Employers not telling me how I will return from maternity leave

[Ccoffee217]

Hi all,
Really hope you can help.
I’ve had a year off work for my first baby having worked at my current employers for over 7 years. Because of the current economic climate the owners have in that time sold the business and I’ve been advised as of a week ago there are now new owners and there may be some cuts to staff numbers.
I am due back in just under 3 weeks and I put a request in at the end of July to change from 5 days a week to 3 days a week, they never got back to me about this at the time because the business was up for sale and no one knew what would happen.
So now I’m due back in 3 weeks, with no confidence my request will be looked at in that time but also no assurances that the staff cuts will happen anytime soon either! Do I have any legal rights to put up a fight if they just expect me to return to work exactly as I was before (full-time) and that I’m 3 weeks away from my return date with absolutely no plan on how I will return!?
Feeling pretty rubbish about leaving my little boy anyway, let alone with this situation.
Thanks x

Unless and until your request has been agreed, you have no basis to “fight” any expectation they might have that you go back full time, no. What you fight is their failure to consider your request.

When you heard from them a week ago, did you immediately contact the new owners and set out the position, asking for your request to be considered as a matter of urgency and asking for confirmation of return to work arrangements?

Thanks for your reply :)
It’s a bit of a strange one because we’ve been told that our old parent company (owners) will continue to support the business in the short-term in terms of HR and IT etc, as there has been a “transition of services agreement” put in place between the 2 companies. Also we are not yet aware of any new HR contact under the new owners so I wouldn’t know who or how to contact them.
The director has said for me to leave it with him but I feel he’s neglecting the fact that I put in my request for a change in hours nearly 3 months ago (I checked the Citizens advice website and it says something about employers are legally obliged to respond to your request within 3 months (or extend, maybe this would be classed as extending? Not that that has ever been said as such)) I feel he’s not tuned into the fact of the Hr side of it all and that women on maternity leave etc have quite a lot going for them in terms of rights.
I fear I am going to have no time to get my son (10 months old) settled into nursery as I am due back in under 3 weeks time with no understanding of how/if I will return.
I feel like I have a right to kick off here, but not sure how I can!? Xx

They are obliged to consider your request within three months. But that doesn’t mean that if they don’t, it is by default agreed, so that right doesn’t help you much in practical terms.

You could put in a grievance?

I wouldn't kick off but I would be polite about it. State when you put the request in, quote their own policies at them or at least the policies Citizens Advice give and see what comes back. While they must review your request that is no guarantee they will approve it. I'd get yourself into the mindset of going back full time and looking for a new job if permanent full time work is not for you in the next few years.

When I was on maternity leave, a long time ago, I requested to work part time instead of full time, but they said they didn’t have a job for me to go back to, so made me redundant. I had to go in and work 2 months notice to get my redundancy pay, although there wasn’t a job to do. I would ring them and sort it out now, as in my case I think they thought I wouldn’t be returning.

I'd make arrangements for full time work until you know more. Even if they make you redundant, they'd probably get you to work your notice to get their money's worth. If you actually want this job, I'd be contacting them with positive, enthusiastic mails about how you are looking forward to returning. You'll have accrued holiday, so you could contact them again now and ask if they want you to request holiday dates early for the smooth running of the business. You might be able to request 2 days per week for the 1st month for example.