Flexible working request rejected - help me with appeal please

[Hope1987]

Hi everyone,
I hope to get some help with appeal here. I will try to describe my situation and hopefully it won't be too long 🙂.
I am on annual leave after ML now and in October after informal chat with my manager regarding my coming back on 3 days a week instead of 5 I've got a green light from to apply but he said that despite he's ok with my new working pattern it's HR decision. So I've put my application form on 16/10 and then had a meeting on 20/10. I didn't hear anything from other than they are discussing my case until 23/11 which was outside 14 days to arrange another meeting which was 2 weeks after that. And then I've heard flat no,they didn't give any alternatives, any option, nothing. As the reasons they gave that they can't reorganise work amongst existing staff and that my position works in line with Packaging department that's why they need to have covered shifts 6-2, 2-10 and 9-5, otherwise it will have detrimental effect on performance and and fulfilling customer demand.
The only ground to appeal in my heads are that during my ML they didn't employ any cover for my position, so actual my coming back to work, even on reduced hours will increase capacity of the team, not put any more pressure or extra tasks as they had to work a full year without me. Also packaging department works on 2 shift basis which are covered by my 2 colleagues. There is no one in my team on 9-5 from at leat 2.5 years.
But I not really sure if I could use all these in my appeal as this sounds a bit like they don't need me at all in my department.
I would appreciated any advice. Thank you

Wow. Don't know where to start with that nasty attack on a poster, but perhaps I will go with the fact that employers are NOT PROHIBITED from making staff on maternity leave redundant. You may not be the only person who doesn't realise that, but you are in a minority. So you are WRONG and shouldn't be having a go at others for being RIGHT.

An employee on maternity leave is entitled to return to their job, or to a comparable role IF THERE IS ONE. They are entitled to first preference over remaining roles or suitable alternatives over people not on maternity leave. But it absolutely is possible to be made redundant whilst on maternity leave. And it's legal. Many employers choose to try to avoid it because it can be a bit of a legal nightmare for them, and it's easier to wait until the employee returns- the protections cease the second they return.

It therefore makes perfect sense for a company to avoid doing so. When the employee returns you can start the redundancy. And if you're "lucky" they'll not return, it they'll ask for a contractual change that you can refuse in the hope that they'll get rid of you without having to pay anything at all.

Anyone who actually is familiar with employment law knows that. You clearly aren't and don't.

You're wrong. It is perfectly legal to make someone on maternity leave redundant as the PP said (thank you). I've been a Head of Department for 20 years in an industry that makes redundancies frequently. I've gone through consultations with pregnant team members so I think I know this one.

We all know dozens of women made redundant on ML or while pregnant and while some will be outwith the law, most are not.

So much misinformation posted on this thread. And I very much doubt you're a lawyer, at least not an employment one.

I had missed that last point. The post claiming to be a lawyer is rather incomprehensible. Perhaps they are a lawyer in another country, since they clearly don't know UK law.

IKR? There are almost as many employment lawyers on this board as Middle East politics and history experts!