Mat leave discussion with boss (I think some of what she said was illegal?!) and don't know where to go from here..

[mika2]

Just had a very frank discussion with my boss. I came back after a year off with DC1 last August and now pregnant again. I had been doing the role full time but since coming back I've been working 3 days a week plus extra hours from home on days off and evenings as needed. They also hired someone full time to assist me. Everything was going really well up to Christmas (got very good feedback in my appraisal and a surprisingly high bonus). My mat leave cover was a bit of a disaster so the very strong message was that everyone was so glad I was back.
I found out I was pregnant in January and have had a really stressful pregnancy - lots of bleeding, extra scans etc. My consultant told me to get plenty of rest and take it easy but I continued working part time and prob had about 2 days off sick and 3-4 appointments I coudn't schedule outside work (Boss was aware of poblems and generally sympathetic but did moan about appointments).

Anyway today she said she hasn't been happy with my part time arrangement for the past few months. She feels like she's been carrying the can and I haven't been on point. She wants me to increase my hours between now and when mat leave starts (early/mid-July) as the current situation is so untenable. She wants me to do at least 4 days in the office and said this will mean extra pay for me while I'm on mat leave - as far as I know it won't as I'm already 28 weeks pregnant?

Also they will be hiring a permanent full time replacement for my role.
They are hoping to bring extra work into the team next year that I can then do when I come back but it was made very clear that my mat cover would continue in my current role. There will be no option for me to work part time on my return. She said they need someone in the office at least 4 days but there might be an option to work 1 day from home. (I don't understand why then need someone in the office as the team I work with in London spend most of the week travelling and the other teams are around Europe/US so it's all conference calls/emails)

I'm not sure what the incentive is for me to increase my hours over the next few weeks after telling me that I'm basically being replaced??! (Which I think is illegal for her to say even if that is the intention.) Also she knows the pregnancy issues are ongoing and I'm going for extra growth scans and they might need to deliver the baby early i.e. mid July.

I've worked really well with her for the last 4 years and this has totally come out of the blue. I'm rubbish at seeing the wood for the trees but what was the purpose of this conversation? Obviously the message is they don't want me back but are they trying to get me to quit before I go on mat leave by forcing me to increase my hours? If I did quit I presume I wouldn't be entitled to mat leave so I obviously wouldn't!

I was in a similar situation a few years ago, returned from Mat leave 3 days, then they told me my position needed to be full time with immediate effect.

I rang Acas who told me they had to give me 4 weeks notice but otherwise they were in effect making my part time role redundant.

I ended up resigning- this is ultimately what the company were trying to do so they won really. They didn't like that Id work 5x 12 hour days before baby and then couldn't commit to all of the extra duties once DS arrived.

My replacement started and announced she was pregnant 2 weeks after, karma and all that! I've moved onto better things, total career change but very flexible family friendly work.
Am sure it will all work out op

"Can they still force me to change me contract by giving me 4 wks notice?"

Nope. It's nothing like that easy, that's bad advice from Acas, which is sadly not as unusual as you'd hope.

If an employer wants to change terms and conditions they need to consult and seek consent to the proposed change. Consult means explain the proposals and give employees a chance to ask questions, make alternative suggestions etc. If they don't get the employees' consent they should try and negotiate. If still no good, and the change is essential for business reasons, they can attempt to force it through, possibly by giving notice to terminate employment then immediately re-engage on the new terms. There are risks involved in doing this and those risks are magnified hugely if the employer hasn't consulted properly/attempted to negotiate.

It's really not as simple as just giving notice.

I wanted to add a couple of things to already good advise. I would caveat Flowery's excellent wording by amending the last few words to say "you will therefore continue on your normal working hours" or "you will therefore continue on your normal working hours until your maternity leave on X date and resume when you return from maternity leave". The pessimist in me wonders if they will interpret it that you only plan to work those hours up until you go on mat leave.

I also suggest you Google 'custom and practice'. I would think that this is the official term that will apply to the hours you have been working since December. I am happy to be corrected. I think they are back pedaling having realised they forgotten to review your trial and now don't like your hours.