Please advise - can they get rid of me?

[Gateau]

I went back to work a a year's mat leave in March - three days a week and on a 3-month trial basis.
After the 3 months was up, I asked my mgr if I was coming into work the next week (in other words, was I being kept on?). She said yes, I would be copming in the following week and that she would wait to speak to a director to get my contract formally drawn up.
Since then, we have been informed the project I have been helping a colleague to work on is to finish in March. No mention has been made of my contract, nor will she tell me (I have asked twice) how many annual leave days I am entitled to.
What I am worried about is, can they get rid of me? Or what, if any, are my rights?
It would really madden me if they could/did bin me, because I have been the longest standing member of the team. They took on the latest member on a full-time basis just a month ago to work on her own two projects and they also have freelancers working for the team.
Please advise, if possible!

You have your full entitlement service wise - i.e your employment started on your original start date not when you returned PT.

TBH I would drop the issue of the trial period as it only highlights the fact to them! Do you have an HR dept you can ask about your contract and Holiday entitlement? If not write to your Manager asking for it to be sorted out asap. Obviously keep a copy.

As for if they can get rid of you - well anyone can be made redundant if there is a good enough business reason, if they are recruiting atm I would say they would find it hard to prove there is no job for you.

HTH

Gateau was the 3 month period a trial for different hours - a trial for the 3-day-a-week arrangement?

Why did you think you might not be 'kept on', had there been discussions about possibly making you redundant?

How long have you been employed there, including your maternity leave?

You mention a project you've been working on coming to an end in a few months - was this what you were working on before your maternity leave? If not, what has happened to the job you were doing beforehand?

If you were still on maternity leave you would have a bit of extra protection against redundancy. As you are now back, as callme says, you can be made redundant like anyone else. If you are, you should be given the opportunity to move into another suitable job if there is one available at the time.

Have a look here about holiday entitlement. You should have continued to accrue holiday during your maternity leave as well, see here all about maternity leave, there's a section on holiday and maternity leave.

Sorry for all the questions but a bit more information would be useful.

Thanks both.
I have been employed with the company since March 2005 and was on a trial period after mat leave to see how the part-time working was going.
The project was one I have working on since starting with the company - but whereas I used to MANAGE it, I only HELP now - solely beause it's a full-time job to manage it.

PS I have just started to worry that the reason I ma not getting my contract and holiday entitlement is that they are thinking of maybe getting rid of me. Or am I being paranoid?

I wouldn't take a delay in a new contract arriving and someone being rubbish about confirming your holiday entitlement as an indication they want to get rid of you. But I think maybe there are other things that are giving you that impression, as you have said you felt you needed to ask whether you would be 'kept on'. I think if you felt you needed to ask that you may have had some other reason to think maybe you wouldn't be.

Did you agree that it was not possible to manage the project you were working on part time? Just wondering why a trial period of reducing your hours has meant a demotion as well.

Yes, I did agree that it wasn't possible. It may have been possible however to do the job I did before if I was to take work home with me and work sometimes on days off. I didn;t wnat to do that and stated that outright at the meeting.
I don;t see it as a denotion. I am doing the same thing on the same pro rata salary, but not having to deal with all the crap that came with managing it. So less responsibility on that side,but doing what I was trained to do suited me fine.

Ok, it just sounded as though it may have been an issue, but if the pay is the same and you are happy with that situation that's all good.

Press your manager about getting your contract sorted and about confirmation of your holiday entitlement. I'd probably work out yourself what you think it should be using the link I posted and take it from there. She may not be telling you because she may not know. With a reduction in your hours and your maternity leave to factor in, your annual leave needs to be worked out. Callme asked about HR earlier - is there HR or anyone else who handles this kind of thing? If not, and your manager is having to worry about it herself she will possibly struggle which might explain a delay.

Just calmly press the issue and see how you get on. Don't panic yet!

Sent an email to my manager about half an hour ago and she hasn't replied yet. That's her, though... I really don't think it's because she is busy.

Sent an email to my manager about half an hour ago and she hasn't replied yet. That's her, though... I really don't think it's because she is busy.

Gateau even if your manager is sitting twiddling her thumbs and literally has nothing better to do, which I doubt; if she is having to work out your annual leave entitlement herself, given that you've changed your hours and had maternity leave, it may well take her some time to deal with it.

She is unlikely to know the law about annual leave during maternity leave, and she may not know how to calculate annual leave if someone's hours change. She may need to take advice from someone, look up some websites, ask other people what happens, etc

That doesn't mean she's not going to do it, but I think expecting an answer so quickly is being a bit unreasonable of you.

I'd probably be more inclined to speak to her if I were you rather than sending emails and waiting for a response. Why don't you go and see her, or arrange a time for a catch-up, and ask her about it then, get her to give you a deadline by when she will have sorted out your holiday entitlement and will have an answer about your contract.