I am currently on maternity leave and will be going back to work in the summer. I do part time 7-1pm. I have had to find childcare for two days a week and managed to get a nursery that opens at 7am. However, this means I will be late for work by 15 minutes, but according to my boss I will be done for lateness and could be sacked for it. She also mentioned that because of this I could not go back to my old job. She then stated that there were no other jobs available in the department and that she would contact another manager. They have now come back to me offering 9am to 1pm which would mean I would take a 2-hour pay loss. Do I have the right to refuse the hours offered? And if so must my employer offer something else or as I have refused their offer can they simply say I have to leave? I was told that if you are paid contractual maternity pay from your employer you have to go back to work for three months. However if I have to leave due to their inflexibility do I have to pay it back?
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My original request for flexible hours was refused; I am contracted 15 hours over two days, which always worked out as a Saturday plus a late shift during the week 2-10, or two lates during a weekday if I didn't work the weekend. I asked to split my weekday shift into 6-10 twice a week plus my Saturday, or three weekday shifts 5-10 if I didn't work a Saturday. They refused due to costs and because they said that, with the exception of Sundays, it is not possible for them to assign set days/shifts due to the nature of the business. I appealed, for two reasons; my colleague works a Sunday shift, and though she doesn't have set days she works apart from this, she attends uni on a Tuesday and Thursday so cannot work these days. The other reason was that they had gotten something wrong on the refusal letter as I hadn't asked to split my shift on a Saturday, but they had taken this into consideration and used this as a reason to refuse. During my appeal meeting, I was then told that no day of the week was allowed to be assigned as a 'set day' and that, though my colleague may be working a Sunday, she should not have it as ''her' shift. I offered them alternatives to account for the reason of costs; they had assumed I was asking for set weekdays, but I told them any weekday is fine, it was just the time I was asking to change. They said that if they were unable to cover the shift 9-6, me not being in until 6pm would affect the business, so I offered that if this did happen (historically it never has, as everyone prefers to work the day shifts, it has always been the late shifts which have been a problem to cover), I would pull some strings and make one-off arrangements to enable me to work 2-10 instead. I also assured them that I wasn't asking to split my Saturday shift, I would work any shift as assigned on this day. I then also offered that I might be able to continue to work 2-10 on a Thursday or Friday (my eldest son does not have preschool on these days) in order that this would provide more options for flexibility on my part. I also assured that during school holidays, I would be free to work any shift required (as I wouldn't need to pick my daughter up from school, or son from preschool). I promised that I would still make myself available for overtime, as I always have done, and to cover staff holiday.
My appeal was refused, for the same 'repeated' reasons as on my previous letter. They said that my colleague does not have set shifts - which she does; every Sunday and though she may not work a set day during the week as part of her other hours, she cannot work Tuesday or Thursday as she is at uni! She stated that as my rota was worked out 4-6 weeks in advance, this should give me plenty of time to arrange childcare... I am quite annoyed about this comment, as my problem is not finding someone to look after them, it is getting my daughter picked up from school.
(She attends school 5 miles from where I live, which is the same area my son attends preschool Mon-Weds. My mother-in-law will have my kids, but she lives 25 miles from us, so is happy to have the kids at our house, but does not want to go back and forth to school with my other son - a baby, having to squeeze three kids into her two-door car, plus lug a pushchair around) I literally have no one that can collect her from school. I can get her into after school club, but that is going to mean my husband will have to catch a train from work straight to her school, then take her home on the train as I will need the car for work, and she is likely to end up going to bed later to accommodate this option. It would also mean that if I am rota'd to work a shift Mon-Weds, I would have to collect my son from preschool early, as he attends 9-3, in order to get him home to my MIL before I started work at 2. I realise I can no longer appeal any further as my 'appeal has been exhausted' but I still feel that they are being a bit one-sided in relation to the flexibility, as I have made every effort to resolve each of their reasons against with a viable solution. Plus they are not forcing my colleague to work a Tuesday or Thursday when she is at uni - it seems a little stilted!
What can I do now? I have to return to work as it could financially cripple us if not. Do I return 'under protest' or just go back as normal? I am also concerned that they are now going to insist that I have to work day times, even though I have always worked Saturdays or late shifts, as my contract only states 2 days/15 hours- can they do this when they verbally agreed my shift pattern on recruitment and I have been working that pattern since I started?
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I am going back to my weekend job in two weeks. I used to work 16 hours a week on a rotational shift from 8 am till 10pm. My work firstly stated that I was expected to work my previous shift pattern. I requested flexible working, first stating that I can only do from 10 am to 4pm as after 5 I have no one looking after my little one. But according to the operational requirements I have to do 16 hours shift on weekends and need to provide some degree of flexibility. I then offered that I will be able to do 9 to 5 once I had spoken to my mum who would be looking after my little boy. However, they have now stated that I have to work 16 hours from 8 till 4, 9 to 5 and 10 till 6. So I have had to rearrange with my mum, and wrote back to my manager stating I can do 16 hours 8 to 4, 9 to 5 but can't do anything after 5pm as no childcare is available for my little one. But that has now also been rejected and I have been asked to make an appeal. I am now worried that it will be rejected. What do I do? I can't do anything after 5pm. Will they force me to work? I don't want to resign either.. but would this mean they will dismiss me?
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I am due to return to work from maternity leave in June. My position is 16 hours per week on a 7-day shift pattern (different days each week). I have made a formal flexible working request for set days/shifts (for wk days only) to enable me to get childcare for my son, but this has been declined. I am currently waiting for a meeting to be arranged to discuss this. As it stands I cannot return to work without set days as my son needs to go to a childminder/nursery and because I don't know which days i'll be working from one week to the next they cannot accommodate him. So I've asked if I could only work the late shifts on week days (weekends are not a problem as my husband is at home) then my mother could look after him and then I wouldn't need set days. But this was also declined, even though my work colleagues were more than happy for me to work the late shifts only. Please help.
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I have been working full time as a teacher for six years and am due to return to work after maternity leave. I have requested to reduce my hours to 0.6 of the working week. My headteacher has come back and offered me 0.4 on a permanent contract and 0.2 on a temporary 12-month contract. He says this is due to budget problems. Is this allowed?
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