NHS extending maternity leave

SamDude

Undervalued wrote: »

None of which is her employer's problem!

So she is relying on their goodwill. I am struggling to see much of an argument if, for whatever reason, they decide to be less accommodating.

Correct, it is not their problem. But it is in their employment terms.
Beth is not trying to bend or break any rules, just be granted the flexibility that the NHS states they offer (or will consider) in her scenario.

polgara

In what employment terms? There is the right to request not the right to receive. She needs to have contingencies in place anyway for childcare - what will happen if the child is ill and the nursery won't let them attend? Family, friends etc ??

Sncjw

What about a child minder or even family to help look after the child.

sangie595

I've just consulted with a colleague, and she's checked the agenda for change and the standard NHS conditions - and she cannot find the reference to this extra period. She didn't think there was one, and her check suggests this is correct. It does state that local terms may in exceptional circumstances allow a further period, but these are on what could be determined as compassionate grounds - e.g. a sick baby. I can't see that not having a place at the nursery you want would qualify as an exceptional circumstance.

My view is that the manager is right and she needs to return to work. If that means selecting another nursery, whether on a temporary basis or not, then she must. I don't see it as reasonable to blame the manager for her "treatment". None of this is the managers fault. She is simply observing the rules as laid down to the best of her ability. That is her job as a manager. It is not her fault that the HR person is not available, and frankly, given that she will have been planning her resource around the notified return date, to want to change it at this late stage does seem to have resource implications.

Undervalued

SamDude wrote: »

Correct, it is not their problem. But it is in their employment terms.
Beth is not trying to bend or break any rules, just be granted the flexibility that the NHS states they offer (or will consider) in her scenario.

Are you sure about that?

Or is it just something that they may consider at their discretion under exceptional circumstances?

Not being able to get their first choice of childcare is not exceptional circumstances IMHO.

getmore4less

Well over 18 months to plan childcare, left it to that last minute.

jobbingmusician

Another vote here for your friend sorting herself out! NHS employees already have far more generous terms than the majority - why should HER child not have to move nurseries? I fear your friend has a LOT to learn about making compromises as a mother....

iammumtoone

I am afraid this is working life.

I took a year off and struggled to find good childcare (all the best places were taken ) Including one who said they could take him but at the last minute couldn't as another parent of a child already there changed their plans

It didn't even cross my mind to ask for more time off. I just had to find something. I did, it wasn't my first choice and I was never really happy with the situation so I carried on looking whilst in work and moved him to one of my original picks as soon as a place became available.

clairec79

Could she take the annual leave (to give a little space) and maybe her partner take some of the unpaid parental leave?

Alternatively if she works on the wards has she thought about using leave to reduce her hours each week and working weekends (or days partner is off) as a short term measure

warby68

If she likes her job (and her colleagues) she might want to consider how they will view her if she continues to try to extract more leave when terms are already quite generous.

Its very easy to enter a kind of bubble when you have your first child and (not necessarily consciously) believe that the world should revolve around that situation when actually your requests are a bit unreasonable.

Her reasons are relatively weak to the outside world and, to my mind, cast doubt on her commitment to come back. What if the chosen nursery still has no place? Its not very convincing that over 12m of leave she hasn't secured a place and still wants another 3-4m.

Sorry to be harsh but I've been there and done that - juggling childcare and work- and when leave was much shorter than 12m to get prepared. An awful lot of compromise and planning required and the bad news is that it continues for quite a while

Can dad not cover her return to work temporarily or can she work different hours for a while if she insists on holding out for first choice nursery?