Is my boss allowed to do this?

KittyKate

Hi all,

I am currently on mat leave (have been on it for 3 months) from my job as an office manager.

As part of my mat leave, my boss (operations manager) has to phone me once a month to see how I am getting on, feed back my yearly performance rating, let me know of any significant developments etc. He has not done this.

He visited me a month ago (I live right next to work) but did not feed back my rating, in fact other than tell me how well he was doing he didn't actually tell me anything. I get the feeling he only wanted to visit to pressure me into committing a return date, the office isn't doing so well - he had me pencil in the first week of Jan even though I said I felt that was too soon.

Last week I heard from friends at work that my role had been re-named from manager to co-ordinator and my deputy (who is seconded to my role until I return) was working under that title.

Now I've heard that my role has been 're aligned' so I report to another of my boss' direct reports, which means I have dropped down a reporting level and am now on the same level as new starters to the company - I've been there five years.

My boss hasn't contacted me to tell me either of these changes and I thought that no changes could be made to my role (especially effective demotions) whilst I was on maternity leave?

Don't want to go back at all now to be honest :(

smartiedriver_2

Ask for a formal meeting, ensure you have a representative there with you (union if you are a member, colleague if not) - and DON'T take the baby with you. Ensure the meeting is minuted and ask all parties to sign to agree the minutes.

Then you may need formal grievance procedure (which your company MUST have in place) if answers are not forthcoming/if you have indeed been disadvantaged.

KittyKate

Thankyou - yes, we do have a formal grievance procedure but I am unsure if I can set the wheels in motion whilst on mat leave, will check.

Sadly my company doesn't have a union. I am just a bit confused as to whether I have any sort of case as my pay hasn't changed. But I am now reporting to a manager who was my peer, got a lower performance rating than me (I had to contact HR to find out what I got, but I was rated the next tier up from her, as she was complaining about it to anyone who would listen!) and my next step in my career is one step down from what it was before I left, to a job which I don't want, and will never become vacant (as she is very, very unlikely to leave).

I think a formal meeting is a good idea - to be honest, I find my job incredibly stressful and I worked until I was 8.5 months pregnant with no help whatsoever and not one sick day, and I'm not looking forward at all to going back - but I'm worried if I take the full year, there will be nothing for me to go back to - another office worker who decided to take a year was moved to another department entirely as he decided 'he needs reliable people around him'. (But she hated him so I don't think she cared!). I am not bothered about moving but I'd rather it was my own decision so I have a bit of job satisfaction.

Any

Not sure whether this will affect you, but if you are on ordinary maternity leave (ie 26 weeks) they HAVE to keep your job as it is for you, but if you take more then that they only have to keep A job for you, as long as they can prove it was necessary to make changes (which keeping in mind having person off for 9 mths is stretch for a company so it would not be difficult to prove IMHO).

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

Firstly - I would double check the hearsay is accurate - Have you even spoken to your boss about it?

Should you not have already informed the company of when you intend to return? I have to do this before I go on Mat leave.

Your pay should of dropped to 90% of your wages

KittyKate

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel wrote: »

Firstly - I would double check the hearsay is accurate - Have you even spoken to your boss about it?

Should you not have already informed the company of when you intend to return? I have to do this before I go on Mat leave.

Your pay should of dropped to 90% of your wages

My work paid me 100% for 1 month, 90% for one month, 70% for a month and then I went to statutory pay.

I don't need to let the company know my return date until October - it's three months notice to return, so if I was to return on his preferred date I'd need to let the company know then.

And yes, of course, I checked the hearsay and it is accurate - my deputy told me himself. I have left messages for my boss to ring me back but he hasn't done so. I just wanted to see what my rights were before I saw him in person.

Googlewhacker

KittyKate wrote: »

My work paid me 100% for 1 month, 90% for one month, 70% for a month and then I went to statutory pay.

I don't need to let the company know my return date until October - it's three months notice to return, so if I was to return on his preferred date I'd need to let the company know then.

And yes, of course, I checked the hearsay and it is accurate - my deputy told me himself. I have left messages for my boss to ring me back but he hasn't done so. I just wanted to see what my rights were before I saw him in person.

You have been paid more than SSP, have you checked your contract to see if you have to pay any of it back if you leave at the end of the maternity leave?

The bit bout your boss having to phone you monthly is nice but not a legal requirement.

Pee

I don't think you can take any action until you fgo back to work and see what these changes mean for you. Yes, your deputy may have a different reporting level, things may change when you go back.

You can consult a solicitor or ACAS for further advice when you know what your position is, which at the moment you don't.

I would def check what you might have to repay regards maternity leave.

Any

Pee is right - what is happening now might be only temporary changes, because they have to do something while you are off to be able to function!!!
And that might be his reply to you. Given that you are on leave you are getting very involved.. The job change has not happened yet, you are not out of your 6 mths yet so you don't know what they will do when you come back so I would think you have no case at this moment of time.

The contact is nice if that is what you want, but not a legal requirement as Googlewhacker says. A lot of people I know would see this as harrasment even!!

SarEl

You haven't been demoted - your line manager has changed. Reporting lines are not contractual, they are organisational, and length of service has no bearing on who you report to. Whilst having a meeting might be sensible, I would suggest that you play it low key - right now the employer hasn't done anything wrong and hasn't indicated that they intend to. So you haven't really got a lot of go in there to complain about.

KittyKate

(Deleted my post as some more posts in meantime!).