Job functions narrowed after maternity leave

I understand that the company you work for has recently undergone a restructure having been taking over by another company. Prior to your first maternity leave of 12 months, your role entailed two types of work. You say that after your first maternity leave, you returned to work for five months, three days a week and undertook the work of an individual who had resigned from the company that took over. You did not question the scope of work. You then went on maternity leave again for 12 months and returned earlier this year to again work three days a week. You now find that your role is narrower in scope than your original role before the two maternity leaves and before the business was taken over. I understand that your job title has also changed due to a “harmonisation”.

Generally speaking, when you return from additional maternity leave you have the right to return to the same job that you were doing before you left unless this is not reasonably practicable (for a reason other than redundancy), in which case, you have the right to return to terms and conditions no less favourable than those which would have applied had you not been absent. I note that you have reduced your working hours, but it also appears that the fundamental nature and scope of your role has changed. You may therefore be able to argue that this is maternity/sex discrimination and you could potentially have a claim for constructive unfair dismissal if you resigned in response to your employer’s treatment of you (NB I would not advise you to resign without first taking specific legal advice). Any claim for pregnancy/sex discrimination must be brought within three months of the discriminatory act and you must go through the Acas pre-conciliation process before you can submit a claim.

As a first step, I think you would benefit from some clarity in relation to your current role/job function. You believe that your workload has reduced, you feel you are competing with colleagues for work, some of the work you consider capable of doing is now undertaken by others and your line manager is unsupportive in many ways. Although you have raised the issue in respect of your job title, the best way to move this forward would be for you to request a meeting with HR to discuss what you/they think your current role entails. You will also be able to discuss how you feel about your relationship with your line manager. If this does not resolve matters, you should consider raising a formal grievance.

Your terms and conditions of employment would also be protected if the business sales you describe are covered by the TUPE Regulations (as is likely to be the case). And changes where the sole or principal reason is the transfer will be void. As TUPE is such a complex area I would need further information from you to be able to advise in detail. If you do want us to review your position further for you , please contact Tracey Guest on 0161 672 1425.

*Helen Frankland has assisted with this answer.

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