Return work from maternity - Is this discrimination?

[MumDaisy1980]

I returned to work since November , part time 3 days a week . My replacement meant to terminate his contract in December so there is some overlap for handover.

but for 4 weeks (not consecutive days) , I have to report sick. Just something wrong with my immune system. Got rash, then a nasty flu then family including baby ill so many sleepless night. In and out a&e often.

then plan is return to work full time 5 days a week in 2025. But in December , I found out my holiday is accrue rather than pro rata. Like got 20+ to take. And donno how many can carry over. I also thought I could carryover everything.

so when I catch up with my boss, and express that I incline to stick to the plan return full time. But because I got the accrue holiday, so I was thinking to spread out first few months so sort of continue the gradual return process.

he didn’t take it good and he tried to be nice and ended up I donno what he is talking. He kept say as much as he want to support me but in business sense I said will return full time. Moreover, he reported to the board that he doesn’t need extra resource for the new year becoz I plan to return full time (I felt like this is the main reason he is mad because he reported to the board already). Then he just throwing out thoughts said no point to ask replacement to come 1-2 days a week and it’s not worth it. Then also said I look like struggling and maybe consider return in March when the weather is better. He said base on his experience with two young kids I will continue to fell ill in Jan and Feb. (This is the point I want to ask) does it count as discrimination ?? It’s also out of my control to be sick for so long, I even said I am asking extra help from in laws so hopefully I can rest better and return to work asap.

What are your thoughts?
anyone can share their difficulty from returning to work from maternity to a 9-5job?

we settled that let’s confirm with HR how many days I eneitled and how many I can carryover and reconnect.

i also ended with in fact I am flexible I don’t have to stick to 3 work days a week first few months, can adjust depend on work demand.

You returned in November- this November? And have had four weeks (of 3 days) off sick?

Generally, usage of annual leave (regardless of any carried over or not) is with management agreement not just you telling them I'm using X amount of days to work 3 day weeks.

I'm not following all your post but he doesn't have to let you take 1-2 days holidays a week. This can be hard for a business to manage.

He can say no, take a week in spring and 2 summer weeks when the business has cover (for example).

Are you saying you have returned to a part time role but want to go full time again. Your boss says they no longer need you full time? That isn’t discrimination, you chose to return on a part time contract you can’t just decide to change back to full time.

Your return sounds quite challenging for the business to manage. You’ve been back for a little over a month and are off sick on a weekly basis. Now you want to use your annual leave to be part time for the first quarter of 2025.

No wonder your boss is stressing about how to manage the workload!

Yes

Yes agree. I was just proposing. And mainly because I have a lot of leaves and I thought company got this policy has to use up before March. So this is where I was coming from.

Yes agree he can say no.

but he wasn’t clear and somehow ask me to not come back until next March. As of use the maternity leave.

Sorry for not being clear

the plan with the company was
Nov an Dec I am doing part time 3 days a week
from Jan I am returning full time
all agreed

but in dec I found out I have too many holidays left (I thought my days are pro rata rather than accrue).

so I told my boss I would like to use up the holidays by spreading them out first few months of the year (and this is because I thought Company need to use them up by March).

but somehow he is asking me take maternity leave and don’t come back until March.

yes. I see what you mean.

however I see it as a phase given I am first time parent , a bit of a rocky start returning back.

i was not those employees always off sick.

and I don’t see it as there is a time I would know when I can return to work. It’s a new routine and take time to adapt. But seemed like there is no allowance for that.

Are you on extended maternity leave. Are you being paid?

I don’t think there is an expectation that workplaces have to make sickness allowances for first time parents. They need people who are able to work enough to fulfill business needs whether they’ve had a child or not. If they are normally fine with an employee taking 4 weeks off sick for unconnected illnesses over the course of 6 weeks of employment, then suggesting you shouldn’t be coming back to work yet does sound like maternity discrimination. But if they would normally be looking at starting down the disciplinary route (and I think a lot of employers would) with most employees who have taken as much time as you then I don’t think it’s maternity discrimination against you to be suggesting ways you could avoid triggering that action. But you might want to ask someone with legal expertise in this field as it’s a really tricky area of law (don’t suppose you’re a member of a union?).

Also, your English seems like it’s maybe not your first language so just checking you’re in the UK? As laws can be very different in different countries.

It sounds stressful, how many months old is your baby? Sorry you’ve been unwell.

Did your manager have another plan for you to use up the accrued holiday? It would make a lot of sense simply to use the holiday up the way suggested - all at once. Get fully rested. Then return full time. If you are on holiday you are on full pay so that’s a bonus!

I don’t see any discrimination here. When babies are small it is hard to avoid getting run down from exhaustion and poorly.

You know you can only take sick leave for your own illness? Not your kids or their hospital visits. I just went back full time with no sick days, struggled through. It sounds a nightmare for a boss and like you're struggling to cope so a longer mat leave isn't a bad suggestion. Didcrimination is unfavourable treatment due to a pregnancy / family, not a right to favourable treatment.

I’m really confused- do you mean that you’ve not worked at all since going back due to sickness? Or that you’ve worked a few weeks but mostly been off sick?

I do feel for your manager- there’s work that they need to trust will be done. I don’t think you can just extend maternity leave until March though- surely if you’ve returned then that’s it. I’m not an expert and happy to be corrected but I’d imagine that it would have to be unpaid parental leave, and personally I wouldn’t want to use that much of it as you never know if you’ll need it in the future.

I’m not sure if it’s discrimination, or just absence management? It’s certainly wrong for them to make assumptions about future absences based on you being a new parent. But I do also think that your rate of absence would’ve triggered an HR investigation/ some kind of action in a lot of workplaces already.

I cant work it all out but people think if they don't get what they themselves have decided they want it is discrimination, it doesn't work that way

You need to work with them. In your manager position I would have started by knowing what leave was accrued and how you planned to use it by March. My organisation lets you carry over 9 days.
Most women returning to work will use accrued leave to delay their return. Eg officially return in November but actually return in December.
Right now you’re probably due a sickness absence warning.
Not reasonable to think your cover person is endlessly flexible and can provide cover to suit you.

Typically even if your company policy says your annual leave needs to be used by March, you should be able to carry over days accrued while on maternity as part of the protection for maternity is that you won't lose out on anything while you're off. If they can't carry over the holiday they would sometimes look to pay you for the days.
It sounds like he's maybe advising as you have so much leave you take it now and start back later in the year. I work for a large company now and we have a lot of flexibility we can use but I've also worked for a smaller company where the same level of flexibility just can't be afforded as easily, but it sounds to me like he's interpreting what you're saying as you want to start back a little later. Speak with him again if you're not sure and ask what he's advising sent out by email so you have it in black and white and there's no room for crossed wires.

Your posts are a tad confusing.
If you've already returned to work (even though you're off sick) you cannot go back on maternity leave.
Are you sure this is what your boss is suggesting?
Or is he saying to use your holiday all in one lump now?

You should be happy to have a job as you have a lot of days off sick.
Start doing your job part time job well and your boss will be happy to discuss you to go full time.

There is an allowance for that it’s called maternity leave to adjust to being a new parent. You being off sick all the time isn’t you adjusting to being a new parent. He probably wants you to take maternity til March because your hardly there now and it’s difficult for a business to know if someone’s going to be there or need cover when they are being so unreliable

so when I catch up with my boss, and express that I incline to stick to the plan return full time. But because I got the accrue holiday, so I was thinking to spread out first few months so sort of continue the gradual return process.

If I was your boss I would be confused by this. You say you're sticking to the plan to return full time, but actually because of the accrued leave, you wouldn't be coming back full time.

In terms of sickness absences, it will "flag" HR if someone has frequent short absences rather than a longer single absence. So he may be thinking about that when he suggested using your leave to delay your return, so you don't trigger sickness warning thresholds over winter. He actually might be looking out for you here, so be careful before you throw the word "discrimination" around because your boss isn't just immediately agreeing to what you want.

If you are off sick again between now and March you also might not be able to use all your annual leave and if they don't allow carrying over, you might lose it, which wouldn't be in your best interests.

In reality, for businesses, planned absence is easier to cover for than unplanned, and it would be easier for them to extend your cover person's contract as it is now for Jan-March than trying to negotiate reducing their contract to 1-2 days to accommodate you taking bits of leave over 3 months. I understand you are thinking the flexibility is a good thing for them, but honestly the business is more likely to want predictability, as far as possible.

I totally get that being a new parent is hard, and all consuming. But as far as your workplace is concerned, it isn't all about you and your baby. The business needs to plan and resource the team adequately. Your cover person will have their own bills to pay and it is unlikely to work for them to do 1-2 days a week just to fill in - they probably need predictable hours and earnings too. They're not there just to facilitate your ideal return to work, they will have their own needs to look after. They need to know, do they have a job or not, and if so, how long for.

The way I see it, if you have 20 days of leave, you have two options.

1. Return full time in January but take your leave in one go so effectively you'll be off for all of January, maybe into February a bit if you've got more than 20 days.

2. Stay part time on 3 days and use your annual leave over a longer period (sounds like this is what he is suggesting) so that you return full time in March.

Do you get full pay for sick leave? If not, then burn off the unexpected holiday as sick leave/for the 2 days a week you're off this year (basically, get it paid out rather than taken)

Then next year go full time with the hope that you've already had the worst of the bugs.

He doesn’t mean for you to go back on maternity leave. That isn’t legally possible. He means use up all of your accrued annual leave now and then once it’s used up you will come back to work. Clearly the current arrangement isn’t working so it’s a sensible suggestion. You are absolutely not permitted to take sick leave if your baby is sick. Sick leave is for your sickness. If your child is sick you use up holiday.

thank you everyone