Can my employer insist on this?

[makedoandmend]

My employer has agreed to my going back three days a week, 8-4 with one of those days at home.

I know my senior boss is unhappy about the working from home day (she doesn't believe that I'll be sending my dd to nursery on that day - easy to prove though) but my immediate boss is happy with the arrangement and agreed to it before asking her. My senior boss is now insisting on a three month probation period at the end of which they will review the situation. Can they do this?

The reason for the one day at home is that I don't drive - i'll be relying on lifts to get to work as the train takes two hours making it impossible to make work on time and nursery and I'd rather only be reliant on someone else as little as possible. Also if dd gets ill etc at nursery I'll have to get the train back - meaning a long trip. At least by being at home three days out of five I'm cutting the chances of that happening on a day I'm at work.

I'm trying to get work closer to home but I can't find anything close to my income (which really isn't that much!)

Your employer requesting a trial period is perfectly normal and reasonable, and it's in your interest to agree to it. It gives you a chance to prove how marvellously the arrangement will work, meaning they would then find it very difficult to refuse the request on a permanent basis.

As I'm sure you know, if your employer refuses the request, they must give one or more adequate and fully explained business reasons why they are refusing. If there has been a successful trial period with no ill effects on the employer, with you working well and getting everything done to a high standard, it's unlikely there will then be any justification to refuse it.

You could refuse the trial period but you are then running the risk of your employer refusing your request altogether.

Easy answer would probably be to agree to trial period and for that period make sure that you are highly visible & sending e-mails or contacting your managers a while before and a good while after your contracted hours. At the review point out to them that the lack of travel time allows you to be a little bit more on the ball on those days, easier to sell the idea then.
Also take in documentation to prove you have used childcare on those days.

Once the formal & final agreement comes you can go back to as you were!

Thankyou to both of you and great idea re the extra hours Wednesdays Child.

I think I was just taken aback by the attitude of my senior boss (I've never given her any cause for concern). Apparently when my manager said that he thought it was fairly usual for a woman to want to go back part time after having a baby she said: "Well I didn't" - but then her mum lives with her so ready made nanny for all four of her kids!

If she's not convinced you will be sending your dd to nursery on your day from home it's fair enough for her to be a bit wary tbh, and fine to want a trial period to demonstrate that the arrangement will work before committing the organisation to anything. As you say, you will easily be able to prove you are using childcare anyway so it should be fine.

I actually know of a woman that did the extra hours thing just for the trial period. Boss was so thrilled at the new committed employee.... Now doesn't bother to check whether she is actually working from home or not (quite often it really is a Not).