Employer forcing unpaid hours

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It sounds like they are completely unethical. I'd be tempted to forego maternity leave for a different job. If what you say is right, you might even be better off. Surely you could get a better pay rate elsewhere? I think you probably could based on your comment that you are 2ic but being paid admin assistant rates.

I'd also be tempted to take a warning instead especially if it was the first one.

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My concern with trying to find closer to home is that we live in remote rural victoria. To have my current job we travel 100KM each way. We spend over $1,000 a month on petrol alone - JUST to get to/from work. Everytime I've looked closer to home, there's been nothing, otherwise I would have left 3 years ago when we moved to our little country oasis.

I've been given several larger pay rises, just I'm still on the award for admin. The average pay rise here is $2000-3000 a year. My last pay rise (2011) was $4000 wages + $2000 increase on commission (helps if you GET *****in' commision though!!!). This years pay rise was only $200 a year to bring my salary back up to award rates for my experience level.

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Is there anywhere in your contract that states hours and then has something like or reasonable hours as required?
It could be worded differently.
At the end of the day depending on what is in your contract dictates what they can and can't request. The word reasonable is your out because it may not be reasonable to expect you to work on weekends at a conference if you have other commitments.
Itms?
I would just respond in writing that due to prior arrangements your are unable to attend. They can not force you :) however, depending on your contract can request you :)

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I wish I could look this up, but have no idea where my contracts went when we moved. I'll see if I can find the email cause I know they were emailed through to me to sign...and I only delete junk emails so they should be there somewhere....it's just a matter of WHERE........

Your HR department is required to provide you a copy of your current agreement.

Have asked HR for a copy. :)

Have you checked what maternity leave you will be entitled to if you DO stay? In my partner's firm, parental leave is equal for men and women - As long as you have worked for the company for at least a year, you can choose to have up to a year off - totally unpaid. There is no paid maternity leave at all, and if your contract is like that, then it isn't worth staying just to get your maternity leave.

I'm not sure what industry or what award you are under, but my industry (childcare) if we have anything unpaid - training or whatever, it has to be voluntary - staff are encouraged to attend, but you cannot legally make them.

I would just go in to police station on the day and get a Stat Dec saying that you couldn't work. It sounds really unreasonablr. I would expect TIL for my time. It just sounds dodgy. What does everyone else think? How many of you are expected to go?

It's unpaid maternity leave, but it just seems to make sense to stay there where I do have the security that my job WILL be there for me once if I decide to go back to work (although hubby and I are hoping that we will be able to make do on his wage and I can be a stay a home mum till school time).

It's the entire 'sales' team expected to attend - all up close to, if not over 100 employees.

Have put the question to "Fair Work Australia" to see what they say.
A close work colleague has also put a question to them about maternity leave as she's just been told something that does not make sense at all and now she's fuming as it's looking like she may lose her job if she takes maternity leave when her baby is born in June!

Fact Sheet Parental Leave

If she's been there 12 months & given 10 weeks notice, she is entitled to 12 months unpaid leave.

I hope you get the answer you want.

This may be me being cynical, but I offer this perspective: Life is too short to spend it being miserable. You spend a lot of time at work. If you dont enjoy it, you're wasting precious hours of your life that you will never regain.

given that you are about to start ivf and have no idea how long that journey will take, I wouldnt be staying somewhere I'm miserable to earn 12 months unpaid leave. I'd go find a job I enjoy. If I happen to be there long enough to be entitled to unpaid leave, then great. If not, then not. You dont know what the future may bring. Even if you got pregnant tomorrow and birthed a healthy, live baby 9 months from now, would you really want to go back to work at this place later on?

Just something to think about.

Maternity leave is legislated and the employer needs to do the right thing by the legislation otherwise they can be reported to Fair Work.

Personally I would be looking for another job as if you add up the time IVF may take and 9 months gestation then you will be eligible for the 12 months in the new role anyway.

Unless your contract states that there are specific company events that you are expected to attend then they can't force you to attend them, especially if you required to be away for an entire weekend. If they sacked or warned you over non attendance then I would think that it wouldn't stand up as a reasonable reason for a warning. Reasonable overtime in your contract refers to a few hours here and there that you may be required to put into your work, "reasonable" does not cover an entire weekend! If you can't attend then I would take a written warning and file it away for reporting to Fair Work if they become nasty about it. Also if you are covered by an award you may be able to get a Union in to back you up.

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given that you are about to start ivf and have no idea how long that journey will take, I wouldnt be staying somewhere I'm miserable to earn 12 months unpaid leave. I'd go find a job I enjoy. If I happen to be there long enough to be entitled to unpaid leave, then great. If not, then not. You dont know what the future may bring. Even if you got pregnant tomorrow and birthed a healthy, live baby 9 months from now, would you really want to go back to work at this place later on?

Just something to think about.

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I have 0 intention of coming back here after what my work colleague has been advised today for her maternity leave. Will start looking for a new job effective immediately I think

The other thing to think about is you may need significant time off work for IVF (appointments, ultrasounds, blood tests, procedures). Will your current employer be okay with this?

they are fully aware of my intentions with IVF and said they will find a way to "cope" without me while I am having treatment.

They're also going to be pretty screwed if IVF does work first time round for me.

My work colleague finishes up in May to have her baby, IF (and that's a big IF after what she's been told today I'm guessing) she comes back she won't be back until early 2014.

IF IVF works first time round for us (which is always possible being we are only having to go down the IVF path due to my husband's vasectomy), hormone treatment for egg harvest should start approx late February/early March, which puts good possibility of me being due late 2013, early 2014 (all going well of course!).....which puts me leaving before she comes back.

They could lose the entire Admin team for our section of the company in one quick swoop.

What has your friend been told re maternity leave?

It sounds to me you're extremely unhappy where you are. Life's to short to be that unhappy and given you spend so much of your time at work, perhaps looking for a new job is a good idea :)

When she first advised them she was pregnant they said they would hire a "maternity leave replacement" as a short-term contract role so her job was secure.....now they've back flipped and said that she will be able to return to work here, but that "It will be a similar role but maybe in another team".

She's contacted Fair Work Australia today also as she believes this may be going against the below from the Australia Fair Pay & Conditions Standard:

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(a) that position; or
(b) if there are 2 or more such positions—whichever position is nearest in status and remuneration to the former position.
Also, Before an employer engages an employee (a primary replacement) to do the work of another employee because the other employee is taking a continuous period of leave including (or constituted by) maternity leave, the employer must tell the primary replacement:
(a) that the engagement to do that work is temporary; and
(b) what the rights of the employee taking maternity leave are under section 280 when she returns to work after the period of leave

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