Going part time after bubs born

Hi guys

Just wondering if anyone knows....

I am currently working full time and am having 6 months off atleast when bubs is born.
When I am ready to return to work I would like to go back as part time (3 days a week).
Does anyone know if I am able to do this? As in, does the employer only have to offer me my previous position at full time or do they have to go with what I decide (ie only coming back 3 days rather than full time)

Hope that made sense to everyone, mt preggers brain is not working that well at moment!

:)

Your employer is only required to hold your current position, ie a full time position if that is what you're doing prior to going on maternity leave. That said, a lot of employers can be very flexible with their arrangements.

I finished working in the last week of February 2005 & was in a full time job. I had Zander & then went back to work on Friday & Saturday only from the first week in September 2005. To this day, I am still doing only the two days (plus some work at home). I didn't discuss it with my employer until we were organising when I came back to work.

Your employer only has to hold a job at the same level and same conditions that you had prior to going on mat leave - ie in your case this would be a full time position. However many employers are v flexible and probably expect that you will want to come back part time, so when the time comes this is something you could discuss with them? In my case it works best to discuss this before I go on leave but I have an exceptional employer who is extremely flexible so I am comfortable to discuss this with them. Personally I have decided to work out what will be best for me and bubs and DH once I know what it is like to have a baby!

That's exactly what I did - worked it all out once I had given birth & got settled. My pre-conceived ideas before he was born were totally different to what we ended up doing.

Can your employer refuse to let you work part time??
I want to go back to work, but I really dont want to go full time.

Yep Karina, they can. They are only required by law to keep your exact job for the period of 12 months. I found out though that should you want to go back before the 12 months that you can go back on reduced hours if the employer allows it. After the 12 months you have to either draw up a new agreement different to your full time one saying what your new position etc is, go back full time or leave.

Lots of places are very flexible. What sort of a company is it Karina? A big one with heaps of employees may be less flexible. If it's a family type business run by one person, with a small staff then you are more likely to have some flexibility. Also, dodgy as it is, if you are great at your job & they love you they're more likely to be flexible as well. Do you know of other mums that have worked there & returned part time....

The company I work for is relatively small with around 20 employees. The owners are a father & son team, so they are very family oriented. Within the company are the owners, the son's wife & his BIL, also me, my mum (& my brother once upon a time) & a father / daughter combo as well. They are super flexible & prefer to keep the employees they have with different arrangements rather than losing someone....

Thanks for the info Sarah. I work for an insurance company and there are about 20 people who work there. Unfortunately I am the first person there to have taken maternity leave so they really have not much idea on how to handle it all. I will ask about part time and hopefully they'll be flexible and understanding.. we do have some degree of flexibilty there, but I just dont know how flexible kwim? I guess all I can do is ask my boss!

If you're the first it can only be a good thing as they won't have any other cases to compare with ;)

i agree being the 1st can be a good thing, hey if you dont ask you dont get - so go to them with a plan of what you can do and how it will work. and if you can how they can deal withthe impact, if you go to them with a solution then it is easier for them to say YES! Best of luck.

BTW I do work for a v large company and they are super flexible and understanding - so I think it is down to the company itself more than the size of it. Some smaller and family run companies just cant afford the flexibility. Mine has specific targets for retention of women, has won many awards for an emplyer of choice for women (male dominated ind mind you) and there are lots of people who have been there done that so they have many ideas to help in preg, mat leave and returning to work.
Sarah - your company sounds like a great place to work too!

Sounds like yours is a great workplace as well :)

I talked to my employer about coming back part time and they agreed. It all worked out very well for us.

I think by law they are required to hold your old position and if that was full time, then I think it remains full time.

But if they are nice bosses you may give what you want :D

I work for a large Co too.
I start mat leave ending this week, I currently work 5 days fulltime & have a pretty full on role, as the Co. runs 24/7, I advised them I wanted to return to a nopn important role, with no stress & also of evenings when my hubby would be home.

My big boss tried to negotiate with me to stay on as we get along well & my role is important but I told him my kids are my priority & having 2 littlies at home it doesnt justify my hubby working (as I earn more) so I said I am soprry but this wont work for me so come back to me with something that will.
As I knew he wanted me to stay, so he has come back & I have agreed (happily) to work from 8pm til midnight 5 nights a week, in a no responsibility role as a Level A worker (which gives me a higher pay rate) but come midnight I leave my work behind, where as my current role is also on call...
I can now be home with the 2 littlies have dinner cooked etc & we all get to eat together, bath & put littlies to bed & then I head off to work for 4 hours which will be a breeze compared to my current role & all for a similar pay as it's nights & has penalty rates...

So definately discuss it with them sooner than later!

I am very lucky that where I work I get along with the big boss & he has said to come to him when I am ready to move back to Full Time in however many years time!!!!

Tracey - sounds like it worked out well for you!! YAY on the last week of work, I cant wait for that week!!!

Hi all,
My employer has it in our contract that we are entitled to negotiate a return to part-time work when coming back from maternity leave. Given how they got around the half-pay entitlement (a previous thread I posted) I'm actually a bit uncertain as to whether they'll honour this one or not.
I've informed my work that I cannot return full-time, and that I cannot return to the location where I currently work- it's 1hr10mins by public transport from me, and roughly the same in peak hour by car. My preference is to return part-time and to the location closest to my house, but I have to negotiate that closer to the return date. Oh well, I've a year to spend wondering about it. :)
Hope all goes well for you.
Kirsten