Work colleague (currently on mat leave) is being outperformed massively by temp replacement

[Workplaceconundrum]

A potentially tricky situation has cropped up in my workplace and I'd like to ask for MN's thoughts about it. A colleague is currently on maternity leave and isn't due to return for another 8 months. A replacement has been drafted in on a temporary basis. While they have only been here for a few months, the difference in their productivity and performance (compared to the colleague on ML) has been astonishing. I myself would say it's been a night and day difference in performance between them, and I am quite certain most of the other staff would agree. I would say she is a nice enough person, but can be prone to slacking and underperforming. She basically does enough not to get sacked (just about), but doesn't exert herself compared to other staff. All of this was true even before she was pregnant, but the pregnancy made it more egregious.

Now I understand that you can't sack staff just for being pregnant, but my boss has seemingly got themselves into a pickle. They have been openly discussing with myself and others that they wouldn't mind if the mat leave colleague didn't come back. They can't get rid of her now though, as that would be an unfair dismissal case waiting to happen. What other levers could they potentially pull if they wanted to get rid of her without getting into any ethical hot water? Could they offer her voluntary redundancy? What if someone tried to gently persuade her to resign?

And second advice is don't ever become sick, injured or disabled yourself. They'll have you out on your ear before you've even realised that you're the new target for removal.

Fuck me... who needs the patriarchy when we've got women like you! 🤣

It brings to mind "tell me you dont have never given birth without telling me you have never given birth"

On the off chance this is real I have second hand embarrassment for you...

She might well be crap at her job but that doesnt remove legal rights or change the fact none of you are acting with any professionalism or integrity.

Nobody would be in this situation if they actually addressed the poor performance prior to the pregnancy.

Why was that not done?

No one has a leg to stand on other thsn the maternity leave returner.

I'm afraid I would say what sort of a company is this where an OP can even put these views anonymously on MN without realising what a gross act of misconduct it would be to either voice them at work or try to get colleagues to act on them. It's like something from the 1980s.

If you note the maternity cover has done well, just give them the next promotion going and strive to keep them in your workplace. But never ever diss a colleague, especially a colleague returning from maternity leave.

Because what we are reading about is a colleague saying the unthinkable. Just dissing someone's work style.

They can't get rid of her now though, as that would be an unfair dismissal case waiting to happen. What other levers could they potentially pull if they wanted to get rid of her without getting into any ethical hot water? Could they offer her voluntary redundancy? What if someone tried to gently persuade her to resign?

Nope, none of that. What you have to do is just sigh and put up with them when they return. Have encountered this situation many times where someone just wasn’t great at their job (yet still adequate enough not to be managed out) and the interim replacement is much better. Everyone is disappointed and pissed off when the colleague returns but it is what it is and you (resentfully) suck it up.

@Workplaceconundrumis there no capacity to take on the new person as an additional staff member? There’s no easy way to avoid taking back MML otherwise the company is open to some sort of legal claim. It should have been dealt with earlier (before she got pregnant).

Frankly, it's only hearsay that the worker is not a good worker

Oh give it a rest, why are you so invested? Does her performance actually affect you, or are you just hoping for a gold star from management? This sounds like pure office gossip “look at me, I’m the productive one, pick me daddy!” vibes.

Honestly, I’ve seen this before, everyone whispering about who “does enough” and who’s “so much better”. Spoiler: management doesn’t care about you either. They’ll throw you under the bus the second it suits them.

Talking about how to get her fired whilst she’s probably going through the most vulnerable life changing period of her life, do you get commission for grassing? Poor woman sounds like she’d be better off with a new job anyway.

This sounds like appalling treatment of the person returning from ML. Often employers prefer women to take a year so that they can second a cover for a reasonable amount of time.

Employers who do stuff like this and use HR to punish someone who gets upset for being shabbily treated are dinosaurs

This is unreal, you surely can't think this is how we should carry on in 2025.

Tough crowd in here.

You have my sympathy. I've seen this so many times before.
This is a tale as old as time.

She will come back from maternity leave, as planned.

The temp will be left go.

And it was always thus and always will be.

Why shouldn't it be? Maternity leave is a right not a privilege. If one comes across an exceptional staff member doing a maternity cover they can be found another job but ought not to be given someone else's

That is so fortunate for your workplace.
With the increase in productivity will come increases in profits and business.
The worker on Mat.L can not be sacked but your manager should use increased funds to provide more training for her when she returns to optimise her skills or find an equal but different role for her. She might love the opportunity to change her hours or responsibilities to better suit her new role as parent.
Keep them both and expand the business.

I’ve actually only just read your second post after my original reply and wish I’d been harsher. Why are you referring to her as “miss maternity leaver” in such a bitchy fashion? Who needs the patriarchy when we have women like you.

After you’d all finished gossiping about her over lunch, did you decide whether a frog or a toad would go better in your little office cauldron?

All that brown-nosing and shit-stirring won’t make you indispensable, just insufferable. Spend some time with your family and touch some grass.

There was more to it but it would be outing to detail the appaling conduct of this employee upon her return. Unfortunately if you take sick leave, ML, a sabbatical or even just your two weeks annual holiday you always do so knowing someone else will step into your role and there is a chance that they may either perform poorly giving you a headache upon your return or that they will expose the fact that you’ve been slacking.

This sounds like a job culture issue to me, you said she’s doing enough to not be sacked which sounds to me like other staff are going above and beyond in there roles.
unfortunately in most workplace teams their are staff who do not pull as much weight as others and staff who go above and beyond there role, everyone works differently.

i would also be concerned that if your
manager is discussing this with the team then there is potential for them to also discuss you in an unprofessional manner

this could also be extremely detrimental for your colleagues mental health, you don’t know what her pregnancy was like (this could have impacted her performance)
I had a tough pregnancy and massively underperformed during this, managers and staff were aware and helped to pick me up whenever needed.
i would have been devastated to find out my manager had discussed me and hoped I didn’t return.
having a baby knocks so much confidence from you in regards to the workplace.
you sound incredibly cruel in your later posts referring to her as miss maternity leaver

it sounds like you need to have a quiet word with yourself and if this is how you carry on when she returns your all going to be in HR for bullying

I'm the poster who's line manager made that remark on return from mat leave. I was NOT advertising that as an appropriate way to behave, I thought that was fairly obvious. My ex line manager got pulled up very hard by HR for that comment and was gone 6 months later for various other reasons, but that incident certainly didn't help her case.

You seem so adamant you're in the right, there is likely very little point arguing with you. You're also very much coming across that you think she deserves to be pushed out because she chose to have a baby, calling her "Miss Maternity Leaver" as if she's some naughty little girl rather than a grown woman doing a job. How old are you?!

God help you if YOU ever need a totally legal leave of absence and everyone starts slagging you off and publicly discussing ways they can ensure you don't come back.

This is the strangest view I've ever heard expressed. You cannot seriously think it's ok to hold this up as a way to approach the workplace in 2025

If the new temp is so fab is she actually possibly under employed? Is there a chance she sees this as a stop gap to something better and only wants to cover the maternity leave? Additionally isn’t there a strong chance the woman on maternity may not want to come back or come back full time? In which case surely the firm can just say part time doesn’t work for the role?

You seem to have a very rose-tinted view of how staff in a lot of workplaces behave. My experience after 40 years of work is that skulduggery, gossiping and staff criticising other staff behind their backs are all common occurrences.

It isn't the 80s or 90s now and idle gossip is as off the menu as well as disrespectful conduct in relation to those on maternity leave. People do cross lines at times and official warnings have been given for less.

I have an update to share with you all regarding this matter. My boss has seemingly realised they can't just get rid of the mat leaver as it would amount to unfair dismissal, despite mat leaver's lacklustre performance (which pre-dates the pregnancy as already mentioned). She has been having informal chats with other staff including myself. Her current position is that she wants to offer a role with reduced responsibilities to mat leaver when she returns. She is also talking about trying to create a new role for the high-performing temp so that she stays in the long term.

As other PP have mentioned, employers are under no obligation to offer the exact same role to staff returning from mat leave. If she simply gets offered a similar role with fewer responsibilities, then there is no case to answer for unfair constructive dismissal. If mat leaver declines to accept the reduced role however, that could throw a major spanner in the works. I'm expecting that's exactly what will happen, honestly.

I would absolutely love to see the HR adviser’s face when your boss presents this wizard wheeze to them.

Wouldn't a role with reduced responsibilities also involve a lower salary? is that lawful? (and would anyone want it even if so?).