I worked in the City and West End for 20 years as a secretary and for the last five years have been a full-time Mum. My daughter has special needs and will soon be going to a special school full-time. I need to find a job as, financially, we can't afford for me to stay at home any longer. I receive carer's allowance and tax credits; my daughter receives disability living allowance but unfortunately the combination of benefits and my husband's salary just doesn't cover all the bills. My problem is that one of my daughter's special needs is that she has episodes of severe vomiting which can last for days and quite often we have to get her into hospital so she can be put on a drip. I never know when she is going to be ill (sometimes she can remain well for months, other times only a few weeks) and each time I need to care for her full-time for a week. My daughter has had many tests done but still no cause or cure has been found for the vomiting. I tried typing from home part-time a year ago but my boss had to let me go as I just couldn't do enough hours because of my daughter being ill/hospital tests etc. I need to work but what employer is going to be understanding about me needing so much time off? Apart from when she is ill I have many hospital/consultant appointments I have to attend with my daughter which would mean taking more time off. Even if I work from home I will still have deadlines to meet. Could you give me any advice on what I could do/who I should approach? Also, when applying for a job I don't know whether I should mention my daughter's special needs and warn them I might need to take time off at short notice.…
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I have worked as an office co-ordinator since July 2008. I went on maternity leave in January 2010 and I am due to return to work at the end of October. Before I started my maternity leave I informed my employer that I would only be able to return part time due to child care arrangements to which he replied that we could sort that out at a later date. I called in to see my employer in July to discuss changing my hours. He said that he would have a "few things to juggle around" and then he casually threw into the conversation that there was an investigation he was dealing with regarding bullying and harrassment. At first he wasn't prepared to tell me any more but I said that was not fair as the allegation was against me. He still wouldn't really tell me anything so when I received my request for flexible working forms I enclosed a letter asking to discuss the issue further. My employer wrote back last week suggesting a meeting regarding flexible working and in a seperate letter he said that we could discuss the allegation informally on the same day, he also said that he had to look into matters as a 'number of colleagues had approached him and made comments'. Amazingly he suggested that I ask a colleague to sit in on the meeting regarding flexible working but I don't feel that I can trust anyone there now and I am dreading the thought of returning in October. Do I have a right to know who has said what about me or should I just try to ignore things as there has been no official complaint made verbally or in writing? I am wondering if my employer is trying to make it difficult to return in the hope that I will quit as he did say originally that my job was difficult to do on a part time basis.…
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I have worked for my company for four years, in this time I have covered my manager and deputy manager many times whilst they have been out, I was the only other key holder and had all the responsabilites of a senior member of staff whilst they were away. I am currently on maternity leave and before I left my manager told me she was trying for a baby, I made her very aware I would like to cover her maternity leave whilst she was away if I could. Since I have been away she has become pregnant and is due to leave in October, I am due to return in November. She has recently told me that covering her job role will be my deputy manager which I have no problem with and covering his will be a girl who has been employed in our Birmingham office for two years, who is currently covering my maternity leave. Is it right that I wasn't considered for the job? And wasn't told about it so that I could apply? I have asked for a meeting with her where I plan to ask why I wasn't considered, but this has really offended me, to the point that I want to leave and am really upset about having to go back! I feel like I'm in a no win situation because it's too late now.…
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Do you have content you would like to share with an interested audience of existing and potential customers? It’s never been so easy to package your content in a stylish way, and distribute it in a cost-effective way. Home business expert Emma Jones gives some advice on how to enter the age of home publishing. …
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There’s no escaping the fact that every way we turn there is news of cuts and jobs being axed. In the public sector the outlook is particularly grim with 725,000 jobs to go in the next five years. So if your number’s up what should you do and how do you navigate the waters that can see you alternating between hope and utter despair?…
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