LondonSally
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2015
- Messages
- 2
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Hi All, I'm new 
I am 31 and I have two children, a 5 year old and a six month old.
I have worked as an IT Manager for the same company for 11 years. 5 months ago I asked my boss if I could return in May 2016 and fix my working hours with two days from home (still working full time). He said this won't be a problem, pop it in an email to him.
I found out via friends my boss was leaving (no-one bothered to tell me) and before I knew it four months ago I was placed under a new manager. The first thing this manager, a woman this time, did was to call me and tell me she was in charge now and to enquire, had I had the baby yet? (Baby was 8 weeks old at this time... I'd have been 11 months pregnant!?). It looks like there was no personnel handover etc as she knew nothing about me and hadn't bothered to find out before ringing me. She said she would be dealing with my return to work.
She stalled for four months saying she's 'looking into it' and now she has point blank refused my request. The reason for this is that she's decided to take me off the customer I was representing and move me under a customer due to go live in May 2016. Her reasons for this are that I don't know the computer systems my old customer use. When I pointed out well yes, I do, they were my customer for 3 years, and indeed I trained the two staff she now has doing that customer myself (whereas I was doing it alone!). She said 'oh well I wasn't aware of that' but refuses to move me back to my old customer, where my requested set hours and working location were not an issue (indeed I worked the same pattern with a 1 hour difference for 5 years before baby 2!)
She is refusing my fixed hours and all working from home because 'we don't know what the customer might want'. The customer is based over 300 miles away, so they're never going to pop in, and I have always had a 1 month notice for all formal meetings as so many people need to clear their diary to attend. She says now she has refused, that I will have to work my old hours - which mean I can't pick my eldest up from school. When I pointed this out she said 'well I support you if you want to look for something else'.
She then offered an 'ultimatum' where I come back for 6 months then she can 'decide' whether I can stay on the hours - but after those 6 months I won't be covered by maternity rights and I pay my nursery for baby 2 months in advance so if she effectively forces me to quit if I can't find another job, I'm out £1600+.
I have spoken to her manager, but unfortunately he says he can 'see her side of things' and is leaving it up to her. I spoke to HR who say I can appeal her decision, which I am doing, but it's a long process and at the end of it even if successful I'll be forced to work with a manager who has made my life an absolute misery for no reason whatsoever other than to assert her new-manager status. My manager's manager has 'strongly dissuaded' me from raising a grievance as it's 'a lot of hassle'. I have been dealing with this about three times a week for the last four months. I'm incredibly stressed about it, I've lost nearly a stone.
My manager has repeatedly asked me to come to the office, I cannot as I am breastfeeding, baby won't take a bottle yet, and she is teething. There are no facilities for babies in my office and HR have said it's inappropriate to bring her in. But my manager has emailed her manager to say I'm refusing to co-operate. I'm being made to look really bad but all I want to do is return full time with fixed hours as the policy states I am allowed to do.
Obviously I need to wait (over Christmas ) for the result of the appeal which I am hoping will find in my favour, unless my manager can find some other BS reason to block my request but even if it does I am dreading going back into an office where everyone thinks I've been a threatening, entitled b****, because my manager has made sure everyone has been told how difficult I've been (and yes I know this is unprofessional of her, but I can't prove it as none of her direct reports want the same treatment!)
It's very telling that our own HR department have sent me the guidelines on constructive dismissal and industrial tribunals. They have also advised, off the record sadly, to only talk to my manager via email as she tells lies! I don't want to leave my job but since I've had my customer removed from me and I'm really not going to get a promotion now, I am considering it.
Is this a case of maternity discrimination or is it just a horrible, spiteful boss?!
I am 31 and I have two children, a 5 year old and a six month old. I have worked as an IT Manager for the same company for 11 years. 5 months ago I asked my boss if I could return in May 2016 and fix my working hours with two days from home (still working full time). He said this won't be a problem, pop it in an email to him.
I found out via friends my boss was leaving (no-one bothered to tell me) and before I knew it four months ago I was placed under a new manager. The first thing this manager, a woman this time, did was to call me and tell me she was in charge now and to enquire, had I had the baby yet? (Baby was 8 weeks old at this time... I'd have been 11 months pregnant!?). It looks like there was no personnel handover etc as she knew nothing about me and hadn't bothered to find out before ringing me. She said she would be dealing with my return to work.
She stalled for four months saying she's 'looking into it' and now she has point blank refused my request. The reason for this is that she's decided to take me off the customer I was representing and move me under a customer due to go live in May 2016. Her reasons for this are that I don't know the computer systems my old customer use. When I pointed out well yes, I do, they were my customer for 3 years, and indeed I trained the two staff she now has doing that customer myself (whereas I was doing it alone!). She said 'oh well I wasn't aware of that' but refuses to move me back to my old customer, where my requested set hours and working location were not an issue (indeed I worked the same pattern with a 1 hour difference for 5 years before baby 2!)
She is refusing my fixed hours and all working from home because 'we don't know what the customer might want'. The customer is based over 300 miles away, so they're never going to pop in, and I have always had a 1 month notice for all formal meetings as so many people need to clear their diary to attend. She says now she has refused, that I will have to work my old hours - which mean I can't pick my eldest up from school. When I pointed this out she said 'well I support you if you want to look for something else'.
She then offered an 'ultimatum' where I come back for 6 months then she can 'decide' whether I can stay on the hours - but after those 6 months I won't be covered by maternity rights and I pay my nursery for baby 2 months in advance so if she effectively forces me to quit if I can't find another job, I'm out £1600+.
I have spoken to her manager, but unfortunately he says he can 'see her side of things' and is leaving it up to her. I spoke to HR who say I can appeal her decision, which I am doing, but it's a long process and at the end of it even if successful I'll be forced to work with a manager who has made my life an absolute misery for no reason whatsoever other than to assert her new-manager status. My manager's manager has 'strongly dissuaded' me from raising a grievance as it's 'a lot of hassle'. I have been dealing with this about three times a week for the last four months. I'm incredibly stressed about it, I've lost nearly a stone.
My manager has repeatedly asked me to come to the office, I cannot as I am breastfeeding, baby won't take a bottle yet, and she is teething. There are no facilities for babies in my office and HR have said it's inappropriate to bring her in. But my manager has emailed her manager to say I'm refusing to co-operate. I'm being made to look really bad but all I want to do is return full time with fixed hours as the policy states I am allowed to do.
Obviously I need to wait (over Christmas
) for the result of the appeal which I am hoping will find in my favour, unless my manager can find some other BS reason to block my request but even if it does I am dreading going back into an office where everyone thinks I've been a threatening, entitled b****, because my manager has made sure everyone has been told how difficult I've been (and yes I know this is unprofessional of her, but I can't prove it as none of her direct reports want the same treatment!)It's very telling that our own HR department have sent me the guidelines on constructive dismissal and industrial tribunals. They have also advised, off the record sadly, to only talk to my manager via email as she tells lies! I don't want to leave my job but since I've had my customer removed from me and I'm really not going to get a promotion now, I am considering it.
Is this a case of maternity discrimination or is it just a horrible, spiteful boss?!
