Returning from maternity leave, company requiring flexibility, childcare renders this impossible!

Brynsam

KatrinaWaves said:

Brynsam said:

FranRF said:

A friend (no...really) is returning from maternity leave. Family childcare has fallen through as family member is a carer and high risk of covid so no longer able to help.  Childminders/nurseries need set days to be booked to maintain bubbles. Place of work aren t open to set days. Money owed to company if she resigns. What advice can I give? Should the company be taking the current situation into account and (they allowed the staff member covering her leave to work set days, although this did impact other staffs routine, hence the reluctance to do so again). Any help gratefully received x

The company are taking the current situation into account - they're trying to stay afloat and run their business.

How about the father asking if he can work flexibly so the mother can work set days? 

Think you’ve got things mixed up. The company wants flexibility, not set days. The fathers working pattern won’t change that. 

Oops! Thank you. Meant to say 'How about the father asking if he can work flexibly so the mother can also work flexibly'  but brain and fingers failed to liaise properly...

Undervalued

thebrexitunicorn said:

 She can submit a statutory request for flexible working to ask for fixed days. The employer can refuse but they must consider it.  What is the reason they cannot agree to specific days?  What type of work is it?  If it genuinely isn’t possible there maybe isn’t much that can be done.  A blanket policy of not allowing any fixed days for any staff will disproportionately affect people with caring responsibilities  (mainly women), potentially it could be discriminatory but it might be reasonable in the circumstances, more information needed. 

In general terms it is not very difficult for a company to come up with "valid" reasons to turn down a flexible working request if they have a mind to do so. Plus of course they could have good genuine reasons!

Yes, a blanket ban "could" (just possibly) be discriminatory but even if it is the OP's friend needs to think very carefully about the real world aspects of bringing such a claim if they are intending to continue working there. If it is a case of resigning unless she can get the changes she wants then it becomes more of a possibility but she would need sound legal advice.

TBagpuss

I am assuming that before she went on leave he worked flexible hours or alternatively that she worked full time so has chosen to not to return to her exact pre-mat job?

If that's the case, the company doesn't have to accommodate a request for fixed days. She can make a formal, statutory request for flexible working (although what she's asking for is less flexibility, it still comes under that heeding) 

The company can reject the request for the following reasons:

Employers can reject an application for any of the  reasons below  - I've highlighted the ones which it is sounds as the company may say applies, based on what you said in your original post.  

• extra costs that will damage the business
• the work cannot be reorganised among other staff
• people cannot be recruited to do the work
• flexible working will affect quality and performance
• the business will not be able to meet customer demand
• there’s a lack of work to do during the proposed working times
• the business is planning changes to the workforce

It's worth bearing in mind that even if the employer has granted similar arrangements to others in the past, they may not be able to do the same for her 
ETA - the fact they may have made such arrangements for others may well be *reason* they can't do it again - if they need there to be some people who can work the less popular times or to work more flexibly to cope with demand

thebrexitunicorn

Undervalued said:

thebrexitunicorn said:

 She can submit a statutory request for flexible working to ask for fixed days. The employer can refuse but they must consider it.  What is the reason they cannot agree to specific days?  What type of work is it?  If it genuinely isn’t possible there maybe isn’t much that can be done.  A blanket policy of not allowing any fixed days for any staff will disproportionately affect people with caring responsibilities  (mainly women), potentially it could be discriminatory but it might be reasonable in the circumstances, more information needed. 

In general terms it is not very difficult for a company to come up with "valid" reasons to turn down a flexible working request if they have a mind to do so. Plus of course they could have good genuine reasons!

Yes, a blanket ban "could" (just possibly) be discriminatory but even if it is the OP's friend needs to think very carefully about the real world aspects of bringing such a claim if they are intending to continue working there. If it is a case of resigning unless she can get the changes she wants then it becomes more of a possibility but she would need sound legal advice.

If it’s a blanket ban it’s actually likely to be indirectly discriminatory. The real question is whether it’s a proportionate means of achieving the employer’s legitimate aim.  I wasn’t suggesting the OP ‘s friend raise a claim,  more pointing out that the situation may be not be as clear cut as many posters are suggesting.  There are also internal processes that the employee could use.  Without additional information it’s impossible to provide specific guidance.