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Original poster

Not so "flexible" working!

35 replies

sazzerbear · 27/02/2009 13:49

Did any of you intend to go back to work after mat leave (albeit on a part-time basis) but when discussions took place with your employer, your hours could not be accommodated and you had to resign? Did you manage to do something similar or are you now doing something completely different? This has happened to me and I am pondering what to do! TIA

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Original poster

sazzerbear · 27/02/2009 14:56

bump

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Squiffy · 27/02/2009 15:03

It happens. If there are genuine business reasons which may it too difficult for the employer then they are perfectly at liberty to say no.

In reality the larger the organisation and the more stnadardised the roles the easier it is, For small companies it can be a noghtmare sorting out these kinds of needs.

Doesn't help you though, I guess?

Original poster

sazzerbear · 27/02/2009 15:14

Thanks Squiffy, I know reasons why etc etc..it was a small company so more of an issue I guess. I just wondered how people in a similar situation got on a) looking for new job in same field or b) doing something different

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Original poster

sazzerbear · 27/02/2009 19:26

there must be someone else in this situation, surely!!!

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2pt4kids · 27/02/2009 19:45

This happened to me 3.5 years ago when I had DS1!
I used to work in retail. I actually set up my own business with a partner when DS1 was 6 months old.
Unfortnately it went bust (damn recession) when DS1 was just over 2yo and since then I have had DS2, who is 1yo and now I am a SAHM!
Still pondering on what to do going forward really, although liklihood is that I will be a SAHM till they are both at school now (childcare costs!)

Original poster

sazzerbear · 27/02/2009 19:57

Thanks 2pt4kids, shame about your business, childcare costs are horrendous, it makes me wonder how anyone can afford to work part-time unless they have a lot of family around to help!

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peachsmuggler · 27/02/2009 20:49

That very things happened to me sazzer, at the end of last year. I am now a SAHM and loving it, but am hoping that some day it results in some great new career doing something completely different from what I was doing before. Wonder if it will be that easy... hmmm. Like you though, not sure what ot could be?

Original poster

sazzerbear · 28/02/2009 18:53

Thanks peachsmuggler, glad I am not alone, good luck for the future!

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MrsMattie · 28/02/2009 18:57

Flexible working hours with my employer meant I either worked a 'normal' 8 hrs a day, 5 days a week (that was flexible, apparently, since my job usually involved unsociable hours), or I could do 4 x 10 hr days instead. Oh, or I could go 3 days a week and take a demotion .

I 'chose' the first option and lasted 4 months. Hated it. I was out of the house for 10-11 hours a day including commuting. It wasn't a life.

I chose to stay at home with my DS instead. he's now 4 yrs old and I have recently had a second child and am going to retrain next year for a completely new career which will allow me to work more flexibly.

Original poster

sazzerbear · 28/02/2009 19:05

I was offered part-time (the hours were still too long) which still involved looking at emails/taking calls when I was meant to be "off"! I don't think so! Hope your new career goes well MrsM!

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suchawuss · 02/03/2009 22:37

Sazzer, I am in the gruelling process of negotiating new hours with my employer (but don't think I'll get what I want) but wondered how come you accepted your employer's rejection of your request and just resigned?

Did you not want to pursue it and take out a grievance? Or did they have a valid business reason for saying no? Did you take legal advice?

I am on edge and completely stressed out my by employer's behaviour, they are stringing out my request taking their time getting back to me and all I want to know where I stand.

Anyway to go back to your original question, I would love to use this as an opportunity to do something else as jobs in my field are extremely thin on the ground having looked into it. But the problem is the usual...I'd need to retrain for a new career and can't afford to now so am well and truly stuck [gulp].

Sorry not much use I know but I really need to let off steam. Even if employers follow the process they can still make you feel completely unwanted and useless just because you've had the nerve to have a baby [how very dare I]. And working til 9pm 6 months pregnant is suddenly forgotten about.

Grrrr. Sorry.

Original poster

sazzerbear · 03/03/2009 22:43

Hey Suchawuss sorry to hear your predicament. I too worked long hours up to two weeks before my due date (and was the last to leave at 7pm on my final day before going on mat leave!) I worked for a small company and a few of us went on mat leave at same time (although not all same jobs) so it was quite a hit for them covering workload etc. Their argument was once they accepted my part-time request, they'd have to do it for everyone and thought it was better to have me working 5 days part-time, not 4 as I wanted (but taking calls/emails etc when I was meant to be off as well!) We went backwards and forwards for ages looking at every opportunity but it wasn't to be so I decided it was best to resign on amicable terms (not worth court hassle/costs etc etc). Living in a small town, jobs like mine are few and far between too, so it was a tough decision, fortunately i didn't have to go back to work straight after the end of my mat leave. Sorry if this rambles on, hopefully it explains my situation, hence having to ponder a new beginning! Good luck with your situation, let me know how you get on!

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suchawuss · 04/03/2009 00:43

Sazzer, in a way it's good that you left on so-called amicable terms and understand your reasons for doing that as it can be stressful and unpleasant, as I'm finding out, to challenge it. But where has it left you now?

Don't mean to focus on the negatives [I have a bad habit of that and have to keep telling myself to be more positive!] and hope you manage to turn it around, much like people who are made redundant and end up doing something they never thought they would be brave enough to do otherwise.

Going on mat leave means you have to be that much more imaginative and persistent to get back into the workplace it seems, and actually I may have found a solution to my problem if it's any inspiration: I contacted an ex-colleague and asked her if she would be interested in job-sharing with me and she just replied saying that she would be, and happy to split 3 days for me and 2 days for her.

So am going to start another thread to see if anyone has any tips about making this work but it makes perfect sense as part-time work is so bloody hard to find.

Good luck with your situation too, I hope you find a solution

thirtypence · 04/03/2009 04:12

I didn't even get to the point where I asked. My boss was a bully and basically told me I could have 8 months off and then come back full time. I told him he didn't know the law and would have liked to tell him he was an arse but dh worked for the same company. I left when I was 17 weeks pg and became self employed - then if I end up working crap hours it's my own fault.

One thing I will say is that your needs with a small baby are different from those with a toddler or if you have another child. So a business has to keep being flexible about it's flexibility.

Original poster

sazzerbear · 04/03/2009 15:33

Well Sucha, I am currently not working a year after the end of my mat leave and thinking about what to do, as we all know part-time jobs are few and far between or don't pay enough to cover childcare! Will probably try and do something myself.

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ilovemydogandMrObama · 04/03/2009 15:37

My boss and I hated each other even before I went on maternity leave, and I just knew he was going to mess up my request for flexible working...

But the surprising part was that H/R backed him up and he couldn't find me a flexible working job, so terminated my contract!

The union backed me, and they ended up making me an offer which was very welcome and I've since retrained in the field I want to work in

Oh, and my boss was demoted

Original poster

sazzerbear · 05/03/2009 19:14

Good news ilovemydog!

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Rachel2796 · 13/03/2009 21:22

I also put in a request for "flexible working" a couple of months before I was due back at work and it was just turned down flat.
No discussion no nothing... just that the days I wanted to work were "already covered" and I could do X and X instead.
I just took the new days instead as didn't want to risk losing my job but it means that we now have to pay out for a nursery for our son instead of grandparents looking after him so I might as well not be at work as we are only marginally better off financially
:S
It would seem there is no "right" to flexible working which I think there should be for those with young children.

Original poster

sazzerbear · 14/03/2009 12:03

Sorry to hear your predicament Rachel2796, I bumped into my old boss the other day and she asked if I was planning on going back to work (dur - I didn't choose to resign!!), to which I replied "at some point" and she then said "you'll have to give me a ring!" What a complete waste of time - if I did consider going back we'd have to go through all the part-time stuff again - yawn!

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JazzHands · 14/03/2009 12:22

I was in this position - before I went my manager said "you'll probably want to come back 3 days" a few times. But when I put in for 3 days I was told no. I was given a couple of options which were ridiculous (eg work 5 days 9-1 but my commute was 1.5 hours each way!).

They told me that if I didn't want to do the things they offered then I had to resign so I resigned.

It was annoying and I spoke to that helpline (forget the name) who told me that because of that and other things I had grounds for constructive dismissal and sex discrimination.

But really who actually takes these things to court? The time money stress etc seem huge and to be up against a huge compnay like that - I can't see it getting anywhere.

Anyway I got an admin job much closer to home in a different industry which I thougt ht would be a better fit for me but wasn't. So after this next baby i am going to see about getting back into my previous line of work.

I try and be philosophical about it - although the whole thing does still rile me from time to time.

MrsJamin · 14/03/2009 12:57

I was in this exact position, asked for what I thought was a reasonable case for pt working and they completely turned it down with no room for negotiation. I was bit annoyed as they had someone on 'secondment' in my job who blatantly wanted to stay (it was a promotion for her), so they had nothing to lose by turning me down. . I handed my notice in right at the last minute so I could take my whole year off work (thus accruing bonus, holidays, etc).

I was v pessimistic about finding something else but I did, and returned to work when I wanted to. Now I have much more flexibility and haven't taken much of a pay-cut (pro-rata), plus my commute is a lot shorter - so in that way it's great. However I've ended up doing something I did 5 years ago - so it means my CV will look v odd, and I have no clue whether I will ever have a 'career' which is an odd thing to contemplate.

Original poster

sazzerbear · 14/03/2009 15:34

It's really hard on women as your career can go pear-shaped as you say Mrs Jamin. I think it's very short sighted of employers to lose good talent - surely you don't lose your mind when you've had a child??!

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JazzHands · 14/03/2009 16:45

I think that despite the triumphant stats from the govt things are actually changing v slowly with regards to all this.

Loads of women drop out of their well paid career jobs to take part time much less challenging jobs.

A lot of people like to imply that this is teh choice of a lot of women, that they don't want to be bothered with a tricky job once they have kids to look after.

That is bollocks IMO many women are pushed out.

Original poster

sazzerbear · 14/03/2009 18:24

Very true, and when you are applying for something less challenging, you get dismissed for being too over-qualified for the role and using it as a stepping stone to something better!

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JazzHands · 14/03/2009 19:05

I think the done thing when applying for less demanding roles is to play down previous responsibility IFKWIM.

Not to pretend you're thick, but maybe miss out the International Conferences etc

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