Request to go part-time may be denied!

[SpikyPiixie]

I am into the 4th month of maternity leave and my employer has phoned today to ask if I was taking the full year off. I had already told him I would probably go back after 9 months (can't afford any longer). 'Hmmmmm' he says - 'then I don't think you can come back part-time'.
I understand he has a lot on Mat L this year, but it seems very unfair.He says he can get someone to cover the last couple of months much easier if they can have f/t hours. If I want to go back then he reckons he'll have difficulty getting another p/t to work the rest of the week. If I go back on full time terms, there's no guarantee he'll let me go p/t after that, and presumably I will have lost my right to ask to 'return to work' on a p/t basis by then?

I don't have much useful advice but I feel very sympathetic. Besides anything else at this point in your leave it's rubbish of him to phone and make you stressed about it!

I think (and no doubt someone with HR experience will know if this is right) that you can make a flexible working application at any time. My sister went back full time and took 1 day's holiday a week for the first 3 months, then went part time.

It sounds a bit like he's trying to avoid you making the p/t application because then he will legally have to consider it fairly. If there are a lot of people on ML this year surely one of them could share the week with you?

Good luck!

I think you can make the request at any time whilst your child is under 5. I also think he knows that damn well and is trying to railroad you in to NOt making that request. Put your request in writing in the proper format asap.

Why can't he cover your last few months with a full timer and then you go back part-time?

Why couldn't the person covering the last few months have full time hours though? That seems a bizarre thing to say. If he thinks he will have no difficulty finding someone to job share with you after a year, what's the difference if that process happens at 9 months instead. Very strange.

You can make a request whenever you like, although only once a year. So make your request and specify that you want it to commence on the date you want to return. Your boss has to consider your request and give decent business reasons if he wants to refuse it, so if he thinks it could be accommodated easily at a year, it sounds as though he will not be able to come up with decent business reasons why it wouldn't work 3 months earlier.

Thanks for that. I am a specialist teacher, so recruitment IS an issue, but I think he was expecting me to take the whole year off. He wants to be able to offer a supply a whole term, otherwise he doesn't think they will be interested!!!
He doesn't seem to appreciate that I can't afford all those weeks without money. Can I get paid work whilst on Maternity leave to cover the shortfall, provided I am not in receipt of any pay? Of course, there's no guarantees after I go back later that p/t will be available! BTW, I put my request in writing in the same letter I sent with my MatB1, but no meeting was ever arranged as it was so far in the future.

Hi SpikyPiixie,

I am a specialist teacher too and having similar problems.

My Head is not planning to find cover for me while I'm off (it is a VERY specialist role so I suppose I understand why he thinks that might be difficult) AND he has declined me part time hours when I return!!

I feel under considerable pressure to go back quickly and F/T which just isn't fair.

I LOVE my job so I don't want to tell him to jack it- but even if I did I'd have to go back F/T for 13 weeks or pay back my OMP. Grrr!

I'm considering similar action. I don't want to fall out with them , but after 16 years service to 2 leas, and only having 6 weeks off the last time (14 years ago )
I think I deserve to be more selfish. Of course, we could count the 6 weeks holiday in those 13 weeks if we were quick !