Is the Flowery HR department open at the moment?

[PuppyDogTails]

Just checking before I start my diatribe

hiya

off you go...

Might not be back until tomorrow though

Thank you

Right

My bonus for the year ended September 07 is due to be paid in December. I worked for 6 months of that year and am therefore expecting 6/12ths (ie half) of the bonus I would have received had I been there for the year. I really worked above the call of duty as I was running up to mat leave, contributed a lot to the company's profits for the year.

The problem is that I work in such a misogynistic company that I'm expecting a battle - I expect that the people who matter (unfortunately) will be thinking that by having a baby I'm clearly not committed to the company. In short I don't think I'll get what I should get. There's a whole litany of other issues, for example I didn't get the promotion I was promised although of course this had nothing to do with the fact that I was pregnant .

My contract says the bonus is discretionary. Does this mean they can do as they please?

The bonus always represents a significant proportion of my income, hence the level of interest!

Puppy - am sure flowery will be able to help on this but as I am also an HR bod for an invest.bank of which your type contract sounds very familiar maybe I can also help. In theory yes the bonus is discretionary but the company has to be able to demonstrate that they have been reasonable in how they have exercised that discretion. In practice most large organisations tend to be pretty on top of making sure they pay bonuses for those on mat leave but it can tend to be a little too formulaic - depends on how good your boss is. There is also an arguement to say that they should also take into consideration the period of paid maternity leave as well as the time you have actually worked in 07. Bottom line is if you are unhappy and want to get a sense as to how well/badly you have been paid see if you can get them to release some (nameless) comparative data to you (which they would have to release if you put in an equal pay questionnaire). There is no point in getting yourself upset about your pay if you don't have a true sense as to what your comparators have been paid (and by the way don't believe what everyone tells you - they always inflate it IME)
Hope this helps

Thanks SD, that is helpful, you do have a good idea of the kind of environment I'm in!

People definitely over-inflate the level of income they receive, I do trust one person though to give me a steer on how this year's bonus has compared to last year's. That should give me an idea of what I should reasonably expect. Believe it or not there is no precedent of this in our place, I'm the only fee earner who has ever gone on mat leave!

I don't generally get upset about pay, I'm genuinely not motivated by money and have always considered a bonus to be just that. I do get upset though when I feel ill-treated and under-appreciated (who doesn't?).

Your thoughts are much appreciated, I want to be forearmed should I feel the need to go into battle.

Morning, see you don't need me at all Excellent advice from sleepdeprived - I hope getting the appropriate level of bonus doesn't prove a battle for you when the time comes, but it's definitely a good idea to go in with a plan should that happen.

You mention other issues including a promised promotion - do you want to have a chat about those as well?

The promised promotion is one of the things that I have just logged in my mind to bring up when the time comes. There's nothing I can do about it in isolation - nothing was ever put in writing, when the due date for promotion came round they had logical reasons for not giving it to me which had nothing to do with the fact that I was 4 months pregnant. I could argue that those reasons involved my not having achieved targets which were never set for me in the first place, IYSWIM. I timed the pregnancy badly because I couldn't keep it quiet that long! On the other hand, the timing was perfect because my SMP was based on the period which included my bonus .

I was lying in bed last night stressing about having to go back to work, that's how unmotivated I feel about it all. It's nearly six months off FFS! If the bonus is an issue I just feel like handing in my notice and going to find somewhere else that will love me.

Oh puppy, try not to stress. Get your plan together for what you will do if the bonus is a problem, as that is obviously concerning you, if you put a plan together that may ease your mind a bit. Then put it away physically and in your mind for the next few months and try and enjoy your time with DS.

It sounds to me as though you are stressed about going back not just because of tangible things like your bonus, but because you feel (probably rightly) that your job as it is is going to be difficult to make compatible with having a DS, particularly if, as you say, no other fee-earner has been off on maternity leave before . You are a pioneer!

Are you planning on going back part time if you can, or back in as you were before (I'm assuming you were full time)? It sounds as though your job is probably one of those where working hours '9-5' are something on a bit of paper rather than something that actually ever happens am I right? Which is going to make life difficult if you want more regular hours and a bit more flexibility. I'm putting huge swathes of words into your mouth now and might be completely wrong, but you may be coming to the conclusion that your job and/or career might not be compatible with your new personal situation, which is a scary thought. Tell me if I'm way off the mark, I'm just surmising based on the small amount of information you have given about your work and my own personal knowledge of similar working situations iyswim.

You're right on the mark Flowery. The whole thing is made worse by the fact that we live about 50 miles from work hence a horrendous commute. I have been tolerating work for years (constant under-appreciation because I didn't go to Harrow etc) but never really had the impetus to do anything about it. Having babies just puts things into perspective, doesn't it. What I really want to do it spend my time with DS and give up work, but unfortunately we can't afford that. I'd tolerate going back to work say 3 days, but would like at least one of those at home. Working my pre-pregnancy hours would mean DS would be in nursery for 12 hours a day - that's not going to happen. Thinking about work opens a whole Pandora's Box of resentment! The bonus is the first thing that I need to deal with. I should really look at my options and see whether there are any local employers who could use me, at least then I might feel more like I had a choice. Sorry, just ranting now!

wow I'm goooood!
Joking aside, it does sound like a Pandora's Box looming in the not-too-distant future.

My advice? Seriously consider your options in a realistic way soon. If you think it might be realistic to put in a flexible working request to reduce your hours to 3 days, one from home, start getting it together soon, I can help you. If you don't think that's realistic, start exploring more local options, even if you don't get the quality or level of work, you are probably more likely to get a good work/life balance and be nearer DS when he is in childcare as well, which is not to be underestimated. You could also consider whether there might be part time opportunities with other similar employers in the same location as your current job.

I am aware that I am 'telling you what to do' a bit more than I do with people normally, this is partly because I have huge empathy with your situation and also because I feel I have a bit more understanding of the realities of your situation than I usually do with people, plus I know you a bit better than others as well

If you start thinking about your options seriously soon, you may come to some decisions, and the relief of doing that will be great and will (hopefully) allow you to relax and enjoy the rest of your time off and be more motivated at the thought of going back to work than you currently are.

email address is flowery dot beanbag at ntlworld dot com if you want a chat.

Puppy have to say I have been pleasantly surprised at how some big employers are now much better at the part time thing even for producers so maybe if your current employer doesn't think that way there are many more who do. You may want to test the water with a few recruiters to see what kind of flexible options are out there. Whilst I am not a fee earner (which I know brings more challenges) I came back from my first mat leave 3 days a week and will shortly be coming back from my second mat leave 2 days a week. Something I could not have imagined from the industry 5 years ago. Also have seen alot of candidates who pitch themselves as part time from the start and they are definately getting placed. Good Luck.

Thanks both for your input, it's very much appreciated.

Flowery on the flexible working request, it had never really crossed my mind that there might be a right and wrong way to go about it. I will take you up on your offer and email you off line.

You both make a very good point about part time (or even home working) with an alternative employer - I had assumed that I would only really get any flexibility from my current employer but that's not necessarily true. I can be upfront with others and say I'll start at 3 days and go back to full time over the next X years as DS gets older. The benefit for them is that they only have to pay me 3/5 of a salary while I'm getting my feet under the table.

are you back then flowery? Yay!!!

nice to have you back poppet - even though it is a sorry state of affairs that you're on the JD before it's wine o'clock!

Sent you an email Flowery

hiya just seen it will read tomorrow