Hi! Looking for some advice as I’ve been going through such a hard time basically since telling work I was pregnant - just back to work a month ago after a year of mat leave and I’m struggling.
Background - I work for a large public sector organisation in a middle management role and before mat leave I had been on loan and temporary promotion - a role I got around the same time I found out I was pregnant. When I told my bosses, they said they would end my contract on the day my mat leave began and I would go back to my original department on my original grade. This seemed a bit dodgy but I couldn’t do much about it and having a high risk pregnancy at the time, didn’t have the energy to try and fight it.
Now back at work all the issues that have arisen - mostly as a result of this, are really bothering me and I feel as though I’m being punished for trying to advance my career at the same time as having a family - seems no one has heard of Leaning in where I work! I could be here all day but summary issues - work overpaying me because they didn’t deal with my grade change and having to chase all through mat leave, then they took thousands out of my pay in one go with no warning, refusing to give me any clarity about what my role coming back would be until only a few weeks beforehand, not paying me (still) for KIT days, not telling me about promotion opportunities and giving them to more junior team members, putting me back on the lowest salary level of my grade even though I’ve been on it for 4 years - there’s more.
Since returning, I’ve felt really unwelcome in my new team, which I hate as I’ve been there for 5 years and only took time out to develop my career and have a baby. They know I want a permanent promotion but are not giving me challenging work so I feel like the job is really not at my level, especially after getting the experience I did before going on mat leave - it feels like it counts for nothing now and I have to prove myself all over again. Also, I did pass a full interview process but still have to go through it all again it seems to get the full promotion, but my confidence is now on the floor and it feels like it’s never going to happen. I just don’t know what to do and feel totally helpless and unsupported. I meeting HR tomorrow to try and sort out some of the concrete issues like payment.
Has anyone else ever been in a similar position? Any advice? Can it get better?