Flexible working request potentially being denied?

[Daisywillow17]

Hey all,

I am currently in maternity leave and had a meeting with my bosses today. I have requested to work 2 days instead of 5. They’ve told me since being away from work the business has plummeted and there is no longer work for me. They obviously can’t make me redundant because I’m protected by the maternity leave.

they have said they’ll reject my flexible working request because there is not enough work. Which means I have to go back full time because that’s what I was on before I left for maternity. They know I don’t want full time because I now have a baby to care for, essentially pushing me out.

my question is, can they decline my flexible working request because there’s not enough work? Which seems silly as it means I’ll have to go back full time?!

I would contact ACAS and also Pregnantthenscrewed to get advice. It sounds as if they will make you redundant in any case. I think you need specialist advice. Good luck.

They can decline a flexible working request if it doesn't meet the needs of the business.
They are unwise to give you the reason that there is not enough work as that is at odds with the messaging as actually reducing your hours meets the business need.

They can however make your role redundant while on mat leave. But they cannot make your role redundant because you are on mat leave. As long as they have a business justification for redundancy that is not related to your mat leave then it's not discrimination.

It does seem silly but yes they can decline it. It would then be up to you to prove that their refusual was unreasonable to a tribunal. I think you know exactly why they have refused it though - if you have to come back 5 days you might quit. That's their cheapest option.

They obviously can’t make me redundant because I’m protected by the maternity leave.
That is a myth. It is harder to make somebody redundant on maternity leave, but if your role is genuinely redundant and there is no alternative, thgen of course they could make you redundant. I suspect they haven't because they are expecting you to save them the trouble. The other thing is that the redundancy "protection" runs out the minute you go back. You might want to think about that too, because any redundancy would be calculated on the reduced pay of two days (if that is what they agreed to).

There are certain grounds for refusing flexible working and saying ‘it doesn’t meet the needs of the business’ is a bit of a catch all

they can refuse yr request, as it’s a request, it’s not an automatic requirement.
Does the business have scope to survive? Is there other roles you could do?
have you asked them about future plans and options?

I agree get specialist advice,

If they’re planning a restructure and the potential redundancy of your role then yes, they can decline the request for the statutory reason of “planned structural changes”.

They can lawfully make you redundant on mat leave, as PPs have said - but you would have the right to be placed automatically into any suitable alternative roles at the point you’re notified the role you’re doing is redundant.

I suppose it wouldn’t look great to accept the request and then almost immediately place you at risk of redundancy, as it would look like they were trying to circumvent redundancy pay…

Echoing its down to needs of the business
there’s a process to follow but you can still be made redundant

The other thing is that the redundancy "protection" runs out the minute you go back. You might want to think about that too, because any redundancy would be calculated on the reduced pay of two days (if that is what they agreed to)

This ^

I'd stay full time assuming they would make me redundant as soon as I go back to work

I’m stuck my work has decided to put me on two days until 5.30 my daughter finish’s nursery at 5.30 how do I tell work I can’t do till 5.30