Help! Flexible working not agreed

[Useruseruser91]

Before I went on maternity leave I worked three set days and a flexible fourth day which could be in the evenings or weekends. I applied for this through flexible working but it appears my former manager agreed to it without sending off any of the paperwork.

I am now returning to work following a years maternity leave and my new manager has said she does not agree to this flexible working and that I need to come into work on four set days. This is not something I want to do as I want to be home in the day for my children. They won’t agree for me to go down to three days employment (financially this might not be manageable for us anyway).

I realise I was lucky to get his agreed in the first place but is there anything I can do? As they allowed me to work in this pattern for over a year does that constitute an agreement?

Any help would be really really appreciated

Just to add, I work for a local authority. My manager claims they will only agree flexible working for full time members of staff

My manager claims they will only agree flexible working for full time members of staff

This makes me think she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Ask her directly for a copy of your flexible working policy, which should prompt her to look at it herself. Failing that, you should be able to find it yourself on the staff intranet or portal.

Are you in a union?

"Dear Manager - there seems to be some confusion. I am not making a new flexible working request or asking to change my terms and conditions in any way. As you know, individuals returning from maternity leave are entitled to return on the same terms and conditions as they were on prior to their maternity leave, and this is what I intend to do.

As I am sure you are aware, flexible working requests result in a permanent variation of terms and conditions unless there is specific agreement to conduct a trial period or similar. I applied for my current arrangement on [DATE] through the flexible working policy. This was agreed, and therefore these became my new permanent terms and conditions.

I look forward to seeing you on [DATE] when I return from maternity leave. Love and kisses useruseruser"

Send that and you should be fine. Love and kisses optional. Copy in HR as well.

As an aside, if there was any kind of 'rule' that only full timers can apply for flexible working, that is unlawful and likely to be indirect sex discrimination as it will disproportionately impact women who are more likely to be part time in the first place. I doubt there is any such rule.

That's a great response, however my original flexible working arrangements were not made official and instead appear to have been an unofficial arrangement with my former manager (even though I filled in the paperwork to make it official but it seems this was never sent off). Where does that leave me?

Were you supposed to send it off somewhere? Sounds to me like you put in a formal official request, and it was agreed, and you started working it accordingly. There is no doubt that the request was agreed because those became your hours. There was no agreement to a trial period because you would obviously have known that and would have had to agree that. Therefore the change is permanent.

Whether your ex manager did whatever filing they are supposed to isn't your concern. From your point of view it was approved, and those have been your terms and conditions for the last 18 months or however long it is.

Your then manager agreed to your working pattern. End of story.

And if this new manager doesn't agree to this working pattern what do they have to do? Give me notice and right to appeal?

It’s not up to the new manager to agree to it. It has already been agreed and is part of your contract. A new manager can’t change anything unless you agree.

Does it matter that it's not written in a contract? Am I right in thinking the fact my former manager verbally agreed and they allowed me to work this pattern means it's a contract regardless of it not being in writing?

”And if this new manager doesn't agree to this working pattern what do they have to do? Give me notice and right to appeal?”

Your terms and conditions aren’t for them to “agree to”. They are permanent. If your new manager wants to change your terms and conditions they would have to consult with you and seek your consent. The default is that your terms stay as they are, and when you go back from maternity leave those are the terms you will be on.

Yes, you are right. The fact you have been working this pattern for so long is enough to make it a solid contract. I would have liked to think that a local authority would have better management systems than this where your new manager thinks they can just make up the rules. They’re not a fly-by-night organisation.

The fact they didn’t confirm the change to you in writing doesn’t mean it’s not contractual. They should have done, obviously, but the fact they didn’t doesn’t matter. You made a flexible working request, and the legislation is clear that if you do that, and your request is approved, that then becomes your permanent terms and conditions. For it not to be permanent you would have to have specifically agreed to a trial period or temporary arrangement. The default is that it is permanent. It doesn’t actually matter how long you’ve been doing it- the fact it was a flexible working request that was agreed means it’s permanent even if it was only agreed six months ago or whatever.

You can't work from home and do childcare

”You can't work from home and do childcare”

OP has an agreement to make up her hours at evenings/weekends, when she presumably does have childcare.

I'm a LA part timer with flexible working. So it's unlikely that it can't be done.