Employment questions( a few)

maka_2

Morning ok here goes

1) Requested flexible working hours due to child care problems. No offical come back yet but have been told no i was told to put the son in after school club until 22.00pm and to put 1yr old in aswell.(not sure how that works)

2) Asked to reduce my hours due to them not offering me flexible therefore no where for my children to go. They said no again no official letter yet think they will wait the full 14days before i get these.

3) Have our 3rd child on the way spoke to HR this morning who informed me there is no policy in place to say if i can share my wifes maternity leave because she is not at work but full time uni.there is if she works full time and returns though.

4) If my wife was working full time and i took over maternity i would get a maximum of 26 weeks on stat pay or 90% of my wage which ever is less.
and just to and to this any women that have worked for the company longer than 26 weeks get full maternity pay for 26 weeks how is that classed as sexual discrimination?

sorry and thanks i have no idea what to do next????

I should also say its just 2 shifts i have asked to change rather than working a late on thursday and a sunday due to no child care and also my wife having SPD so she cant really get up the stairs with our 1 yr old. i have asked for an earlier shift to help with these things

Uncertain

Slightly off my area but it sounds at though your employer is trying to be as obstructive as possible whilst staying within the law.

1 & 2. AFAIK the law only requires them to consider such requests which is not the same thing as granting them.

3 &4. I assume they are correct (somebody will confirm)

I think you need to read between the lines here. Is this a rigid company policy that would be applied to anybody (assuming the law allows it) or are they being excessively rigid with you for some unconnected reason?

If it is the latter then you need to either address the issue or look for an alternative job that fits better with your domestic life.

Sorry.

Hammyman

maka wrote: »

Morning ok here goes

1) Requested flexible working hours due to child care problems. No offical come back yet but have been told no i was told to put the son in after school club until 22.00pm and to put 1yr old in aswell.(not sure how that works)

You only have the right to request it. They can refuse it on business grounds. It is a worthless law.

2) Asked to reduce my hours due to them not offering me flexible therefore no where for my children to go. They said no again no official letter yet think they will wait the full 14days before i get these.

You only have the right to request it. They can refuse it on business grounds. It is a worthless law.

3) Have our 3rd child on the way spoke to HR this morning who informed me there is no policy in place to say if i can share my wifes maternity leave because she is not at work but full time uni.there is if she works full time and returns though.

You have absolutely no right to do that at all under any laws. You are only entitled to paternity leave.

4) If my wife was working full time and i took over maternity i would get a maximum of 26 weeks on stat pay or 90% of my wage which ever is less.
and just to and to this any women that have worked for the company longer than 26 weeks get full maternity pay for 26 weeks how is that classed as sexual discrimination?

You are not entitled to maternity leave because, by definition, it only applies to females - "Maternity: The state of being a mother; motherhood" . You cannot be entitled to maternity leave because you don't have breasts or a vagina. You are only entitled to paternity leave. That is employment law.

sorry and thanks i have no idea what to do next????

I should also say its just 2 shifts i have asked to change rather than working a late on thursday and a sunday due to no child care and also my wife having SPD so she cant really get up the stairs with our 1 yr old. i have asked for an earlier shift to help with these things

If they're refusing to budge, put up with it, find a workaround such as paying for childcare or leave. There is no sexual discrimination. I am also confused as to why there is no childcare. You say your wife works part time and is at Uni. Surely she doesn't do nights and especially Sundays? Or do you mean that your wife has to look after the kids on her own and has difficulties due to SPD whatever that is.

maka_2

I know i cannot have mat leave but the law changed in april i think which allows the father to take over her maternity pay if she returns to work howevr she does not work as she is on a very demanding uni course full time 9-6 monday to friday yes she id off on the week ends however struggles to get our 1 yr up the stairs and into the cot.

maka_2

maka wrote: »

I know i cannot have mat leave but the law changed in april i think which allows the father to take over her maternity pay if she returns to work howevr she does not work as she is on a very demanding uni course full time 9-6 monday to friday and the policy at work only states if she returns to work, nothing says about returning to uni

maka_2

The two halves of your pelvis are connected at the front by a stiff joint called the symphysis pubis. This joint is strengthened by a dense network of tough, flexible tissues, called ligaments. To help your baby pass through your pelvis as easily as possible, your body produces a hormone called relaxin, which softens the ligaments.

As a result, these joints move more during and just after pregnancy (Kristiansson 1997; Bjorkland et al 1999; Bjorkland et al 2000), causing inflammation and pain, known as symphysis pubis dysfunction or SPD.

A related condition is diastasis symphysis pubis (DSP), in which the gap in the pubic joint widens too far. The average gap between the bones in a non-pregnant woman is between 4mm and 5mm, and during pregnancy it's normal for this gap to widen by 2mm or 3mm. If the gap is 10mm or more, DSP is diagnosed. It's rare, and can only be identified by X-ray.

maka_2

Uncertain wrote: »

Slightly off my area but it sounds at though your employer is trying to be as obstructive as possible whilst staying within the law.

Very much so as for the last 10 weeks they have been changing my shift for me. went in last week and was told no more changes will happen,

Its a massive company with over 300 employees in my office alone yet it seems the smaller business are offering it yet they are the guys that really have more right to refuse you

Uncertain

Hammyman wrote: »

You are not entitled to maternity leave because, by definition, it only applies to females - "Maternity: The state of being a mother; motherhood" . You cannot be entitled to maternity leave because you don't have breasts or a vagina. You are only entitled to paternity leave. That is employment law.

No its not!

As you are getting anatomical, you are talking out of an orifice designed for another purpose!

Here is one explanation......

http://mpmlegal.co.uk/78-W1302274773.html

However it seems it doesn't help the OP as his wife is studying rather than working.

MrsManda

maka wrote: »

I know i cannot have mat leave but the law changed in april i think which allows the father to take over her maternity pay

This is true if the child was due on or after the 3rd April 2011. But in order to qualify the mother would have to have been entitled to Statutory Maternity Leave, Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance and gone back to work.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/Paternityrightsintheworkplace/DG_190788

As your wife is at university can she not claim the childcare grant so that she can pay for childcare when you are at work and she's unable to look after the children?

heretolearn_2

If the only problem is that she can't carry the 1 year old baby upstairs to put to bed, can't you set up a small cot/travel cot/pile of cushions downstairs somewhere to put baby to sleep, and then you can move him/her upstairs when you get home.

Hammyman

maka wrote: »

I know i cannot have mat leave but the law changed in april i think which allows the father to take over her maternity pay if she returns to work howevr she does not work as she is on a very demanding uni course full time 9-6 monday to friday yes she id off on the week ends however struggles to get our 1 yr up the stairs and into the cot.

So she doesn't work at all?m Which means she isn't entitled to maternity pay anyway as that only is applicable to employed people. Unemployed people do not get maternity pay or leave.

So as the problem seems to be the 1 year old and you're home by 10pm, why not just have the wee one sleep downstairs until you get home then pop them up to bed? Simple.

There is no problem except for the one you seem to be going out of your way to create.