returning to work - should I get any notice of when I'm working to make childcare arrangements?

[happynappies]

I've been on maternity leave for a year now, and have been asking my manager which day I'll be working since March last year (As a result of a successful flexible working application last time around I work on a 0.2 fractional basis, one day a week). I've heard nothing, and been passed from pillar to post. Finally today husband took annual leave, and I met with manager face-to-face, to be told 'maybe Tuesday' (my mat leave ended this week), so now my husband has to make a flexible working request with his employer to enable him to compress his hours to look after our children in my absence. They expect me to be in work next Tuesday. I think that the least they owe me is some notice to put my childcare arrangements in place, and have been bringing this to their attention for literally months. I am incredibly stressed about the situation, and when I tried to explain today how difficult it would be to instantaneously get husband's work to agree to his flexible working request they suggested that he took more annual leave. Can anyone tell me if this sounds right?

When you write to your employer to let them know you're pregnant, they should write back to you confirming your maternity leave start and end dates. Did you not get a letter at that time?

You get a year maternity leave, and the assumption is that you'll take a full year and return at that point, otherwise when you return is completely up to you, you tell them.

If your maternity leave ends this week you should return your next working day after it ends.

But I don't think she's querying when her maternity leave ends, just which day of the week she's expected to work. And they haven't told her for sure.

Unless her days change each week, it would be her normal day/s, that's why I said 'your next working day after it ends'.

Hi, yes I did have the letter stating when my leave ends. The situation had changed from last time with regards which day I'd be working. I could no longer work a Friday, and informed my manager of this a year ago. I've been asking since a year ago which day I'd be working as I needed to get childcare arrangements in place, more specifically my husband's work needed notice to cover while he compresses his hours to enable him to take a day off. I can't find anything on any of the advice websites about notice periods required in these circumsances.

The trouble is you were requesting a change to your existing terms and conditions. You had said you didn't want to do the day you were previously doing, and wanted to do a different day instead.

If your request was a flexible working request under that legislation, there is a set timescale by when they must respond to you. Did you do it as a flexible working request?

I totally agree it's not reasonable for them to leave it so long to let you know which day you will be doing, the point is that as you have requested the change, unless it was a flexible working request, it's not illegal for them not to have told you yet.

Unless and until you have been given a different day, you still have the right to turn up to work on your normal day. Am I right to understand that you have now been definitely told Tuesday?

It wasn't in my contract which day I'd be working - just that it would be one full day rather than two half days or any other combination, so I didn't think I'd need to make a formal flexible working request. I work in a college, and the timetable tends to dictate which days part-time staff work, so it is agreed at a local level with managers. The problem is that my manager has failed to plan my hours when the timetables were agreed last September, and now that my maternity leave is over, they are scrabbling around trying to find work for me to do, and don't seem to appreciate what a predicament that puts me in. Yesterday I was told in a face-to-face meeting with my manager that it would 'probably be a Tuesday' so my husband has gone ahead and requested Tuesday in his own flexible working request. I don't think it can be right that my work expect my husband to use up annual leave in the interim while the request is looked at (there should be no problem with the request as it has been discussed informally and agreed in principle). There doesn't seem to be any information about notice periods in these circumstances. I want to say to them that I'm refusing to come in next week as it still hasn't been confirmed that it will be a Tuesday, which gives us less than a week's notice. Feel like I might be on dodgy ground if I do that though. Their opinion (my managers) seems to be that the world doesn't revolve around me, and how dare I think I should know which day I'll be working weeks in advance...

You're not going to like my answer on this, but because you were requesting a change to your working pattern (whether or not that pattern was in your contract), you should have gone through a flexible working request, which would have then set a timetable for them to respond.

Their behaviour isn't reasonable and you could think about requesting some parental leave to tide you over if your husband doesn't want to lose holiday, but I would not advise not turning up without getting it agreed in advance. That said, if you are very direct about the issues (put it in an email) and forceful about not wanting to come back until it's sorted, I think they'll probably ok that.

There's no information about notice periods in these circumstances because there is nothing in the law about notice periods for this kind of thing. If you request a change to your terms and conditions, there is nothing in law saying by when an employer must give you a definite answer, or how long before you want to start the new working pattern they need to confirm it. The law just doesn't get into that level of nitty gritty unless it's a formal flexible working request, which this wasn't.

Still very rubbish of them, but I think you need to stop worrying about legal notice periods or anything like that, and focus on getting the confirmation you need so you can move forward.

Thanks for the advice - I will try to get confirmation this week, but if they still refuse to answer me, I'll take union advice about lodging a grievance about the way this has been handled because I'm sure they are being unreasonable. After the issues I had with them when I returned last time after maternity leave (when papers were filed for an Employment Tribunal before they did a U turn) nothing surprises me about the way they treat me, but the history means that I find everything about the way they interact with me incredibly stressful. I wish I could just hand in my notice, but unfortunately not possible! Thanks again for taking the time to consider my case.

Hope you get it sorted, I do definitely agree they are being unreasonable!