Advise on returning to work after maternity

Soldato
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Hello all, not sure where to start so ill just jump in and hope i make atleast a small amount of sence, ill also try not to leave anything out.


First started last week, my partner is due to return to work after her maternity leave this month, so she got called into work for the meeting about is she fit for work, hours, days etc.

In the meeting she was told they only had her 30hours per week (What she was doing before she left for maternity) and if she couldn't do that should would have to resign. She let them know that we can only get a daughter into nursery two days a week, monday and tuesday (The only space avalible) and was told there was nothing they could do. (Personly i dont see why they carn't give her the 16 hours she wants and get anouther part timer in, it's not like they would have a hard time finding somone)

But she is not being helped at all in trying to find something they both can agree on, they are sticking to there guns and saying 30hours a week, take it or leave it.


But wait..... there is more (Abit daft too)
My partner put it on paper that she is unable to do the 30hours a week, and will not resign, took it into work and dropped it off as the manager was not there. When she got home she updated her facebook status (hehe) and it went something like "Glade that **** wasn't in when i dropped my letter off. Now sort my job out you **** (Not the nicest thing to put, but she is getting very stressed over all of this, all she wants to do it work so we can save for our wedding)

Then she gets a phone call in the day from her manager "Can you come into work please i need to talk to you" she asks why but the manager wont give her a reason, so she tells the manager the baby is having a nap, but as soon as she wakes up she will come down, so she gets the baby ready, jumps on the bus and goes into work.

When she gets there the manager hands her a letter, its for a disciplinary, and also inside is a printout of her facebook status (i lol'd) so one of her "freinds" at work told the manager about it and gave them a printout. And the reason for the disciplinary is insulting the manager puplicly on a networking site. Is she even aloud to do that? And if she is how should my partner play it?

And how should she go about the hole situation? Does she have a leg to stand on? Or shall i let her know to start looking for a new job?

And before the grammer police come abuse me, ill say sorry now for my poor grammer and spelling, and hope that you can atleast understand what ive put :)

Cheers for any help
 
She has thrown it all in the bin with the facebook status, companies are becoming very over zealous with regards to social networking.
A few people at the place I work have been given the boot for posting stuff that portrays the company in an un-flattering way.
 
I expect she will be fired and to be honest such stupidity deserves nothing less. The company were being pretty unreasonable but as soon as you resort to public name calling your handing victory too them on a plate. she should have remained calm and professional if she wanted to get anything.
 
I expect she will be fired and to be honest such stupidity deserves nothing less. The company were being pretty unreasonable but as soon as you resort to public name calling your handing victory too them on a plate. she should have remained calm and professional if she wanted to get anything.

I wouldn't call a private profile public, and with not naming the company or the person, i wouldn't thought it would have matterd


So being called two names on the internet is an instant dismisal? surley that carnt be right? They carnt even prove it's her prife, its just text on abit of paper (not a screenshot)

*Edit. Also two months ago she was diagnosed with postnatal depression, and is on antidepressants for the next 6 months, altho it may not be an excuse it does cause her to get stressed very easy when it comes to something like being told to give up your job
 
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She went in and spoke to CAB, they said they dont deal with it, only with benifit claims and stuff like that? =\

She was passed on a number tho, phones them and they just told her to make it clear that she would not resign (which she did with the letter she took in)
 
Well that's been done now, no point dwelling on it I guess.

Just see what happens at the disciplinary, get a union member (if she is a member, if not another collegue she can confide in and trust). Speak to CAB about the work hours thing, but I seriously doubt the company will move on the matter, from my experience they have no obligations to offer different working hours to suit you, there will be god knows how many people eager to snatch their hands off for 30 hours a week in the current climate.
 
I wouldn't call a private profile public, and with not naming the company or the person, i wouldn't thought it would have matterd


So being called two names on the internet is an instant dismisal? surley that carnt be right? They carnt even prove it's her prife, its just text on abit of paper (not a screenshot)

If you used that language to the boses face it would be an instant dismisal in any company I've worked in and doing it on the internet is no different. It's not exactly hard for them to prove it's her profile assuming the person at work who grassed her up is her facebook friend it's already pretty conclusive.

This is a fine example of why you shouldn't mix facebook and work.
 
she would have had a good case to get the hours looked at as employers have duty to make reasonable adjustments for flexible working when returning from mat leave.

The facebook thing is potential gross misconduct and will likely destroy any claim she had...
 
That wasn't very smart was it? Nice to see your laughing about it because your soon to be wife is soon to be unemployed.

Also don't see why the work place have to look like bad guys, no-one forced her to get pregnant and they are under no obligation to make changes just to suit her schedule.
 
Why on earth did she update her facebook status as that, that's just silly and childish.

yup

noob tbh

for months (years), we've been hearing about people getting the sack, or getting divorced / killed over facebook status
 
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