Return to Office policy will make it impossible for me to work!

[SamSam786R]

I started my job four years ago under a hybrid policy, although my contract stated it was 9-5, Mon-Fri. In these four years I have managed to work from home and office with a degree of flexibility. After I got pregnant with my third child and returned from mat leave in April 2025 things changed drastically. They tried to remove all flexibilty that I had (rigid 9-5 working hours when I had worked reduced hours in the office and made the time up in the evenings). I've subjected to nasty comments like 'You have baby brain' and 'your performance has suffered since you got pregnant'. Now I must juggle two pick ups (kids and nursery) the school doesnt offer afterschool provision and I cannot move them. My child is settled in nursery but the 9-5 hours wont allow me to pick him up on time - I'm alrrady stressed and sick at the thought of being late to pick up and work. For me to return to the office five days is impossible and extra nursery days and hours plus additonal travel would put me at a loss of ~£600. Going part time would also leave me at a loss because I'd still be paying the same in bills and childcare costs. I feel like I have no choice but to leave once this policy comes into action but there are male colleagues of mine who are: able to work one day a week due to relocations, have manged to negotiate late starts so they can go to the gym, not to mention our HR person (also male) comes into work after me most days and does not even come inot the office regularly himself. I feel like they are pushing me out. Please note my manager is based abroad and I work in comms - similar roles I have done fully remote. This was along the lines of what they emailed us: "Over the past five years the business has operated a discretionary hybrid working trial. This trial was a temporary, non-contractual arrangement and Following a comprehensive review of our operational needs and performance targets, the business has made the strategic decision to formally conclude this trial."

Comms is corporate communications. I’ve had similar roles working remotely for internationally based managers/orgs and travelling as needed. Since my kids have been older primary age I’ve had them in the house with me, no problem.
But these are forward-looking companies where men are trained not to talk over women in meetings or use sexist language. I have always delivered above and beyond and never worked 9-5 (more like 8-6.30 in my last role, and 8.30am - 11.30pm in the one before that!)

Legally, you are wrong. Employers are expected to make reasonable accommodations for women with childcare responsibilities or this can be deemed indirect sex discrimination. Do you need me to explain further and point to some tribunal cases where it has been ruled to be the case?

The unreasonableness comes from allowing flexibility to others and not to OP.

Yes I’d like to see that

I agree that some WFH should be possible and am a big supporter of it. Just because I’m not 100% supportive of any request anyone makes, doesn’t mean I’m anti-WFH. It’s critical for my work-life balance too, and if I went back to 5 days… I’d be looking for a different job.

I agree it’s frustrating if the current set up seems to be working and an extra day in the office (eg 4 from 3) feels unnecessary. But the OP isn’t about that - it’s about flexibility all of the time, which is far more difficult operationally (and - there is some suggestion working hours are being used for childcare).

A problem several people are describing here however is a good case in point - you’ve moved somewhere that is unrealistically far away from your job, and this is difficult to sustain if both parents need to commute. We weighed up moving out of London for a better house etc - but have opted not to as I don’t think the commuting is sustainable with having a young family.

The issue here is with your use of the term “reasonable adjustments”, which is a legally defined term that only applies to those with a disability. There is no right to reasonable adjustments for childcare issues. However, as others have said, you can make a flexible working request which the employer can only reject on certain specified grounds.

In addition to the case linked up thread, have a look at Rohan vs Orban Designs and Davies vs Active 8 Managed Technologies. Both cases where the tribunal ruled it was indirect sex discrimination to refuse to amend hours for childcare and in the case of Rohan this included working from home in the evenings.

If they’re enforcing Monday - Friday, 9-5 and office and you can’t work that then you’ll need to submit a formal flexible working request and likely demonstrate that the business need can be met.

You don't automatically have the right to the same full time job as male childless colleagues if you don’t have the same availability to work as they do. What you are entitled to is the same flexibility as they get. If your flexibility is being removed but it isn’t for others then that’s a very different matter to if it’s being removed for everyone.

If your arrangement is working as well as you think it is it should be relatively straightforward for you to demonstrate that it meets business needs in a formal
flexible working request and therefore will be difficult to refuse.

When you make that request, keep in mind what’s relevant and what isnt. Your childcare costs aren’t particularly relevant to the request. Flexibility in hours and location to meet the global interaction needs of your role is.

Ok, let’s call it “accommodations” then.

In indirect sex discrimination the duty of the employer goes beyond rejecting on specific grounds, they must prove that rejection of the flexible working request is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

You are right but, as above, there is no duty to make reasonable adjustments for childcare reasons. What you are talking about is the employer‘s refusal to agree a flexible working request, which refusal was found to be indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of sex.

I work in a junior position where part of my job is to arrange meetings. We're supposed to work 9-5 but many colleagues, male and female, working from home, do a school run and openly state this in their outlook calendars. Trying to arrange a 2 hour on-line board meeting between 1:30 and 5 has become almost impossible. None of these people would say their productivity is affected, but it absolutely does affect the running of the organisation when people are unavailable right in the middle of the afternoon.

Flexible working not reasonable adjustments. So I was right 🙂

Your employer doesn’t have to work around your children. You have to arrange childcare to meet your employment.

You’re not right, you’re being pedantic over terms because your confident assertion has been proven incorrect 🙄.

See upthread where this has been clearly explained.

OP, are they enforcing 9-5 in the office 5 days a week or is there still some element of hybrid permitted?

Does your partner share any drop offs and pick ups and if not is it possible for him to ask for flexibility too so you can share this?

With primary school aged kids, having childcare during working hours is necessary - flexibility in allowing you to use lunch brrak to do a pick up at 3 is one thing but you shouldn't be working while looking after kids. If working later in the evening (after a few hours off for pick up and childcare) is gebuinely beneficial for the organisation due to overseas colleagues in different time zones then this is something to make a big deal of in a flexible work request

If your colleagues are all in the UK then working 7-9 in the evening and not 3-5 isn't "exactly the same" because it means all meetings have to be slotted into reduced hours, less collaboration, more waiting on responses.

Yes you should be able to work full-time and earn full-time, but to think that's possible without childcare or a partner sharing the childcare isn't really possible.

Er yes, so adjustments/accommodations for childcare no?

There are two separate issues, location and hours worked and you need to put in a formal flexible working request setting out both.

1. To work from home on x days a week, rather than the office.

1. On working from home days to do 9-3 hours and then 8-10 pm in evening. That is what it sounds like you are doing now. So you need to put in writing the hours you are working. And you can't day that you are working whilst the children are home and awake unless another adult is looking after them because they are too young to be unsupervised.

It's the later that would be difficult for lots of workplaces so you need to explain how there is no negative impact on the business. Eg is it a job where you don't have many meetings and work is done independently easier to then say you can work when no one else is.

The alternative is to reduce hours so you only work 9-3 each day

The case here is related to the employer not being able to give a proper reason to refuse her flexible working request. They could not provide evidence it would negatively affect the business.

It is not evidence that employers have to accommodate any childcare needs of their employees, the length of her commute is merely relevant to the nursery closing at 6, which was at the same time she was expected to work until.

Employees can request flexible working, employers can accept or refuse that based on individual business need.

OP’s situation sounds a lot more complex than the lady in your example.

But your references state flexible working. Nothing about reasonable adjustments. Please point me to the law where it states otherwise

One issue can be that nobody else is around. So the ability to discuss, debate or respond to queries etc is slower or non existent. The phone rings but nobody is there.
As a result everything takes longer to complete.

I have taken a £600 a month pay cut to change to 9-3 hours

I don't really think you can work effectively with 3 kids from 3-5 and let's be honest you can't make up that time when everyone sleeps? Part time OP, you will be better for it.

No, the right to reasonable adjustments is a legally defined term that applies only to those with a disability. Everyone else can make a flexible working request. The use of the terms “adjustments” and “accommodations” tends to be restricted to disability cases to avoid confusion. Any employee can make a flexible working request, for any reason (it used to be restricted to those with caring responsibilities) and an employer can only turn it down on one of the legally specified grounds. Where a female employee is making the request for childcare reasons, there is the possibility of an indirect sex discrimination claim if the request is turned down so the employer has to be especially careful that it is able to justify the refusal. If it can’t, as you’ve said, employees will win at Tribunal.

@SamSam786R you do have the right to work full time and earn as much as male childless colleagues. However, you have chosen to have three children. So your employer has the right to expect you make suitable arrangements for those children to enable you to fulfil your contractual requirements. Flexible working arrangements are concessionary depending on the needs of the business, which can change.
You feel you're being pushed out despite positive performance. If that really is the case could it be an attitude problem? You do come across as entitled and wanting it all ways.
'You can't have the penny and the bun'.

Where is your partner/husband in all of this?