Feel like Im being edged out of my job..

[RedKennedy]

hiya, need some advice.. basically Im back to work in a couple of weeks - had a meeting with boss this week about returning part time. He offered me a new job, with new job description, on the same money pro rata, but 3 days a week. Sounds perfect right. But the thing is the new job is being a sales person for our company and trying to bring in new work. The job I did before was management of our staff and overseeing the day to day runnings of the company. I trained up my assistant (who gets paid half my wage) before I left last May, and it seems shes doing a great job.
Plus boss says I cant do my job part time hence the new job role.I offered to work every afternoon so Im in office every day but he said no..
Only thing is that now he will have right to set me targets, and also I can see him whittling down my working week with excuses like ' oh theres just not enough for you to do for me to justify paying yo9u 3 days' etc. Or worst case, letting me go should I not bring in the new work (which isn thin on the ground due to TV ind being so f*cked) So what Im basically worried about is the fact that the goal posts have now moved and they have a rod that they could beat me with further down the line, but if Id gone back to my old job things would be just fine...
waiting to see what my union say, but in the meantime, anyone have any advice?
thanks
x

Not sure they are trying to edge you out. If you could not work your old job hours and the post could not be done part time then its good that they found another position in the company that could be done part time and was vacant. Part time vacancies on our firm rarely come up so I would be glad they had one.

If you dont like the new job, you can always start looking elsewhere for something you would like to do. Or maybe go temping and pick your own hours and days to suit.

I think the assumption that your boss is trying to edge you out is a bit premature. Instead of just saying no you can't do your other job part time and then hoping and expecting you'd resign as a result, he's found you something else. If he wanted to edge you out that would be a very long-winded way of doing it.

Have you got any other reason to think he wants to edge you out, or reduce your working week, or to think he is after a 'rod to beat you with'? Without any further information you sound a weeny bit paranoid if I'm honest.

I am assuming you don't actually want to do this sales job, and I am assuming you are coming back from maternity leave. Do you think your boss is reasonable in saying that your old job can't be done part time? If you think it could be have you put in a proper, considered flexible working request outlining the business benefits of it, and how it would work, or have you just had an informal chat?

I agree with flowery. I am not sure from what you've said that you're being edged out. Your options seem to be to do your current role but come back full time or take this other role part time. If your boss was trying to edge you out, there would be easier and quicker ways.

Of course, there may be other factors you haven't mentioned here...

As Flowery said, if you don't agree that your current job can't be done part time, you'll need to do a formal flexible working request (if you haven't already), setting out the case for a part time role and explaining how it would work (for them, rather than the benefits for you).