Unable to work contracted hours due to childcare

[Worriedmother12]

I currently work in Richmond 4 days a week, 9.30am to 5.00pm so I am able to do school drop off and after school pick up at 9am and 6pm respectively. My company wishes to relocate our team to the Putney office which is further in time and distance for me to travel to. After drop off in the morning I would not realistically get there until 10am and would have to leave at 4.30pm to get back for after school pick up by 6pm. I put it to them that I could still carry out my contractual 28 hours if I did 3 days 10am to 4.30pm, and one day working from home 9am to 6pm. Three other female members of my teamwork a day at home due to child care. They told me today I cannot work the one day at home and need to ‘have a think over the weekend’ and come back on Monday morning with another suggestion on how to work my hours in the 4 days I am contracted to work. I have already given them this suggestion of the 3 days and one at home. I feel they are making it impossible for me to carry out my childcare duties and work my hours. I also feel discriminated against as 3 others work a day at home. This is really stressing me out as all I want to do is an honest days work and care for my child. There was a hint of suggestion that I make up the hours in the evening or at the weekend. What should I do? Do I have legal rights? And advice would be great.

Wrap around care at the school? Or share so you do mornings while another mum does evenings?

Child minders sometimes collect from primary schools. Check with the school office.

Partner or grandparent helps out?

Oh good grief.

Discrimination in the context of employment does not mean just treating staff differently. It means treating someone less favourably because they possess a protected characteristic.

Decisions get made in the course of employment that are, or seem on the face of it, unfair. If every time one of these decisions took place the employee in question demanded a ‘hearing’ about ‘discrimination’ the country would grind to a halt.

Here they come. The employment experts who know everything but know nothing. Flowery really is an HR expert. Listen to her. What she’s saying is absolutely correct.

Are you talking about having a 2 1/2hr total commute each day? That's a lot if you're trying to do school drop off in the morning.

Either spread it over 5 days or work less hours with your pay reflecting that. That would allow them to pay someone else to cover the hours you cannot do.

It takes a long time to get to a 'discrimination hearing' you can't just demand one!

Also, hearings take a very dim view now of this 'stamped my foot as the world doesn't revolve around me' approach.

Work 5 days.

I feel they are making it impossible for me to carry out my childcare duties and work my hours

OP, I do understand that it's tough to balance work and childcare and it sucks that your work hours now are not the hours you signed up for.

But your childcare 'duties' are not your work's problem. And having childcare issues is not a protected characteristic.

You could make a formal request for flexible working, but although they need to consider it, they don't have to say yes.

It might be that the reason they are saying no to you is because it isn't working out with all the other people working from home.

Being a working parent is hard, but I think you're barking up the wrong tree expecting your employer to fix that - they're running a business, and it depends on how much you want to stay in that job as to how flexible you decide to be. I think the alternative is to look for a job with more suitable hours rather than trying to take action against your employer, though.

• This is the definition of discrimination (if these 3 other women do the same job). 4 women Same duties Same requirements (childcare) Yet 3 are allowed to work a day from home and 1 is not- without reason.*

Nope, discrimination would have to be that the 3 woman allowed are white and the 1 not allowed is black; and one of the white women was allowed to do it after the black woman was denied it (assuming they all work the same days/hours).

If it’s just that the other three women got in there first with the request, or work different days; and the company cannot have someone else out of the office (hence denying OP’s request) then it’s not Automatically discrimination.

OP - when they said they would want you to make up the hours, did they say this could be at home? If so, grab it with both hands - surely having to do an hour or so here and there when the kids are in bed is the ultimate win? Your employer is being very flexible already; stamping your foot and threatening legal action will not go in your favour.

Quite a bit of misinformation here.

Working from home isn't a right and it doesn't matter how many other people are allowed to do it. The fact that other people work from home can actually go against you, because they can say that the business can accommodate 3 people wfh but it cannot accommodate more than that so no one else can.
An example, someone might go off of mat leave and return to work with the agreement to WFH. A second person may go on mat leave and ask to WFH on their return but be told no, because the business can only have 1 person out of the office.

If they've told you that the business cannot accommodate you working from home than it's a hard one to fight because you don't have a right to WFH.

Do you have a DP/DH who can adjust their hours to do drop off/pick ups a couple of times a week to let you get in earlier/stay later some days?

Unfairness isn’t the same as discrimination
Listen to what the actual HR expert (Flowery) is saying rather then other people’s unqualified opinions

There is a train between the two mainline stations; as long as you don’t get the slower route that goes via Barnes the maximum time is 12 minutes with some services only taking 5 minutes. You’d still be in the travel card zones so could use Oyster/contactless. Would that be an option for you?

They are holding you over a barrel because what probably suits them is to work 5 shorter days and they know that ultimately, they can offer you this as flexible arrangement and tick the box that they are being so with your dilemma of being able to drop and pick up your kids one time.

I imagine though that working 5 days a week is not at all an option that you are happy to do.

They are not holding OP over a barrel at all! They are moving their office a very short distance, which they are allowed to do. And rather than saying to OP she must continue her current hours they are being very flexible and allowing her to change those hours to suit her. Including allowing her to make up hours at evenings, weekends or whenever she likes.

But just because they are saying they don’t want her doing some of those hours from home, they are being accused of holding her over a barrel!

Breakfast club and start at 9 then finish 30 mins earlier to pick up from after school club

It looks like you want to work an hour less a day? If they have suggested an hour in the evening, then I would grab that and do that.

I presume that the after school club finishes at 6 so you can't be back any later than that. Does the school have a breakfast club in the morning from 8am? If so you could get to work earlier, that's another option.

I realise that this would cost you extra money though on top of increased travel costs, so may not be suitable for you. Have they offered you any travel costs? My boss gave me petrol money when he moved me to an office that was 5 miles away.

I would push them for doing an hour at home each night if you can, or maybe on a weekend?

Why are people so adamant on every thread like this that discrimination is any one person being treated slightly differently from anyone else?!,