Horrid meeting about flexible working

[chocbiscuits]

Have to have a meeting about my flexible working soon with two line managers, a bloke from HR, myself and a staff rep person (he's on my side). The issue is that they suddenly want me to drive to work on wednesdays (long commute) making three days at work and two days working at home. For the past year and seven months I've been working at home three days a week and commuting to work two days a week. (see previous postings trouble with flexible working)....

Bosses now want to change this although they have each come up with different reasons - one says that I should have more cups of tea and spend time talking to people, the other says the opposite that I should do more work.
Staff rep chap points out that I cannot please them both anyway even if I did come in on Wednesdays.

Bloke from HR has organised the meeting for a Wednesday which doesn't bode too well???? Am also bit concerned about having to discuss my original application for flexible working (which is quite a bit about breastfeeding) with a group of men. Am not overly embarassed but it feels a bit extra uncomfy on top of the whole stress of the saga.
Still bf at night and in the morning. Support/suggestions please!!!

good luck with it. am also having some less than helpful interaction with my employer about flexible working. I used to be naive and think that HR and bosses would want do things right. I feel there is a feeling of resentment that a working woman has a baby and wants to follow up legal rights. Am I just exhausted being paranoid? Also, I think is a shocking lack of awareness of the current legislation.

What a horrible situation choc .

I've been working from home 2 days a week since my 3rd child was born. I also have flexibility to do more when I have childcare needs. He is starting school now and the subject of working from home came up - I told my manager that I wanted to carry on as things are. I like being able to walk the kids to and from school twice a week. Life is simpler without having to get in the car and park outside school and then rush to get into the office on time ...and then the return trip too.

If I was challenged I would mention the following: 1 I work longer hours on the days I'm at home. I can dial in at 7am and work on and off until early evening instead of 9-3 only. 2. It also gives me the motivation to take my laptop home so that I am available to deal with problems whenever neccesary (i'm not on the on-call list because I'm parttime) 3. I have a loyalty to the company which might well evaporate if they forced me to work in way that made me unhappy and more stressed. Not sure how any of those reasons would cut any ice, but I'd give it a try.

talky - i so agree. i am flabbergasted often by the completely illegal things my employer does to its staff eg - no bonus for part time woman, when she questioned why, received email, yes in writing, from top boss, owner of firm, saying that it is becasue she is part time. not even a pro rata bonus, when entire rest of team, from support staff to top dog, get a bonus. blatant discrimination as she got a bonus last year when she was full time, no gone part time since having baby no 2. but they get away with it as for working mums i think we have enough on our plate without a formal grievance, legal advice, tribunals and all that, so the bastards just get away with it again and again.

PCSmum - shocking!!!!!

I was with a group of mums who met at a parent and baby group and we then became friends. One doesn't work, one is a teacher and had to get the union in after she went back from maternity leave because they'd got rid of her job or something but this did get sorted out. One had a change of job location, was told her job was relocated to London after maternity leave so she gave up work. One entered into a vast complication after having taken sick leave after maternity leave, saw lawyers etc. but ended up being made redundant. Now my thing. All of us have had some sort of issue since returning!

Anyway I've felt much better about my thing since seeing the Occu Health Doc, have been planning to leave and have already spoken to big boss about it who said it would solve my problem and he felt it would be a good thing for my career anyway and said he'd help me get resituated (is that a word) in my hometown. Probably I will look to leave after a fairly longish time frame, and may have to do some of the three day weeks for a while but if I know its not for all that long I think it would be OK. Another meeting tomorrow just hoping to put them off as long as possible on the three day thing.