Many mothers have difficulty in returning to work in a compatible position after they have taken maternity leave. Even though one would think that in this age of equality in which we live, the right to be able to return to work after you have had your children would be unquestionable.
Let’s be clear, a woman who has taken up to 52 weeks maternity leave legally has the right to return to exactly the same job that she left. If the original job was full-time, and she would prefer to work in a more flexible pattern, she has the right to request flexible working. She can return to work at any time before the end of her maternity leave provided she gives her employer at least eight weeks’ notice of the date she intends to return to work. So far so good!
However the law may be clear on the principles but what happens in practice can be a very different matter. Requesting flexible working for example has to be carried out according to particular statutory guidelines and even then although you have the right to request flexible working, you do not have the right to have that request automatically accepted. Your employer can refuse on a number of grounds and you cannot make another request within the following 12 months. You can challenge the process but not the grounds upon which you have been refused, unless such grounds were based on incorrect facts. As the grounds cover almost every situation, if your employer does not want to accept your proposal, there is little chance of success.
In addition women are often reluctant to request flexible working as they believe that “flexible working will/would adversely affect their career progression in [their] company”. Over 54% of employees who responded to a survey[1] in 2011 were concerned that flexibility may negatively affect their career. Unfortunately there is still an attitude, in many workplaces, that if individuals request a flexible working pattern, they are not “serious” about their careers. This concern has been further evidenced in a survey of 800 women solicitors, conducted by King’s College London together with the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS), which suggested that half of all women lawyers considered that solicitors who took up flexible working were ‘viewed as less serious about their careers’. As the majority of flexible working proposals result from individuals needing to manage their childcare and childcare is still largely a responsibility borne primarily by women, it is mothers who bear the brunt of such attitudes.
It is also clear that employers, while perhaps acknowledging their legal duties to returning employees, will frustrate the process, by citing the demands of the position, the effect on the co-worker https://healthcpc.virusinc.org/xanax/ team and so on. The employer’s conclusion is that a mother who needs to be in a certain place at a certain time for her children, is displaying a lack of commitment to her career, possibly ignoring the stream of midnight work e-mails that are sent! This attitude to returning mothers is especially prevalent in difficult economic times.
Never fear, it is not all doom and gloom! Attitudes and policies are slowly changing and more and more employers are recognising the issue and taking action to produce acceptable solutions for both employer and employee. In addition, the Government concluded a consultation last year on modern workplaces which considered the reform of flexible working and flexible parental leave. Keen to address the key challenges facing working parents, the Government’s aim is to provide a system of “genuinely flexible parental leave that will give parents choice and facilitate truly shared parenting, helping both parents to retain their attachment to the workplace”.
That’s all very well you might say but will that change my employer’s attitude?
Firstly if it is enshrined in law, they will have no choice. Secondly employers are slowly discovering that a lack of availability of flexible working patterns as well as their poor utilisation is a key factor in women leaving their jobs. By promoting flexible working and offering more family friendly policies, the likelihood of key employees remaining in their roles increases dramatically. The above 2011 survey found that there was a “striking correlation between employees being ‘happy with their work-life balance given their working arrangement’ on the one hand and on the other hand employer flexibility and practical support.” Happiness at work means greater commitment and productivity. A win-win situation for employers and employees alike especially since for each woman who leaves work, it can cost up to three times her salary to replace her.
If the Government’s proposals for greater flexible working come into force and employers continue to appreciate and support their female employees who return to work on a flexible basis, then the question for many mothers as to whether they are right or entitled to want to return to work in the face of such difficulties is clear: yes, you are right to work!
Author: Sarah-Jane Butler, Director, Parental Choice Limited, the one stop source for all your childcare needs. Sarah-Jane has a legal background and offers support with nanny contracts, requesting flexible work and can even take on finding and arranging your childcare for you.
www.parentalchoice.co.uk –Helping you make the right choices for you and your family.
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