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Original poster

Work dilemmas - advice needed!

13 replies

jgeorge · 30/04/2008 20:19

I went back to work three months ago FT putting DS into nursery... only to discover that a long term but temporary promotion I had had been given to the person from my team that covered my role while on mat leave and my salary was cut by £5K. Its been fairly humiliating so I've been job hunting and now have an offer with another company. My worry is that they won't take into account my childcare needs and I'll end up in a worse situation than the current one, working late and not seeing DS. HELP!!!

OP posts:
TallulahToo · 30/04/2008 23:05

Don't worry jgeorge. Keep looking and have a few thoughtfully worded questions ready for them at interview. ANY half decent employer would probably be better than this one. What they have done doesn't sound all that ethical or even legal. Keep searching for the right employer - that't the one that deserves you. If you'd had the promotion then you def have skills to sell.

Hope it works out for you.

Cosette · 30/04/2008 23:13

how long were you off on maternity leave? I'm no expert but it does sound like you may have been discriminated against because you were off on maternity leave.

You need flowery if she's around - or you could try posting on the Employment thread...

flowerybeanbag · 01/05/2008 10:44

jgeorge what do you want to do? Do you want to consider pursuing the problem with your current employer and potentially staying there? Or do you want to take up the offer with the new employer and see what you can sort out in terms of your childcare needs?

I ask rather than doling out huge paragraphs of advice about one or the other or both which might be unnecessary!

Original poster
jgeorge · 01/05/2008 12:10

Thank you so much for support and advice - really appreciated. My current employer really should know better (big institution that writes the rules on these things...). I was on Mat leave for 7 months.

I think I want to find a good arrangement with the new employer. I can't see anything positive coming out of my current situation - so any advice on what I should ask would be REALLY appreciated. I'm seeing them on Weds.

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flowerybeanbag · 01/05/2008 16:14

OK then. What are your childcare needs? You say you are working full time, so what kind of flexibility do you actually need your new employer to take into account?

elkiedee · 01/05/2008 23:18

Hi jgeorge, sorry to hear that your employer has been really crap. Much the same has happened to another woman on my postnatal thread (April 2007) - a guy she trained up is now her boss. It sounds like the new job is the way forward, but you do need to explore the flexibility before you commit yourself - I'm assuming you've not handed in your notice yet.

When you say flexibility, would you prefer days off - less than 5 days a week - or to have some chance to see your dd every day? Would there be possibilities in the new job to leave early or at a set time but to do a little more work later on? I know compressed hours is popular where I work - 5 days hours over a 4 day week, usually, but it wouldn't do for me as I think it would be unsatisfactory at work and I wouldn't get to see DS 4 days a week.

Original poster
jgeorge · 03/05/2008 20:54

At the moment I leave work at 4.30pm every day to get to the nursery in time. I understand the hours for the new job would be 9-6pm. I know there are nurseries that stay open later but I haven't found one I can afford! I'm also concerned that I'd never see my DD!!

OP posts:
Judy1234 · 03/05/2008 21:00

Then offer them that. May be the father could take your daughter in the mornigns and you start early to make up or you dont'; have a lunch break or agree to work a bit from home when you get back home in the eveings.

Original poster
jgeorge · 03/05/2008 21:19

No - I've not handed in my notice and I'm waiting until Weds to start talking to them about terms and flexibility. I've already asked them if they would consider 4 days (my ideal) and they visibly recoiled at the suggestion... I suppose I'm feeling a bit short on confidence and I've never been very good at negotiating.

Lovely to hear from you elkidee - I hope you and DS are both well (and happy first birthday!)

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Original poster
jgeorge · 03/05/2008 21:20

Thanks Xenia - all good suggestions and I should offer them as solutions. I imagine that if they want me enough, they'll bend a bit.

OP posts:
flowerybeanbag · 04/05/2008 16:02

Hope you get something sorted jgeorge. If you've asked about 4 days and that was a no, then offering one of Xenia's solutions as a compromise might sound a lot better to them.

elkiedee · 12/05/2008 21:53

How did the discussion last week go?

BradfordMum · 13/05/2008 10:12

Have you considered a childminder? They tend to be more flexible and offer longer hours. I used to childmind for a female bus driver, and she went back to work but did shifts between 7am and 8pm only. It was hard work for me, but I had a lovely relationship with J and it worked well for us. Just a thought.

Sally x

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