Employer doesnt agree to changing hours to part-time - whats next?

[hairdo35]

I have recently been through a very formal process with my employer who has now turned down my request to return to work with flexible hours/job share. I believe the next step is to resign as I wont appeal. I have 3 months notice on my contract but am due back in 1.5 months. I am owed a years holiday and I still receive a car allowance whilst employed. Do I resign now and be done with it or do I wait until im due back? I wont be able to work my notice so where do I stand?

Why won't you appeal hairdo? Is it the fact that you only have 6 weeks or so before you are due back? It might be worth doing so anyway, the timescale is fairly short. See here, your employer must meet with you within 14 days of your appeal, which you could send by email, and then must notify you of the outcome within another 14 days.

If you are set on resigning, I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to serve your entire notice period. Assuming you get 5 weeks holiday, add that on to the 6 weeks, that's 11 weeks, not far off your notice anyway, and there's not a lot they can do about you not working it. I imagine in your circumstance they would be happy to either release you early or allow you to be on holiday for most of your notice.

Or you could risk not resigning until you are due back. They probably won't try and make you come in to work, but tbh if you are definitely set on resigning, may as well do it now really. Obviously your car allowance will end when your employment ends so your employer may prefer to release you from your notice early and pay you your holiday pay, that way they can stop your car allowance straight away.

No point in an appeal as basically they have just given some valid reasons as to why the case that I put forward wouldnt work (extra costs etc). They havent come up with any alternative suggestions so I think it was a no go from the start. Im a Buyer for a major retailer and its a job thats adaptable to part time but I thought id try so that I could keep my career on line and also have the joy of being the main carer for my dd.

hmmm major retailer....refusal due to extra costs, that would not stand up in an employment tribunal. Big employers would find it very hard to not accept request for part time working unless maybe due to a highly skilled role where they had shown they were unable to recruit to the job share. I would definitely appeal, please do.

I have appealed today and now waiting for a date to attend an appeal hearing. Its all starting to scare me now and I dont know why!

Hi hairdo.

Well done on appealing. I may well have to go to a tribunal myself cos ex-employer (I left end Dec 07) won't supply me with P45, full amount of holiday pay nor Dec 07 payslip. Maybe it's scary to have to go in front of people who previously, we got on with but it has to be done in order to protect ourselves (in terms of money and career).

Following my appeal it still looks doubtful for part time hours with my existing job but they have mentioned posibility of a lower graded job at part time... can they do this?..

Yes. If their reasons for refusing your preferred option stand up legally (which has been commented on above), they are allowed to suggest other roles that might fit your needs in terms of hours. You then have a choice to take that role or go back full time.

However, it might be worth thinking why the lower job can be done part time. If that job has the same issues (e.g. increased costs) with you doing it part time, there might be some scope for arguing that the original refusal was not reasonable. Of course, it might not. It might be that they can manage with only having the more junior person only part time and don't need to reallocate tasks/recruit job share,etc.

Hairdo, have you asked ACAS for advice? here

Ok, looks like they can do this after all... bugger! As my work place is a 70 mile commute it looks like I will have to resign as it just wont add up for a lower hourly rate.

Oh the good news is that I wont have to work my notice and they will pay my year and a bits holiday pay! Bad news is I will have to find another job part time nearer to home that pays well..

I presume that going back full time while you look for something new wouldn't work?

No, long hours wouldnt easily enable me to look for another job and also wouldnt get to see my dd for 5 days a week so its a non starter really.

I went through the same thing Hairdo. I was a Merchandiser for a major retailer and went through the formal applications for flexible working to go part time as well. They refused me and I ended up having to resign.
That was 2 years ago now, so doesnt look like things in retail are becoming any more flexible

Just wanted to mention that you might want to check out whether you will need to repay anything you were paid over and above Statutory Maternity Pay before you resign.

No, they only paid the bare bones minumum requirement of Maternity pay so I owe then nothing. Weird that im thankful for that now!

Thanks Dandollie although strangely this retailer does have a few PT merchandisers but not buyers! Best out of it all really!