Forum home Babies Baby

Employment advice (dont want to go back)

hi ladies

as some of you know, iv requested flexi working hours (2.5days per week) from my employer, im due back on 8th july, i had a meeting last week and they are being arkward and have decided i cant go back part time (they have done as little as possible to accomodate me but enough to make sure they are not breaking the rules regarding laws etc) so anyway the meeting ended with them thinking im going to go back to my full time job (i didnt want to burn my bridges before deciding what i want to do) but have decided i dont want to go back full time, and im really annoyed with them for being so unsupportive. they could have let me go back part time but they are being tw*ts. so what i want to know is, when do i have to tell them i dont want to go back full time, and hand in my notice? i want to leave it as late as possible to drop them in it like they have done to me! and will i be entitled to the holiday pay i will have accumilated over the time iv been on maternity leave?

thanks and sorry for rambling, and being mean about them, im usually such a relaxed person but they have really upset me!

ashy xx

Replies

  • Hi yes I think you should be entitled to the holiday pay you have accrued. When I decided that I wasn't going back to my job I was planning on handing my notice in for the normal amount of time in my contract (1 week for every year of being there), but in the end they weren't that strict on anything and just told them a few days before my mat leave ran out.
    Check with your contract but I think the general term for handing in notices is 1 week for every year of employment. Hope you get it sorted and find something more accommodating. x
  • Hi, yes you def get holiday pay for any holiday accrued during maternity leave.

    As for notice, I think you need to give them whatever your notice period is, prior to the end of your maternity leave. So if you're due back 8th July, and your notice is 1 calendar month, you need to let them know 8th June (or maybe 7th June?).

    Hope that makes sense.

  • like the other ladies have said look in your contract,some places only need 2 weeks notice

    sarah
  • I did exactly the same - my bosses were tw*ts about everything, and I kept them thinking that I was returning to my job right until the last minute when I handed my notice in - if they'd have got even a sniff of an idea that I wasn't returning they'd have made me redundant and I would've got less from them in redundancy pay than I got for my accrued annual leave.

    I don't blame you for not wanting to go back if they're not being reasonable.

    xxx
  • I dont want to worry you but just want to check that you dont have to pay back mat pay by not going back!? In my job if i didnt return for a period of 3 months then i'd have to pay everything back that was in excess of SMP ie ??123 a week.

    xxx
  • starbrite-i would check with cab becouse as far as i know you dont need to pay back SMP you only pay back if the company pays you on top of the SMP

    sarah
  • I had the same thing but even worse. I had agreed my part time hours, got a signed contract and was due to start back on the 15th March but 2 weeks before they decided to tell me it was fulltime or nothing!! Not only did I not want to go back fulltime I had no time to sort out extra childcare even if I did!!

    I have been paid all my holidays & bank holidays and a months pay in lieu of notice. I would imagine if your normal notice period is 1 month then it will be 1 month also.

    Can I make a suggestion though. This is just based on what happened to me. I would tell them you need an extra month to think about it so can you use some of your unpaid leave (the last 3 months we are all entitled to) and therefore extending your return date until 8th Aug. Around the beg of July let them know you cant return fulltime and therefore will be giving them a months notice and ask them what you will have to do with regards working your notice because you may struggle with childcare. They will hopefully just offer to pay you lieu of notice (plus hols etc).

    If you give them your notice on 8th June then you are still getting SMP and are still officially on leave until your termination date of the 8th July so they may not have to give you any extra money.

    Hope that all makes sense!!
  • Hey hun

    Bugger BE ate my reply

    Anyhoo, just wondered if you had put in a formal application for flexible working, or if you'd just had a meeting and they rejected your requests? Every parent has the right to request flexibility and your employers must give valid business reasons to decline it. These reasons are within certain categories, which you can also find on Direct Gov. it is a much more formal process and there are some helpful step by step guides to making an application on Direct Gov and also ACAS are excellent for talking you through your rights etc.

    Here are a couple of links which may help you. Good luck! I'm in the middle of the process too as my employers rejected my informal requests so now I'm applying formally.

    http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10037051

    http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/DG_065153

    ACAS number is 08457 474747

    [Modified by: Slippers on March 29, 2010 09:07 PM]

  • thank you for your advice ladies, im only getting smp (tight bas****s) so they cant ask me to pay that back,
    Winnie, i think thats a discrace! could you take them to a tribuneral? how can they get away with this? makes me soooo mad!

    slippers, i had an informal chat to start with, then they asked me to put it in writing, which i did. im a dental nurse, and at my practice, we all work full time, there are 5 of us. now my boss is saying that they need full time person (i dont know why) so they advertised for another part time nurse to work the hours i didnt want so making it a job share kind of thing. now i saw the ad they placed and it was very spesific ie. wanting someone qualified and at least 4 years experiece. now there isnt many people with this so i knew noone would apply. but i think they did this knowing noone would apply! out of us 5 nurses, only 2 are qualified, so why couldnt they have taken on a trainee like the other nurses???? they are just being unreasonable!!!!!

    ashy x
  • fallen-angel - it was just the money in excess of the smp i had to pay back not smp. Although its rubbish ashy that your just on smp just noe at least you wont owe them anything!
    Hope you get something sorted!
    xxx
Sign In or Register to comment.

Featured Discussions