Job been given away whilst on maternity leave

[Freddiebob]

I’m a general manager for a restaurant chain and I went on maternity leave 3 months ago. I have just seen via the company facebook group that the holding manager they got in to cover my maternity has been promoted to the permanent gm of my site. My question is where does that leave me once I return to work- nobody has informed me officially that my job has been given to somebody else. Searching the internet it says that they can give my job away however on my return will have to offer me back my same job role or equivalent. However if all the restaurants in my area have managers where would that leave me? Just a tad confused as to what to do/make of the situation

Try pregnant then screwed and maternity action for individual advice. Sorry this happened to you too. I was able to negotiate an alternative position by threatening legal action backed by maternity action.

After how long are you planning on returning?

@Shabba2025 just the standard 9 months

Call Maternity Action on Monday morning

Make sure you screenshot the evidence. Check your home insurance to see if you have legal cover. If you do ask them to pay for a solicitor.

Working families UK are also a great free resource for legal advice. I was made redundant 6 months ago while on mat leave and they were great with me.

Sorry OP but you are right they can legally appoint someone else into your role and it no longer is “your role” after I believe 6 months. As you have also said they need to offer you the same or more senior position in the company as per your contract. What you don’t know is that another manger in the area may be leaving or moving and the domino’s may have started so please don’t jump to conclusions about what they have done without speaking to then first.

Being on mat leave is protected in some aspects but you can still be made redundant for example so as long as you aren’t being prejudiced against because of it. You also aren’t guaranteed your old job back and it sounds like the business has moved on and will reassign you upon your return as your role isn’t being made redundant.

What I think would be good is to take screenshots of the Facebook post and send a note to HR and ask then what is happening. I would also suggest that this was an unfortunate way to find out and had expected the right processes to be followed and not find out on Facebook.

Good luck.

I think it's within 6 months you have to have your job back but after 6 months it's a job.

Yep, after 6 months is just an equivalent job so they can give you another site

However if all the restaurants in my area have managers where would that leave me?

You’re returning 6 months from now? A lot can change in that time, managers leave etc., but be prepared just before your return with legal advice, just in case. Try not to worry and enjoy every minute your maternity leave with your little one x

Legally you have to return within 26 weeks to get your previous role back.

Thankyou everyone, think I’m just more worried about if there aren’t any vacancies for my role at other sites. It just really stressed me out seeing that I’d already been replaced 🤣

I would contact HR reiterating that you will be returning full time so your job will need to be open for you.

Is it a chain where there is a lot of turnover so another site might have a managerial vacancy then?

@Ellmau the chain I work for has lots of sites across the country- the area my area manager covers has multiple sites across the region. Turn over in my local restaurants is really rare, if they were to offer me a vacancy further away it wouldn’t be feasible for me to travel everyday

Are you doing any keep in touch days or calls? I would ask them about it there? Could be that the person is on a temp basis or there is some other explanation. But I would also look at specialist advice from Maternity Action.

What are my rights on return from additional maternity leave (AML)?

AML covers any part of the second 26 weeks of maternity leave. If you return to work during or at the end of AML (more than 26 weeks’ maternity leave) you are still entitled to return to exactly the same job on the same terms and conditions as you were doing immediately before your maternity leave. However, if your employer can show that it is not reasonably practicable for you to return to the same job, you are entitled to be offered a suitable alternative job on similar terms and conditions.

Your employer must be able to show that it is not reasonably practicable for you to return to your old job – this is unlikely to be the case, for example, if your maternity cover is still doing your job. This may be where there has been a reorganisation or other business-related reasons why jobs have changed. It may be maternity discrimination if your role has been demoted or changed, your responsibilities have been given to your colleagues, or your maternity cover has been kept in your role and you have been disadvantaged because of your maternity leave.

If there has been a reduction in work there may be a redundancy situation and your employer must consider a fair redundancy process. If your role is at risk of redundancy during your maternity leave, you are entitled to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy (if one is available). If your maternity leave ends after 6 April 2024, you are entitled to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy (if there is one), if your job is at risk of redundancy at any time from 18 weeks from the expected week of childbirth or date of birth if you have notified your employer.
You may have a claim for automatic unfair dismissal if you are made redundant and there was a suitable alternative vacancy and your employer did not offer it to you.

They have to have a valid reason for not offering your old job back and giving it to someone else doesn't seem to be a good enough reason according to ACAS as well.

They've taken more than 26 weeks' maternity leave

They have the right to return to the same job unless you have a genuine reason to offer them an alternative.

This right applies even if someone else is doing that person's job well while they're on maternity leave.

If there's no alternative but to offer them a different job, the job must be suitable, appropriate and on the same terms. For example, it must have the same:

• pay
• benefits
• holiday leave and pay
• location
• seniority

I'd call your area manager first thing Monday morning.

Is this not just maternity cover?

Could just be secondment?

This thread is a mixture of correct and incorrect advice.

If take 6 months maternity leave or less, they must give you your old job back. After that, they can offer you a suitable alternative, but only if changes to the organisation mean your original job is not available. If your job still exists, they have to allow you to return to it even if they have given it to someone else. In this case, it is clear that your job still exists. The only question is whether your job is manager of a specific restaurant or just manager of a restaurant, with your employer having the right to redeploy you to another restaurant. If your job is manager of a specific restaurant, they will have to either sack the new manager or move them elsewhere when you return (unless they want to try having two managers for one restaurant!).

If they refuse to give you your old job back, you will have a clear claim for maternity discrimination and unfair dismissal.

It clearly was, but the announcement that this person is now the permanent manager of the site suggests things have moved on from that.