Return from maternity leave - need urgent advice please

[Salinas1234]

I am due to return from maternity leave in September but my role is being made redundant (under discussion but no notice has been given). Before going on mat leave I was on a PT contract so my understanding is when I'm made redundant, my package would be pro-rata'd? Here is my question - if I give them a notice now that I want to come back full time in Sep would that enable me to get the full redundancy package - even if the notice is served in Aug?

I really hope someone can come along and give me advice as the extra money can be hugely helpful! Really stressful times we are livng in!

You don't get to tell them you are coming back FT if you're on a PT contract. If they are looking at making you redundant why would they agree to it?

You can't just tell them You will come back full time

They won’t agree to that - you can’t unilaterally change your contract I’m afraid. Sorry that you’re going through this

I see. A couple of months ago, my manager verbally agreed that they wanted me back full time but now the company is going through restructuring and looks like my department will be largely gone. It is a large organisation if that's any help.

It seems unlikely that the company will increase your hours on your return from maternity if they are planning to make redundancies, presumably you won't have to pay back any enhanced maternity pay as you can't work for three months (depending on the notice given, because you might - it's all a bit up in the air for you at the moment).

The OP is right about the redundancy pay being worked out on what you are paid at the end of the notice period for redundancy, so yes she would get more if she went back full-time rather than part-time.

If it is a large organisation I'd assume that a union is involved in the discussions so I'd contact them to check the arrangements.

You can always ask. I would be surprised if they agree

What would you do if they agreed to take you back full time and don't make you redundant? Would you be happy working full time if this happened if you asked?

I would 100% want to go back to work. I have also been consistently rated as a high performance member of the team but if the team is going I can't see why they would keep me on. Sounds like I should communicate my intension to come back full time in written now and see what happens. Thank you all for your advice.

I'm so sad that in a matter of few months life has changed so much :-(

They won’t allow you to increase your hours in circumstances where there are redundancies happening because the department is closing. Redundancy happens because the work has ceased or diminished. If they start increasing the hours of existing staff members that will...
a) cost them loads more in redundancy pay and notice pay, and
b) undermine their justification for redundancy, putting them at risk of tribunal claims.

Not happening!

I could perhaps understand it if you were previously full time but had agreed to go back part time after maternity but if you were part time anyway and want to ask for full time just to get extra money I'm afraid it isn't going to happen - why on earth would they pay you more than they need to when the company is clearly struggling anyway??

Was part time temporary due to pregnancy? Or was it your permanent work pattern? If it was temporary then your redundancy should be based on your contract.

Are there any suitable alternative roles vacant in other departments you could do? I think when you are on maternity leave you must be offered these before other employees, might be worth checking out.

Thanks all. Yes I realised that they should offer me an alternative role where possible. It's all about the timing as I will have to return in Sep at which point my maternity protection will cease.

If they agree to take you back full time would you be happy/able to work full time? You may not be made redundant, they could either keep you on in your current role or offer a suitable, full time, alternative in which case you wouldn't be eligible for redundancy. You need to consider that.