Is my employer treating me badly? Need some perspective please!

[beanstalk]

Hi
I'm new to this topic so hope you can help.

I returned to work after 12 months mat leave in December. Before going off I was responsible for a team of people (only overseeing them as I had trained them up to run themselves more or less) and also ran some projects for the company. When I returned a manager had been recruited to oversee the team and the projects role was no longer available due to changes in company structure. Since then I have been doing a bit of everything, plugging gaps but with no real role as such. This has been annoying me for some time, my boss keeps saying we will review it but nothing happens.

Now I have just found out that other parents in my office have been allowed paid time off when their children are sick, when I have taken time off out of my holiday allowance. I feel annoyed that I am being treated badly but my boss is not sympathetic to this.

How can I get heard, get a proper role and get fair treatment?

What you seem to be saying that somebody else has been given your job, which is not right. You have the right to return to your old job when you go back to work. HTH

are you in - and does the company recognise - a union?
also, is there a grievance procedure? Initially i wouldn't suggest you hurtle headlong into it, just do a great deal of finding out so that if other more reasonable means of working it out, don't reach a satisfactory outcome.
First try the "reasonable route" such as arranging a formal meeting/supervision (or whatever your company calls it) with your line manager, discussing further with HR department and so on.
See this to establish your employment rights

If you come back after ordinary maternity leave you must be given your old job back. If you come back after additional maternity leave your employer doesn't have to give you your old job back if it's not practicable to do so, they must instead offer you a suitable alternative.

Sometimes this takes a bit of time to sort out, but not 8 months, that's not acceptable. What reasons have you been given for not going back to your old job, and for the lack of a defined role? When meeting with your boss, what does he/she say about what the problem is?

I don't think it's a question of 'reviewing' it. It's a question of sorting it out. You need to be much firmer with your boss than you can have been. Get him/her to put a date in the diary for a review meeting at which you expect to receive clarification of what your role is going forward as you do not consider what you are doing now to be suitable alternative work to your original job. Are HR involved? If not, why not? Copy them in.

What reason is your boss giving you for treating you differently when it comes to time off for children being ill?

If I'm honest I think you are being walked all over, and I think you need to examine your own behaviour to work out why this is happening. If it's been 8 months and nothing's happening, your boss obviously feels treating you like this is not a problem, you won't make too much fuss or cause any difficulties for him/her. By this stage you certainly should have done.

Get stronger and more firm. Insist on action and agree a timescale for it. If it doesn't happen by the timescale you agreed, put in a grievance immediately. Demand fair and equal treatment when it comes to time off and do something about it if you don't get it. This includes requesting holiday time back where you have had to take it and others would not have had to do so.

Sorry to be a bit harsh, but this has gone on waaaaay too long, and you have to take some responsibility and action yourself to get it sorted. Get help and advice from HR and be a lot more insistent and formal in your approach.

Hope things get better quickly.

flowery- no you're not harsh, just honest which is what I needed. I think I have been treated badly but you are absolutely right that I haven't kicked up enough fuss. The problem is that I can see why my old job - the project management stuff - is not feasible as half the business has been moved to a different location which i can't travel to and I am now part time. That is the reason I have been drifting I think, my old job just isn't there in the same format iyswim? What are they obliged to offer as an alternative or can they make me redundant? I have a meeting set up now so want to get things sorted.

I think the holiday bit for childcare depends on how you dealt with it and whether this line mananger is aware of the other situations. By this I mean you have probably been a bit of a martyr and suspect you said 'I will take time off' to which your boss just agrees. Actually you should have expected that is is reasonable to have paid time off and you could have said 'I have logged the time off with x and expect that it is counted as paid'.

It does make him an insensitive and not a great boss but you are enabling it.

This is also probably why the situation with your role has taken so long. It does sound like your role went which means he would have had to have proper conversations about potential redundnacy and suitable alternative roles. Sounds like he is being very lax.

When you return from maternity you can be made redundant if your role is the only one of its type and their is a sound business reason. If there is more than one role then you should be in a pool for selection, which again you could be deselected on the basis of capability from. However, if there is a role at the same level that suits your skills you would have to be slotted into it with do selection process. The part time is a bit more of a challenge as not all roles can be done part time, but you should still be considered for them. With the new roles you are also entitled to a trial period.

What you haven't said is whether you want the redundnacy or you want to work?

I think you have a strong case for redundancy and I would argue that you should have got this on a full time basis (at least I'd try) because they have never discussed this with you using the right processes and the role you are in did not exist - also looks like you were not offered a trial period?

Can I revive an old thread? I would just like some opinions on the updated situation, as the feedback last time was very helpful.

After this thread I went back to my boss and basically gave him a month to come up with an alternative role for me. The month came and went and he keeps fobbing me off again. One problem is that he is not based in my office so my only contact with him is by phone.

Anyway next week I have an annual appraisal, he is flying down to do this face to face. So I want to sort out my issues with him. I have just found out that the project role (ie the job I was supposed to come back to after mat leave) I was told was "now redundant" is being done by someone else in the office. So the two roles I was doing before mat leave have been given to other people!!! My boss thinks he is doing me a favour by letting me work from home, actually doing very little work (at my pre-mat leave hourly rate so good money). Maybe he is but I can't help feeling that if/when I try to work elsewhere, this last year has caused my career path to nose-dive and it will look poor on my cv.

My problem is that in the current climate I can't be confident I would get another job if I pushed for redundancy or even pursued them legally. Do i have a case for tribunal, is this heading towards constructive dismissal? What do you think my legal position is?

Sorry not very succinct! I just think I need to sit down with him and say this cannot go on, sort it out or...? I suppose I need leverage!

Just one question are you now part time but were previously full time?

Yes that's right. I understand that can make a difference, but it was agreed that I would come back to do project management part-time and I was even given a job description, it's just that I am not actually doing the work, someone else is!

I think it's probably a case for Tribunal, because it's starting to sound rather like a constructive dismissal. Also I think because this happened in relation to your maternity leave, potential damages might well be unlimited as it might constitute a sex discrimination claim, if I remember correctly (but bear in mind I am not a lawyer). Or they could be forced to reinstate you in your old job, if the work is still there but just being done by other people. (Correct me if I am wrong, everyone else).

Have you taken any professional legal advice yet?

In the meantime I have a feeling if you do a bit of research on this, and tell your boss in the meeting that this is your reading of what is happening to you, it might just scare them into doing the right thing. Just a thought, anyway.

Thanks BoffinMum. I am not keen on going down the tribunal route, just because it would all be quite stressful and unpleasant so I would rather sort it out amicably if I can. But I do want to know if that is an option open to me at least. I haven't taken any professional legal advice, for the reasons above and because of cost.
I think you may be right that he might be scared into sorting it out, I just need to get my facts right so welcome any pointers on where to look for info?

beanstalk it does sound like constructive dismissal, and I agree with Boffin that your argument could be that this was a direct result of your maternity leave, making it sex discrimination as well. The problem with sex discrimination claims is that there's a time limit of 3 months from the incident, although the last in a series of incidents would also count, and I guess that would be your argument.

What do you actually want? When you say you want to sort it out amicably, what does that mean? What do you want the outcome to be? Do you want them to pay you some money to go away? Or do you want a job?

If you want a settlement you'll get a better one if you are taking professional legal advice than if you are going in yourself saying you think it's constructive dismissal/sex discrimination.

Hi flowery. I suppose what I realistically want is my old job back, but I don't know how this can happen, they can't sack the other person now can they (and the other person is innocent in this). I would happily "go away" for enough money but I can't afford to be made redundant at statutory rates as I don't think I can easily get another job. ("Enough" money would be more like 3 times the statutory redundancy pay-out and would mean I could afford to take a career break, and retrain).

Just as a general question, wouldn't having a tribunal on your record put off future employers?

A tribunal wouldn't be on your record as such. Your employment record would contain dates of employment and your old employer might give reason for leaving in a reference. AS part of any settlement you'd make sure your solicitor sorted out details such as what information would be given to new employers, reason for leaving.

Explaining the gap in employment would be the only other challenge.

The trouble is you as yourself is not scary at all to your boss. You have given him a deadline before (what did you say you would do if he didn't meet it btw?) and it's come and gone a matter of months ago and you've taken no action.

You need professional advice and you need someone to get you the right documentation together and written properly and formally.

To bring a case to tribunal you would need to first bring a formal grievance. What you could do is drop him a line now and say that if he does not have some positive news for you at your meeting next week regarding the issues you raised on x date, you will be raising a formal grievance immediately regarding potential constructive dismissal and sex discrimination concerns. Then he's got a chance to come up with something which he probably won't, and is aware that you are preparing to take action. But you must be prepared to follow it through. If the meeting isn't satisfactory, a formal grievance must land on his desk and HR's desk within days of that meeting.

If you want a settlement to go away, the best way of getting a good one is to make them think you are deadly serious about possibly taking them to tribunal, and to make them think you have taken advice about the validity of a potential case.

Good stuff, Flowery.

Am I the only one who things Flowery ought to get some kind of national award for offering all this brilliant HR information to those in need?

I am starting the Flowery fanclub right now.

Couldn't agree more, Boffin. I'll sign up to be first member of the fanclub!

Thanks for your help both of you.

Where should I go to get legal advice? Local solicitors or os there a public body that can help?

Not a public body that can help. Acas are quite good if you haven't rung them yet, but I don't think they can give you the more specific hands-on advice you probably need at this stage if you're hoping to push them to negotiate a settlement.

Maybe try a local solicitor? Find an employment specialist and see if they will give you a brief free consultation so you can get a feel for them.