I'm due to return from mat leave soonish, but I'm really unclear what role I will be doing on my return.
There have been a lot of team changes since I went on leave but as far as I'm aware my specific role does still exist and is being fulfilled by a permanent hire. My understanding is that I have the right to return to that role if it still exists (even though my mat leave has been longer than 6m). Prior to going on leave I sought clarity on this (not because I'm unsure, I'm clear on the legal position, but because I wanted work to be conscious of this when they made the decision to make a permanent hire, and they said if they needed to they would redeploy that hire elsewhere).
I also had expressed my desire to take a step up to a more senior level, as experience-wise I'm there and they said they would let me know if suitable roles emerged. I actually applied for one such role on mat leave but the role was later withdrawn due to changing priorities on the team.
I'm now getting really near my return to work date and no clearer on what actual job I will be doing. I would love a promotion obviously, but it doesn't seem like there is a position available ATM, and I certainly would rather my original role back that sit twiddling my thumbs helping out here and there but without an official role. I will be having meetings with various senior members of my team soon and hope to get more clarity on the situation, but I would like to go in armed with how to approach this conversation.
Im really worried it will be on no one's radar to sort out what role I'm going back to and I don't want to be in a situation where upon my return to work I realise there's no role for me and I'm basically forced into demanding that they move the permanent hire somewhere so I can have my role back - if that is going to happen it would be better they start working on a suitable transition for that person now. I don't even know if that person is aware that that is a possibility for them.
How would you go about having these conversations? In the past when I've discussed career questions relating to my mat leave/return to work, no one is really sure who its on to come up with an answer.