Work phone calls and maternity leave

[daisydotandgertie]

A quick question - is it reasonable for a manager to phone a member of staff on maternity leave for 'where is this file' or 'what do I do with this' type questions?

I am unsure whether it is or it isn't.

I guess it depends on your relationship with your work colleagues, and whether these phone calls are every day and taking up hours of your time. If it was the odd one off I'd be happy to take calls from work, esp as you do have to go back there sometime, so it's always good to be helpful. However, if they're calling all the time, at really inconvenient times and the calls take ages, then I'd have to say something. Can you restrict them to a particular time when you know you'll be able to talk more (during nap times or something similar) and say that outside of these hours you'll be unable to help?

depends on how often the calls are i suppose. i wouldn't have minded the odd phone call. however, i also made very sure i had a decent hand over period to my replacement and that my deputy was fully up to speed on any on going issues so there wouldn't be a barrage of calls.

having said that though, i also wanted to maintain a decent relationship with work so the odd phone call would have been fine.

The question is for a friend who is a former work colleague, not me. I know the working relationship is good, and so is the employer.

The fly in the ointment is the manager who is likely to treat maternity leave more like working from home.

The question is how to handle it. A word with HR beforehand, or wait and see what actually happens.

Of course she may surprise us both and behave normally ... unlikely based on past long experience, but not impossible.

Wait and see I'd say. I took a few calls from work but in return for a year off, 6 months on full pay and a job to go back to, I didn't think it was too bad a deal tbh. But does depend on working relationship.

Whether it's reasonable depends how often it is and whether or not the individual is finding it intrusive.

I wouldn't assume it will be a problem unless and until it is, especially if relationship is good currently. Similarly I certainly wouldn't advise going above the manager's head to HR first either. Wait and see, if it becomes a problem, your friend should raise it directly with her manager first, explain that it's happening too often, and restrict times or whatever suits. If it's still a problem and can't be resolved directly with the manager, then try speaking to HR.

I would suggest your friend compiles very detailed handover notes for this type of query as much as possible so that she is doing everything she can to avoid it being an issue in the first place.

when I left work, not on leave, but actually left, they continued to phone me up to ask questions for about a month!!!

This is why they invented Caller ID, I suppose.

God no! When you are on maternity leave you are on 'leave'.

Point that out to him and ask him to leave you alone.

Be pleasant. Geez, some people.