Returning from maternity, altered role

[ARealFake]

I don't know where I stand with this, I don't want to rock the boat as I love my job but I'm not going back to the exact same role.

I'm returning from a year's maternity leave next year and I've dropped my hours by one day. I work as a Personal Assistant, my contract says PA to XXX so a specific person. Because of the drop in hours I've been told I cannot go back to the same role, I will be in the same team, the same line manager, the same everything but I will be PA to someone else, I'm not happy about this as have a great relationship with the person I PA to but they want someone full time.

Would you say nothing and see how it goes? My maternity cover is now going to do my job full time, I feel really upset by this.

Your contract may well say PA to XXX, but it also says full time.

You've requested a change to your contracted hours, which means you can't do the original job so that needs to change too. They haven't turned around and said no, you must return full time due to business needs, they're offering you an alternative so you can do what you've requested. They haven't shunted you to employ your cover over you, if you were willing to return to your contracted hours you'd be in the same job.

Kindly, they haven't done anything wrong. They have accommodated your request. The person you used to PA for needs a full time PA, you are no longer full time. You need to either go back full time to your old job or graciously do the job they have arranged for you to do so they can accommodate your request.

The bit you are misunderstanding is that you have been off for more than 6 months

This means that they don’t have to keep you me original job open, regardless of what your contract says. They do have to offer you an alternative but you are not entitled to the same role back at this point

Yes I think it's a case of either going back full time or working for the new person for four days and hoping you enjoy it. I understand it would have been easier to return to working for someone you know well, rather than having to build a rapport with someone new and learn a ton of new things in an area you aren't particularly interested in.

Just bear in mind that your old boss is requesting to have a full time PA rather than saying they want ARealFake back and will make do with cover for the fifth day so that is their choice, and however good the rapport unfortunately they don't normally care who does the work for them.

I wouldn't recommend the three full and two half days as you will end up doing a full time job with full time childcare costs for 80% of the pay.

I believe OP should be given her original job back even after more than 26 weeks unless there has been a business change

So if she didn’t want a change of days, I think she would get the “pa to CEO” back rather than “pa to COO” even if more than 26 weeks.

There are 2 things happening.

1. you're returning from maternity leave. You have the option of returning to the same role

2. you've made a flexible working request. You've been told you can change your hours, but you would have to change your role slightly.

The flexible working request just happens to be at the same time as the return from leave - it would be the same if you'd made the same request without having been on leave, so there's no maternity discrimination

Yes definitely - the only reason OP isn't getting her old job back is because the "CEO" is now used to his full time maternity cover and isn't fighting to get the OP back for the four days she is returning. This is no reflection of the OP's skills but just the fact that bosses rarely care who does the work for them as long as it's done. HR are just following the CEO's request.

Isn't what happened to you illegal??

No. Op’s job is changing because of her drop in hours, not because she has returned from mat leave. They are just happening at the same time.

I asked about reducing my hours and was told I could only do it a certain amount or my job could not be completed on time and I would be offered an alternative role. Op’s manager needs a full time PA.

I meant to quote @Mindymomo, sorry.

Hell yes

It is incredibly difficult to get a good (well paid I mean) job on 4 days a week basis. You will be at an advantage here because you already know the job and company just not this particular dept/person. So you will be able to perform well on less energy - DC are exhausting. And when you inevitably take time off or WFH due to DC illness you have a store of goodwill to draw on. (Though make sure DH does half of that..!) So don't be hasty to bin it when things get rough, inevitably they will, stick with it and think of the long term financial benefits..

I don’t see anything illegal in Mindymomo’s case. Her role was made redundancy as director retired, she was offered an alternative, she didn’t want it, she was made redundant. All see legal to me.

@OneMoreTime23 it's what I did. Two half days in nursery, instead of one full day, so not much difference in cost. Childminders might not want to do half days, but every nursery I have ever seen does.

@Aprilx You are right, it was all legal as my job wasn’t replaced by anyone. It just shows how employers can get around the law by changing roles.

Well I don’t even see any “getting around the law”. The director you worked for retired, so your role was not required any more and was a legitimate redundancy. They also fulfilled their legal duty to try to find an alternative.

I'm back, I've had time to think on this and wondered if anyone has any insight, I wasn't consulted about this change, if I was told I could stay supporting the same CXX but I would have to return full time then the choice would have been mine to make, I wasn't consulted or asked if I wanted to stick with part time as previously discussed. Do I have a leg to stand on if I discuss this with management?

I should add, I have found out that it wasn't CXX who I previously supported that said they wanted someone full time, but my maternity cover and my immediate line manager thought it would be best as they are very busy. The decision was made on that basis by line manager - who does get to decide these things.

The problem you have is that when you take 26 weeks you’re entitled to the same job. If you take 52 you aren’t entitled to the same job, just similar.

You are essentially doing the same job, just with a different person. Your old boss needs someone full time and you didn’t want to return full time. They haven’t made an exception for you and that hurts.
Ultimately- “needs of the business” always wins. Try not to take it personally.
You still have a job and they have found an alternative to work around your needs.

you never know it might work out great!

That's my issue though, I may have returned full time had I of known I would be supporting someone else, I wasn't consulted

Sorry Op i think you have to let this go.

The company also needs to be seen to be supporting working parents in that they allow flexible working, which you asked for.

It doesn’t matter who made the decision, it sounds like it’s for the same reason - they need someone full time. Women often go back part time, so I doubt they would consider you’d still be willing to go back full time when you ASKED to go back part time.

Would going back full time be right for you and your family? You clearly made the initial decison to go back part time for a reason.

You seem to be quite attached to the one CXX. In my career experience, these high-level positions seem to have a high turnover, you’d have no guarantee they’d stick around anyway.

Pretty much everyone I know in an office environment has come back to a change of job after mat leave. This has happened to me twice, and I’ve given a made-up job title on both birth certificates.

Also please take into account what PPs are saying. Regardless of hours, you taking a year off means the company is not obliged to keep you in the exact same role.

Hi. Legally if you take more than 26 weeks mat leave then your employer does not have to give you the same job back on your return, even if your working hours remain the same. The business has to offer you a similar job at the same level with the same pay. A PA to YYY sounds like a similar job as a PA to XXX so they have fulfilled their obligation. Even if you had wanted to return full time then they could still have asked you to do this alternative role as you have had more than 26 weeks mat leave.

I also think you have to let this go- don’t obsess over it/ keep bringing it up- you’ll just give them a reason to label you as trouble. I was in a similar position and I do understand how you feel, it’s horrible coming back to something new when you loved your old job- and for me this was a big part of my ‘pre-baby’ identity.

Ultimately I don’t regret it, I wouldn’t swap the time I had with DC and have now moved jobs a couple of times to businesses who are a bit more accommodating.