cover for flexible working

[MummieSchmummie]

Hello,
Can anyone help me with some advice?
My flexible working request was agreed over a year ago, involving me reducing to 4 days a week and cover being provided for the other 1 day. I have reduced my hours but the cover has not been provided over the past year and after contesting this I have been told the final answer is that the cover is not going to be provided.
I have argued that this raises gender equality issues, but senior management claim that the employer is meeting its obligations in this area, because the decision to work part-time does not automatically create an additional post for the balance of any contract in respect of which part-time working is sought. Is this true and does it still apply when the flexible working arrangement that was agreed did involve cover being provided?
Thank you for any thoughts --

The employer is right on this one - but I stand to be proved wrong if I am.

Partly becuase they will find it near on impossible to recruit for just one day a week and maintain standards and the costs would be prohibitive.

Not sure where you get the gender equality issues from? Can you prove male colleagues that are given flexible working to care for a child reducing from 5 days to 4 are getting the post covered and your not?

Even if they did agree in writing to give you cover they can change their minds as they can't be held to a business decision they've made in the past. I.e. they can change their mind again.

Its up to the employer how or if they cover the other day.

I think you need to focus on what the problem actually is. You've been doing your job four days a week without cover for a year.

Is the arrangement not working for you at the moment, and why not? Is the workload too much? What problem/s are actually caused by not having someone 'cover' the fifth day, and how else can they be solved.

Is the issue that suitable cover can't be found? Or that no attempt has been made to find it?

I know where I work, some requests for 4 days per week have been refused on the grounds that it is nigh-on impossible to recruit someone willing to work just one day a week. If the job genuinely needs 5 days a week, then it is often easier to go for a 3 day/2 day split, because you are more likely to find a jobshare partner to agree to those terms.