Back to work situation, have I been done over here?

[pinkfongi]

Can anyone help me work out if I have a case here?

Went on maternity leave with DC2 back in the summer, prior to this I was working 4 days a week in a fairly junior role.
Before going on Mat leave I was promised a more senior job when I returned and I signed a contract with a higher pay grade with start date TBC, in case I returned earlier or later than planned.

I was due to go back in April, but a month ago I realised i didn't want to go back 4 days and would prefer 3, so I asked if I could come back on 3 days but 8 weeks earlier than planned. This was my strategy to get the 'yes' to the lower hours but still on the new role and it worked, they agreed to it. (I also fancied returning a bit earlier as well). So all was well and good!

THEN - manager calls me last week saying my colleague has resigned and they're struggling with workload, so could I possibly do 4 days a week after all?
I went away and thought about it and decided I could do a 4th day, but would like it to be a shorter day, more like a half-day.
My manager went away and thought about it and...

NOW has decided she wants to go part-time as part of her plan for eventually retiring and so will get someone in full-time to take over her days out the office but also they will deal with other more senior work in the dept, therefore she's asked if I can go back to my more junior role, still on 3 days a week but she'll pay me the higher salary still.

So, I am happy with this because I am clearly being paid more (however it's not actually that much more to feel like I've done that well out of it) but I'm wondering - is that all legal??

Also I am no longer getting a promotion..

So they're accepting your flexible working request even though it doesn't suit the business needs and they're going to pay you as if you were doing a more senior job than you're actually doing - and your question is "have you been done over"?

Have you asked about your progression/promotion as part of these discussions?

You were offer the promotion on the basis of 4 days a week.

You now want to work 3 says a week. That's not compatible with the business needs for that role.

So you have a choice, surely.

Thank you for clearing it up, so I think they have treated me well, just I don't have a promotion is something I need to come to terms with..

You're getting a good deal.

You've end up with a pretty good deal!

You're getting a good deal in terms of pay and hours, but I'd ask about where my development opportunities are, since they clearly thought you were up to working at the higher level.

As pp says, there's a legitimate conversation to be had about progression and development opportunities. Just don't go into it from a "hard done by" point of view.

Thanks all - I will do that.