NHS employer - hassle after maternity

[Deleted User]

Poppie68 wrote: »

I don't think anyone here is expecting any employer to be able to give an answer pre pregnancy at all....
It's nothing to do with employers, it's employees that should take into account money, childcare and working hours. Employees also can't expect an employer to agree to any demands just because they have had a baby...so contingency plans shoud of been in place...or maybe it's time to give up work.

I see what your saying but surely we should be encouraging people to work? Not making it difficult.

Plenty of young girls in my area who deliberately get pregnant to claim benefits so they dont have to work. Its an easy option.

If employers are going to make if difficult then thats whats going to happen to mothers. Wife could easily quit, wait 12 weeks then go and claim JSA for however long its paid for. Not much less than a part-time nurses income to be honest.

Poppie68

[quote=[Deleted User];64840135]I see what your saying but surely we should be encouraging people to work? Not making it difficult.

They are encouraging her to work....fulltime!

Plenty of young girls in my area who deliberately get pregnant to claim benefits so they dont have to work. Its an easy option.

Just because they are young and maybe single does'nt mean they do it 'for an easy' option.....if they do choose it as an easy option, bet they have had a shock.

If employers are going to make if difficult then thats whats going to happen to mothers. Wife could easily quit, wait 12 weeks then go and claim JSA for however long its paid for. Not much less than a part-time nurses income to be honest.[/QUOTE]

Employers are not making it difficult....women have babies all the time....how can employers sustain a business if all women have babies and decide to go part-time and employer are by law obliged to agree... Again it's down to a parents choice..



Has she considered job share? maybe there is someone else in her department who would also like to reduce their hours. Maybe worth speaking to HR and at least registering her interest incase someone else puts in a request.

ohreally

If the request is rejected, the employer should set out clear business reasons for the rejection and inform of the appeal process.


"on what grounds can applicants be refused?
Applications for flexible working arrangements can be refused only for the
following reasons:
• the burden of additional costs
• detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
• inability to reorganise work among existing staff
• inability to recruit additional staff
• detrimental impact on quality
• detrimental impact on performance
• insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work
• planned structural changes."

If she's a trade union member, inform the branch office of the situation.

duchy

It isn't beyond the capability of most employees to discover what their employer's attitude to reducing hours after MAT leave by observing or asking in their own workplace.

Once the possibility it may not be agreed is highlighted a sensible parent would be planning with the possibility reduced hours may not be automatic. If parents can't handle that bit of commonsense perhaps they aren't yet ready for the responsibilities that parenthood will bring yet.

Tenyearstogo

[quote=[Deleted User];64840135]I see what your saying but surely we should be encouraging people to work? Not making it difficult.

Plenty of young girls in my area who deliberately get pregnant to claim benefits so they dont have to work. Its an easy option.

If employers are going to make if difficult then thats whats going to happen to mothers. Wife could easily quit, wait 12 weeks then go and claim JSA for however long its paid for. Not much less than a part-time nurses income to be honest.[/QUOTE]

Or your wife could look for a part time post or give up her current post and work bank/agency.

JSA is far less than a nurses wages. A newly qualified nurse is over £21k full time. Even 20 hours a week would pay just under £1000 PCM.

t0rt0ise

It's not just a matter of the employer considering a request to go part-time but they, the NHS, have just paid an amount of maternity pay based on a full-time wage. Now the person wants to come back part-time. Many NHS trusts will expect the employee to work three months (or so, it varies) full-time, before requesting any reduction in hours.

It all sounds reasonable to me, and I'm as far left politically as they come!

notanewuser

duchy wrote: »

It isn't beyond the capability of most employees to discover what their employer's attitude to reducing hours after MAT leave by observing or asking in their own workplace.

Once the possibility it may not be agreed is highlighted a sensible parent would be planning with the possibility reduced hours may not be automatic. If parents can't handle that bit of commonsense perhaps they aren't yet ready for the responsibilities that parenthood will bring yet.

This isn't their first child.

The OP just likes to be as unreasonable as he can be whenever possible.

[Deleted User]

It gets worse. Policy is that she needs to give 8 weeks notice to go back to work (this is to allow payroll to get things sorted I guess).

Also, maternity policy says you should use any accrued leave if possible at the end of maternity. I guess this makes sense otherwise you're going to have a lot of leave to use when you go back. So she was going to go back in April, take leave and physically go back in June.

So we did this 4 weeks ago and outlined plans. Been chasing since. Now they want a meeting next week to discuss leave and won't agree till then.

Despite our protests that its going to be too late for the planned return date now.

getmore4less

8 weeks notice is in the statutory rules for maternity.

https://www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave/notice-period

Employees can change their return date to work if they give 8 weeks’ notice

you need to do more research rather than moan at everything.

[Deleted User]

getmore4less wrote: »

8 weeks notice is in the statutory rules for maternity.

https://www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave/notice-period

Employees can change their return date to work if they give 8 weeks’ notice

you need to do more research rather than moan at everything.

Ummm and you need to read the post before replying.

Thats my point exactly. She did give 8 weeks notice of changing her return date i.e. At the beginning of Feb, she notified her employer that she would be returning to work in April.

My point is that, because her manager has dragged her feet, and still not processed the request, it will now not be possible for her to go back in April because payroll insist on 8 weeks notice.

Point being is if law says 8 weeks then if there internal issues or delays that employer has then the law takes precedence. (In another words, tough titty employer sort it out).