Work want me to increase hours to full time but I don’t want to

[Floopyandtired]

I am currently on mat leave and due back at work in June next year. I have DS1 who is nearly 4 and DS2 who is 11 weeks old.

I work for a small business in the private sector as a manager of a small team of 6. I used to work full time hours but after DS1 was born I returned 4 days a week working 28hpw in total. Our area of business is expanding rapidly and since I’ve been on mat leave the team I manage has doubled in size. I was invited into a team catch up chat thing via Teams today and thought it’d be nice to see my workmates and chat for an hour, so I attended. After the end of the catch up my boss asked me to stay on the call and pretty much said that due to the rapid growth of the team I will need to return to work full time after my mat leave finishes or, quite, “it just isn’t going to work.” I was very flustered and didn’t really know what to say. I said I hadn’t given work a second thought since DS2 was born and could we discuss it closer to my return date.

Now I’m worrying that I’ll have to either return to work full time or I will somehow be managed out of the business. I neither want to return full time, nor can we afford full time childcare/wrap around care when DS1 starts school.

I’m lost as to where I stand legally here and would welcome some advice. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you in advance.

It depends on how long maternity leave you have taken - (copied from here - www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/statutory-maternity-leave-returning-work)

When returning to work after Ordinary Maternity Leave (the first 26 weeks of your Statutory Maternity Leave), you have a right to the same job and the same terms and conditions as if you hadn’t been away.

This also applies when you come back after Additional Maternity Leave (the last 26 weeks of your Statutory Maternity Leave). If your employer shows it's not reasonably practical to return to your original job (for example, because the job no longer exists) you don't have the same right. Your employer must offer you alternative work with the same terms and conditions as if you hadn’t been away.

I’m not an expert in HR at all and hopefully someone who comes along soon is - but if you have longer than 26 weeks maternity they don’t technically have to offer you the same terms and conditions or same job role, if they can prove that that isn’t possible any more.

However; I’m sure they have to follow all correct protocol for this - I would advise calling ACAS tomorrow as I’ve found them really helpful in the past

Thank you, I am having the full entitlement of one years maternity leave.

Not sure if it’s worth mentioning but my maternity cover is working 31.5hpw.

I’m not sure - but maybe that may work in your favour - as your cover isn’t having to work full time which shows lack of demand for it?

The issue is they may be able to make your role redundant if they really want someone full time. So 'your' role no longer exists, an identical one but FT does. If you don't want it, they need to try to find you something equivalent of what you've been doing. But if it doesn't exist its legal to make you redundant.

Would you be able to drop some hours and suggest a 50:50 or similar job share with your maternity cover?

To be honest I wouldn’t be gutted if they made me redundant. I’ve been at the company since I was 16 and in this role since I was 23, so I would get a decent payout. It might be good for me to start afresh. Sorry I’m so tired I’m just thinking out loud now!

I have considered a job share as I work really well with my current cover (she was my “second in command” before I went on mat leave), however everyone I know who works a job share says what a PITA it is and actually ends up being so much more work.

Would you perhaps be able to offer 3 or 4 longer days to keep your day off. What is now called a "condensed week"

My full time work week is 35 hours. I work a condensed fortnight, so 70 hours over 9 days instead of 10 days.

Check with ACAS but they could make your role redundant and re-hire full time I think. Especially as there does seem to be a business case for it.

@MeredithGreyishblue no the role is no redundant - hence the need for a full-time person.

OP - What does your current contract say?

Yes they make the PT role redundant. And create a FT one.

@underneaththeash in relation to what? Sorry, if you could be more specific I should be able to answer 😊

A similar-is thing happened to me. I work 24 hours over three days and went off on mat leave at the end of 2019, due to expansion etc similar to what you're describing, they hired maternity cover for me but on a full time basis.

When I came back, they decided to keep the full time post AND my part time one, so it worked out well for both of us.

Could something like this be an option? Neither you or your cover are full time, but jointly you are more than a full time post and if there is the work then maybe you could both keep the post?

Although job share might not be your first choice, is it not better than losing a job you love?

I manage a job share and they work really well together. They lead a team.

I'm not sure you can be made redundant as the role will still be there?

You have obviously done a good job and they want more of you. You could offer to job share. Recruit someone else, offer to train them. Gives you the time you need and work the additional manpower they need. Could work out really well for you.

Are you sure it isn't doable?

Your eldest is 4 and by next year will be 5 and at school.

The increase from 28 hours to full time isn't massive.

You'd have more pay so wouldn't that cover the additional child care.

If you love the job it may be worth seeing if it can work.

Explain you would love to go back full time but the childcare costs are £X so you would need to gross £Yk pa for it to work, returning to what you left would however be viable, or if neither option is possible you would happily accept redundancy. Their move if you would honestly be happy with all three outcomes.

A lot of misinformation here.

What stage of maternity leave you are at is entirely irrelevant for these purposes.

It is absolutely not a redundancy situation. There is an increased need, not a diminished need.

I would write as follows:

“Further to our recent conversation and to your proposed change to my terms and conditions of employment, namely a proposal to increase my hours, I have taken some advice, and I understand that

a) I am entitled to return after maternity leave on the same terms and conditions; and
b) if my employer wishes to change my terms and conditions, my consent is required.

Unfortunately I am not able to give my consent to the proposed change to my terms and conditions, therefore I will be returning as discussed on [DATE] on my usual contractual 28 hours a week.”

Is it that they need someone there everyday to manage the team
Could you work the same hours but go in every day.

You must find this helps with school pick ups/drop offs although not id Al could be a compromise.

I was in this situation, I was basically told my part time job was redundant and I'd either have to go full time or would be made redundant.

I got excellent help from a charity called Working Families who have a free helpline. I can't remember exactly how "we" won, but I wasn't made redundant and I kept the PT job for another 6 years until I was ready to increase my hours.

Do you have to go into the office to do your job?
I just agreed to increase my working hours from 3 days to 4. Or rather from 24 hours to 32, because I only agreed to do it if I could do the extra 8 hours from home, at any time during the week, including weekends.
Luckily this works in my job, I pick up emails twice a day when I’m not in the office and reply to any urgent ones. But everyone knows that I don’t work set hours on the two days that I’m not in the office. The work gets done, but at a time to suit me, so I still have my two free days during the week if I want them.

Thank you so much everyone for your considered responses.

Offering to condense my hours into longer days wouldn’t work because the business ideally wants me working every day. This would work perfectly in 4 years time when my youngest will be about to start primary school, but right now would mean he has to be in nursery every day which I neither want nor can we afford.

I like this idea @Seventimesaday and I will suffers it. I don’t have to be office based, I already did a 50/50 split between home and office work pre-Covid.

Suggest*