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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

refusing to give my work back

155 replies

Cherrybalm · 27/08/2020 15:15

hi all,

I have been on maternity leave for 6 months, due to go back in a month. my colleague who is covering my work is now refusing to give me back my area of expertise. I can't say too much what that is because potentially outing but I have a feeling because of the pandemic she doesnt want to become expendable as the work I do is a fair amount. I do get it, I really do but I have been with the company much longer and all my external customers are expecting my return. she is digging her heels in, causing a scene about it and citing how unfair it is that she trained to cover me and is now having it removed. surely when you agree to cover someones maternity you know full well that it is a cover position?

its made me dread returning now

OP posts:
IntermittentParps · 27/08/2020 16:37

this is the thing though, there isnt an equal role to mine which is the reason I'm feeling a bit panicky about it all

In the nicest way, stop panicking and take some action.

Nanny0gg · 27/08/2020 16:37

Have you had your KIT days? What happened then?

Decentsalnotime · 27/08/2020 16:39

If she has done a superb job
If she has i moment we nee improved ways of working
I’d the external clients want her back

Then yes - the law will mean you go back on same salary and level BUT absolutely no law that same duties. They will adapt so that you remain on same salary and same title but may have to accept you don’t have same duties

Hopeisnotastrategy · 27/08/2020 16:40

[quote Cherrybalm]@StormTreader she said pretty much that, word for word. like she assumed she would be keeping it because she had been covering. like because I took time out to have my baby I'd essentially given up my work. it was clear at the start she was only covering me. emails were sent to all of my contacts saying how long I was off for and who my cover contact would be whilst I was out of office and the date I was returning. how she has gotten this into her head I really dont know[/quote]
Easy. She's a CF. She's trying it on to see if you will fold.

Don't communicate with her, but make it very clear to management you expect to return to your own role and don't back down. That's what she's hoping for.

FizzyGreenWater · 27/08/2020 16:41

Start creating a massive, MASSIVE fuss.

OliBolsMum · 27/08/2020 16:41

I'd say it's up to HR to decide, however if she was taken on specifically to cover your maternity leave then surely she must know that she would be handing work back to you?

On the flip side, if your bosses are happy with her work (and from my hazy understanding of mat leave), so long as your role OR an equivalent one is available on your return, they are within their rights to keep her on. They'd be a crappy employer for doing so, but that's beside the point.

Perhaps her issue is that one of your bosses has told her she will be staying? I'd contact your HR department immediately for clarification.

Original poster
Cherrybalm · 27/08/2020 16:42

that just wont work though. like I said, my role is that role, there isnt another one remotely the same or equal. if I dont get my role back/duties/whichever we want to call it I am essentially being "demoted" which like i said before seems wrong when I've spent years building the relations with the company up. there isnt an equal role and certainly not enough to job share.

I am sorry this happened to others too - feels like you get punished for taking maternity. how awful

OP posts:
Decentsalnotime · 27/08/2020 16:42

@FizzyGreenWater

Start creating a massive, MASSIVE fuss.
Ignore Otherwise your return to work will be unpleasant for you mainly but will not set a pleasant tone

Be professional and focussed

Original poster
Cherrybalm · 27/08/2020 16:43

@OliBolsMum she is already a permanent employee but works in another area. she has decided she prefers my work to her own

OP posts:
EveryDayIsADuvetDay · 27/08/2020 16:44

If going back is a month away, arrange a KIT day that includes a 'back to work' briefing meeting with HR and your line manager. Talk it through face to face (assuming you're organisation are back in the office - or is everyone still WFH?).
Even if zoom/virtual meeting, still worth being proactive about organising that.

BruceAndNosh · 27/08/2020 16:44

It would be a foolhardy manager that messes with someone returning from maternity leave, especially if they have kept to their original planned return date. Your covering colleague does not have the same degree of legal protection that you have.

MNHQ
LilyMumsnet · 27/08/2020 16:47

We're just moving this thread over to employment for the OP. Flowers

Frazzled13 · 27/08/2020 16:48

She emailed that?

Great! Keep it. Send it to your manager and copy in HR!

I agree. Email it to your manager and HR, asking them to confirm that (as is your right) you'll be returning to you own role. Obviously technically you don't need to ask to return to your role, but I'd phrase it like a semi question ("can you please confirm that blah blah").
Save any replies you get, always copy in HR even if someone who replies to you removes them, and get firmer if they push back. I imagine that (especially if they're a bigger company), HR will know that you're right and will know it's not worth their while fighting it, even if they wanted to, which they probably don't.

BackwardsGoing · 27/08/2020 16:49

@IntermittentParps

this is the thing though, there isnt an equal role to mine which is the reason I'm feeling a bit panicky about it all

In the nicest way, stop panicking and take some action.

This. Please OP, get off Mumsnet, find someone to hold your baby for an hour and sit down to calmly make a plan. You will work yourself up massively otherwise.
Original poster
Cherrybalm · 27/08/2020 16:49

I've just looked on citizens advice and the top comment under if you've been on leave longer than 26 weeks they cant offer you a different job if:

your job still exists - for example if they’ve given it to someone else

so surely that pretty much covers me? my job still exists so they cant offer me a different role or job because they've given it to someone else. I hope I'm reading that right

OP posts:
FatCatThinCat · 27/08/2020 16:50

She's trying it on. Ignore her and deal with you manager and HR.

OliBolsMum · 27/08/2020 16:51

@Cherrybalm OP in that case, I wouldn't worry. As you've already said, there isn't a role that is remotely equivalent to yours. She'll just have to suck it up and scuttle off back to her own work when you get back.

If you are really worried, report her conduct to HR (preferably by email) and ask them to respond in writing confirming that your role is still yours on your return. If they do so, and things go sideways when you get back, take that email confirmation and sue the balls off them.

ShesMadeATwatOfMePam · 27/08/2020 16:52

*The external clients will drive what happens

If they ask for her over you. Then you will have to suck it up.
If they don’t, then you take over*

This is just stupid. The law dictates what happens. It's not a popularity contest.

Byallmeans · 27/08/2020 16:52

I’d forward the email of her to HR and your manager and ask what’s going on. I’d remind them that you the worked hard for the past eight years building this client base/relationships and they are expecting your return - as you are. You are going to have to shout the loudest. You’ve had a baby - not left. You want your job back.

She should not be talking to you about your return to work anyway your time off is protected.

Onesipmore · 27/08/2020 16:52

I would cut communication with the colleague. I would then request a meeting with your manager and HR as the speculation will do your head in. You need to hear it from horses mouth x

Byallmeans · 27/08/2020 16:54

[quote OliBolsMum]@Cherrybalm OP in that case, I wouldn't worry. As you've already said, there isn't a role that is remotely equivalent to yours. She'll just have to suck it up and scuttle off back to her own work when you get back.

If you are really worried, report her conduct to HR (preferably by email) and ask them to respond in writing confirming that your role is still yours on your return. If they do so, and things go sideways when you get back, take that email confirmation and sue the balls off them.[/quote]
This. She’s over stepped the mark by discussing your return to work and implying your job has gone. I’d also ask if this has been privately discussed with out your knowledge

RubaiyatOfAnyone · 27/08/2020 16:55

As pp, the law is on your side, remain calm but immovable. Email Your manager cc HR, attach colleague’s email to you. Say you are concerned she is apparently confused as you will of course be returning to your role as was made clear before you went on maternity leave. State that as there is no equivalent level role, you obviously cannot move sideways and anyway as no one from HR has been in touch about changing the terms of your return it is clear to all involved that you will be returning as planned to your role.

Then state that your colleague has been in contact (which she shouldn’t have been unless she is a friend contacting you in a non-work context or you were on a KIT day) with the attached and you trust that your manager will be sorting out her confusion about returning to her permanent role.

Make it their problem. If you don’t get an immediate “i’ve sorted that out” from your manager, follow it up with an email straight to HR setting out the problem with both colleague and manager. If that still doesn’t work, bring up tribunals. Squeaky wheel gets the oil and all that.

Vodkacranberryplease · 27/08/2020 16:56

This is bizarre. She is there for maternity cover. Are you saying that the 7 months means that the company isnt obliged to give you back your old job?

As far as I know your company could get in a lot of trouble if this person gets her way. Dont back down.

Squiffany · 27/08/2020 16:56

Only if you return within 6 months, and same job may not necessarily equate to same customers depending on the actual job.

Did you go straight from maternity leave after 6 months into 4 weeks annual leave OP?

maxicheddar · 27/08/2020 16:57

this is the thing though, there isn't an equal role to mine which is the reason I'm feeling a bit panicky about it all - I dont want to have spent 8 years getting to where I am to have it all potentially undone because I took time out to have my baby. feels grossly unfair

I am no expert but I would think that the fact that there is no other similar role, makes it easier and more likely for you to get your exact job back. Because the only other option they have is to create a new role for you of equal value; they cannot demote you and they can't make you redundant when your job still exists, so it all points to you simply going back into your exact role.

Try not to panic as it might be only your CF cover who is trying it on, no one else. Management may be horrified when they find out. Check your legal options and write an assertive email as soon as you can.

I think it is also verging on bullying/ intimidation if she contacts you again like this, unprompted, outside of proper channels and in the somewhat vulnerable position of being away from the workplace at home with your baby, so you have that on your side too.

Chin up and congratulations on your baby