Maternity cover

[daisyday]

Does anyone know if your employer is allowed to advertise your maturnity cover on a temperary to perminant basis?

Reason i am asking is my employer is making hard to me to return to work and i have heard that he employer the cover on a temp to perm basis which suggest to me that he had no intention of letting me return, or was intending to make it hard for me to.

 

[Blah11]

they have to keep your job open for a year. Its the law so dont worry X

 

[tinkabells]

Yeah they have to keep it open for a yr love xxx

 

[daisyday]

They have to keep my full time hours open but i told them before i went on leave i wouldnt be able to work full time and would like to work part time.

 

[AnnaHughes]

I am pretty sure, that if they cant accommodate reduced hours in your previous position, then they have to see if there is an alternative position, at the same level, that they can offer you. The girl who works for me, originally came back on reduced hours, but they could not accommodate this in the HR dept, so she had to be offered a job in accounts. i am pretty sure this happened as a legal requirement.

 

[FierceAngel]

its quite normal for the postion to be advertised as temp with possibility of perm.. they dont know if you are going to come back as u dont have to tewll them till a certain time...

 

[Seraphim]

As I understand it...

You can take 6 months leave and return to your EXACT position.
You can take 12 months leave and return to a position no less favourable than your current position, pay / hours / skills etc.

I thought that they HAD to advertise the cover as a TEMPORARY contract - because otherwise you wouldn't be returning to your EXACT position if you returned within 6 months.

You can change your return date - so until the deadline is past, they can't say anything to anyone for sure.

When it comes to working hours when you return... I would wait to discuss this.

You can apply for flexible working hours AFTER you have had the baby / are returning to work. Your employer has to reasonably consider this request.
But they cannot advertise for cover NOW on the basis that you MAY request flexible / reduced working hours. Be careful about reducing your hours - you don't have a right to increase them later on.

For further information and confirmation call ACAS (if you're in the UK?) on 08467 47 47 47

 

[caggimedicine]

They will probably have advertised the job as a temp job with a possibility of it becomming permanent - people who apply for maternity cover jobs know that there's a possibility that the person they are covering for may choose not to return to work and therefore they may be in with a chance of the position becoming permanent. It's always easier to recruit if the applicants think there's a possibility of it becoming permanent. However, they do have to legally keep your job open, and I can't see that they've done anything wrong.