked for checking my emails (and then had my blackberry taken off me!!!)

Its a big no no- unless you have arranged Keeping in Touch days

Please update us - ill be intruiged to know how they think they can get away with this

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

Good grief. They sound utterly incompetent.

[queenofthepirates]

I had similar issues with my company whilst on mat leave. I approached them with a 'hmmmm.... so how can we make this go away' kind of conversation to which they wrote a number and we agreed on it eventually.

[notjustamummythankyou]

So wrong.

I work in HE, and was informally 'told off' for checking my email while on mat leave! If you're on leave, you're on leave.

I hope you get it sorted.

[Vikingbiker]

A few years ago you could take up to 10 keeping in touch days over the course of the maternity leave.

As it stands they have soneone doing your job - so why isn't she picking up the emails?

[sooperdooper]

Jesus christ they are mental and completely in the wrong - of course you don't have to answer work emails when you're on maternity leave! Let your union throw the book at them, is it a large company, do they have a HR dept?

Also, not that they can legally take you to a disciplinary for this anyway, but I thought you have to be given verbal warnings before being taken to a formal disciplinary and you have to have been given notice in writing for that kind of meeting - your union will confirm all of this I'm sure

Good luck, you've done nothing wrong, they sound ridiculous and awful