Returning after Maternity Leave - change in location

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Exoverspender

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Hi

Just looking for some guidance. So returning to work from maternity leave and have been advised that il now be based in another office. This office is over an extra hours travel to and fro and involves a total of 4 buses per day (so 2 hrs to and 2 from where initially would have been 1 hr ew and 1 bus)

Now it's not expected that I be based there daily but at least twice per week. (However that would have been the same if I was based in my original place of work)

What are my rights if any? I understand that things change they need to put me where they need me but if I wasn't on maternity leave this wouldn't be something I would have went for.

this is really worrying me as returning to work is overwhelming enough but jow worrying il have a total of 4 hrs travel per day is killing me.

Any advice is appreciated. thanks in advance
 
What does your contract of employment say about working location? Many will reserve the right of the employer to unilaterally change the employee's location.
 

Maternity Protection Act, 1994 , Section 26

The electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) comprises the Acts of the Oireachtas (Parliament), Statutory Instruments, Legislation Directory, Constitution and a limited number of pre-1922 Acts.
www.irishstatutebook.ie

Section 26 of the Maternity Protection Act refers. You’re entitled to come back from maternity leave on terms no less favourable than those you would have enjoyed had you not gone on maternity leave.

It’s a brave (or foolish) employer that would use the occasion of a return from maternity leave to give effect to a transfer that inconveniences you to the extent you’ve described.

Assuming you want to stay on good terms with the employer, you could simply point out quietly that this would be a direct breach of the MPA 1994.

If your employer presses ahead regardless, I believe he/she would be in breach of both the MPA and the Employment Equality Acts.
 
Exoverspender said:
What are my rights if any? I understand that things change they need to put me where they need me but if I wasn't on maternity leave this wouldn't be something I would have went for.
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I think this is the crucial point, if I understand correctly. So had you been at work you could have declined the transfer to the new location? You could have chosen to remain in your original position and location?

Then say to your employer, given that my job is protected under the maternity act, I will be returning to my job in the location I was at prior to going on protected leave. I am happy for the company to go through the normal procedure of offering transfers to new locations once I have resumed my original job in my original place of work. As per normal practice I can accept or decline, but given the protected status of my leave I will not be in a position to discuss a possible transfer until I have settled back into my current role after my protected leave.

I am guessing once you are back it will be hard to get you to move. Best of luck.
 
Hi Clamball

Many thanks for prompt response. Yes correct while I understand that I could move teams and my role hasn't really changed but location has and it really is less favourable as I would believe. And yes if this was proposed while I wasn't on maternity leave I would have declined. Just wanted to ensure I wasn't being dramatic about it.
 
Once you do go back and settle into your current role don’t be in any hurry to discuss a change in location. When it is brought up, say. I am barely back into my role after returning from mat leave. There has been a lot of change both at home and at work and I am still working through all of these. Please give me a few weeks/months (whatever feels normal for you) to settle back in before discussing any further change. What support does my company offer those returning from maternity leave?

The last one might be handy as many companies now pride themselves on their return from maternity leave support, it might make them sit up and offer more support, or it might make you realise a bit more what your company is like and how they treat new parents.

Has the company replaced your position at your current location? Is there someone else doing your current job? Maybe they don’t want to move, which is why it is so important to get back into your role in your location. Feet under the desk is a strong position to be in. And this is why the act protects you so well, you are in a weaker position at home with the baby. Keep quoting the act, pointing out the company should not want to be doing anything illegal and hold firm. Refuse to discuss any job changes until you are back at work in your old role doing your old job.

.
 
No disrespect Clamball but I think that long fingering any discussion of the proposed change in location following the return from maternity leave is poor advice. On returning from maternity leave a woman enjoys the protections of the Maternity Protection Act, if the she delays discussing a clear change in her terms made during her maternity leave she may loose these protections or at least the company may be able to claim that the change was proposed well after her return and had nothing to do with her leave.

Discrimination against women returning from maternity leave is very, very common. It is one of the most common employment complaints made to the Workplace Relations Commission. This is why legal protections were introduced in the first place. Frankly I think the fact that your company have imposed such a radical change in conditions on your return from your maternity leave is a bad sign Exoverspender. It may be that your manager is ignorant of the law and just made arrangements to suit those who were in the office at the time or it may be that s/he wants to get rid of you. I don't want to upset you at this very stressful time in your life, but realistically you should prepare yourself for both prospects.

Either way I think the best advice is to request a meeting and tell them that this change in conditions is a breech of your rights as a woman returning from maternity leave and you are not prepared to move offices. By all means be polite and friendly and frame this as an 'oversight' but I would definitely follow up the meeting in writing and point out your rights under the maternity leave legislation. Hopefully that will sort out the situation, but it is doesn't I would seek legal advice or advice from a trade union if you are a member of one.
 
Are you the only one who has been moved? If other staff and similar team mates have been had to move it might be a factor too. If you are the only one who has been asked to move then it seems hard fr your employer to defend it.
 
I see your point Mocame, you are saying tackle the problem head on during maternity leave while I am saying kick the can down the road until you are back in your job.

It is a clear breach of the maternity act to make changes to terms and conditions while on leave, my thinking was there was someone who had taken over the old job who didn’t want to move and they were proposing that the person on mat leave move.

The op said if she was at work and in her position she could easily resist the move so my idea was to get her back to that position without lots of argument and she would be in a power position then.
 
Mocame said:
if the she delays discussing a clear change in her terms made during her maternity leave she may loose these protections or at least the company may be able to claim that the change was proposed well after her return and had nothing to do with her leave.
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The entitlement is to come back to the same conditions as enjoyed immediately before maternity leave. Once this entitlement is observed, there’s nothing to preclude a company from considering future transfers at any time, even while a person is on maternity.

If a person considers that any future proposed transfer is related to a previous maternity related absence, that’s another matter but it would be much more difficult to prove.
 
Thanks so much for everyone's input. It's been beyond helpful. I initially thought I was being dramatic about the change but I now know I'm not and I do have rights.

I am going to request a copy of my contract as first port of call and speak with someone from HR/Employer Relations.

I will then discuss with the new manager the reasons for the change, the inconveniences and further stresses this will cause me and go from there.

Thanks again for all the information and guidance
 
Salvadore said:
Be aware that nothing in your contract has any bearing on your statutory right to return on the same conditions as you enjoyed immediately before leaving on maternity.
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But do "same conditions" necessarily mean same location?
Also, it's not clear if the original poster is yet to return to work and has been advised of the change of location in advance, or if they returned to work already and are now being relocated.
 
Any employer has to wait a reasonable length of time after return from maternity leave before changing an employee's location of work if the contract allows it.

To my knowledge the WRC takes a very dim view of employers not respecting letter and spirit of the Maternity Protection Act.

Make all of your objections to this proposed change of location very clear and in writing already.
 
Just to note I am yet to return I am due to return in January and had a catch up to discuss my return and it was advised then
 
Salvadore said:
Could you not decline at the recent catch up meeting you had?
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That is very hard to do when you are put on the spot in a phone call. It is easy to think of all the great responses afterwards. Usually a pre return to work catch up is a mixture of news, gossip and work related updates, not that you are going to be hit with big changes.

So many managers think they can get away with this for staff on maternity leave, I have seen it in action and it is terrible. I had a manager who came back from Mat leave to be told her replacement would be staying on and she could report to him and was then given no work to do.

Exoverspender, I hope the advice you have gotten here helps you to deal with the return to work and gives you the confidence to stand your ground and get the outcome you want.​

 
OP, I’d be very wary of following the half-baked advice that’s been bandied about this thread. I’m struggling to see how your maternity leave has anything to do with this. If someone’s a widget maker on maternity leave and a couple of months ago, all widget production was moved from Finglas to Cherrywood, how does maternity leave give that person the right to demand that they return to work Finglas?

What happens if a company moves premises whilst someone is on maternity leave?

Surely, if the person would have been moved to Cherrywood anyway if they weren’t on maternity leave, the maternity leave is just noise and irrelevant?

Most employment contracts give flexibility to the employer in terms of moving the place of work.

I would go and get expert advice. Nothing worse that going into battle based on dubious advice.
 
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