Maternity return - inflexible hours

[Raintonrebel]

Afternoon All

I am after some advice please on returning to work after maternity leave if anyone can help? My daughter worked in a hotel, and worked either a late (breakfast shift 6.30am start) or lates (3pm or 4pm til wheneverthey get finished).

She went on maternity leave last September when she had her daughter, and when she called into work for a team meeting she asked her boss (the hotel General Manager) about her options coming back as she wouldstruggle with childcare being a single parent, and she was finding it difficult to find childcare facilities that worked round her previous shifts (there are none open at 6.30am, and they close at 6pm so her lates are out of the question).

His response was ‘Well they are the shift patterns we do, so theres not a lot I can do about it’ (Helpful).

Is there anything she can do about this? Can he purposely make it difficult for her to return to work by being inflexible with her shift patterns? I’ve asked her to call ACAS to get some advice but her 6 monthdeadline is looming and she needs to seriously think about what she wants to do.

Thanks peeps

Some good info on here- www.gov.uk/flexible-working.
I believe it’s down to business needs ultimately

Surely she knew what the shifts were before having a baby.

Why should they change the shifts just for her and no one else.

Manager is right if those are the shifts thats it. She either needs to deal with it or find a job with better shifts

I'm a mum of 1 and was fortunate that my employer at the time, despite the position I held, did let me return on a part time basis and continue in my current role.

From my understanding, the employer doesn't have to agree to offer alternative / flexible working. You can request this, so your daughter could put something in writing, saying what she would be able to do and include how this would benefit the business too or even express that she could take on other responsibilities that were not reliant on the shift patterns set for her current position.

There is information on the government website on returning to work after maternity leave, which would be worth reading.

If the employer still refuses to agree to flexible hours then your daughter has time to search for alternative employment that would consider the hours she can do.

Wish her all the best for the future xx