Fixed-term NHS HR maternity cover: grievance grounds after losing internal role?

[Liljay]

Really need help in understanding if I've got grounds here to raise a grievance against my current employer.

Context: I took a fixed term contract to cover maternity leave (HR role in the NHS) in November 2024. Fast forward a few months and I (unexpectedly) ended up pregnant myself with DC2. All fine, contract extended until September 2026 to cover my maternity leave however obviously I don't have a job to return to and it doesn't qualify as redundancy situ because it was specifically a fixed term contract covering mat leave. I commenced my mat leave in Sept 2025.

Fast forward to February 2026, I am 5 months into mat leave, the original person I was covering returned in January and someone else doing the exact same job I was covering (banding, responsibilities etc) is leaving. Vacancy advertised internally and I applied.

I've just had the interview this week and have been told I came second to a person in the team who is currently seconded to this role from a Band 5 (covering another mat leave). As a 'consolation' prize they have essentially offered me the end of her secondment until January 2027...

There was no consideration given at interview for the fact I'm on mat leave (even asked a question on current employment law changes which I've obviously not been practicing on an operational level for 6 months) and going up against an internal candidate who is currently doing the role on a secondment basis.

I am particularly annoyed as before I went on mat leave, I asked several times if (to give me some job security) if I could return after my mat leave to cover the position they offered to this other candidate as a secondment position and was never given the opportunity.

Do I have a case here? This is the role I was employed to cover on a fixed term basis and the only difference I can see is the fact my maternity leave has taken me out of the business and I've then likely scored lower than the secondee at interview.

I can’t believe they extended your contract to give you more mat leave.

They extended it to September 2026 to give me my 1 years mat leave entitlement - not more mat leave.

I think they've been more than reasonable in offering you something else.
You were employed in a FTC and they didn't owe you an obligation to give you "more" job security by offering you other roles before you left. You got to apply for the job amd you did the interview and didn't perform as well as the other candidate. You absolutely must be aware that thwy will have asked all candidates the same questions (as this is the way in the NHS) so they cant ask you different questions because you are on mat leave. They asked the questions they needed to for the role.

Side note, I feel for this team budget as they were paying the original employee for mat leave, paying you for mat leave and then presumably paying someone to do the job.

I think you’d be hard pushed to argue the grievance. You were entitled to the contract extension for the maternity leave but I don’t think beyond that you have much argument.

I suggest you talk to Pregnant then Screwed. They know their stuff.

My knowledge on this isn't great but I am not sure all of the advice given so far reflects recent changes to the law to protect women returning from mat leave (although it wasn't unreasonable of them to ask you about those changes in the interview).

Which aspect of this are you considering raising a grievance over?

Is it the interview questions? Do you think yours should have been easier?

Not really sure how you’re working IN HR and think there’s a grievance here??

I can't see any way you have a grievance. I interviewed for a job this week and they asked me about changes to the policy/law of the sector the job is in, it's a former career I'm hoping to return to but haven't worked in in over a decade, they rightfully expect me to keep up to date if I'm going for interviews in that role. They actually sound incredibly reasonable to have offered you a different role, take it, show willing and hopefully something else will come up before that runs out.

Oh love, this does smell off and I think you've got grounds to at least raise questions formally. A few things stand out. First, being asked about current employment law changes when you've been on mat leave for six months could be indirect discrimination as it disadvantages you specifically because of your protected leave. Second, the fact you asked multiple times before mat leave to cover that secondment for job security and were refused, yet they gave it to someone else who then had the advantage at interview, shows a pattern worth highlighting. Third, offering you her leftover secondment scraps as a consolation feels like they know they've not treated you fairly.
I'd put in a formal grievance focusing on whether reasonable adjustments were made at interview to account for your mat leave, why you were refused the secondment opportunity you requested before leaving, and whether the process was fair given the successful candidate was already embedded in the role. The NHS has clear policies on this and being an HR person yourself you'll know how to frame it.
Contact your union rep today and get their input before you respond to the secondment offer. You might also want to keep notes on everything using something like workproof.me to document the timeline properly. This isn't you being difficult, it's you being treated worse because you had a baby, and that's not okay.