Working mother being forced out of her job.

[Guest]

I am a working mother who needs to work 48hours a week minimum and as well as looking after a toddler. My previous boss agreed a set rota that’s best suited around my childcare. He was made redundant during the national lockdown due to COVID. When I came back after the lockdown my new boss took a disliking to me straight away and demanded that I work 3 nights during the week and two double shifts over the weekends. She sent this requirement in an email specifically to me first, then one week later she sent it to the area as part of the KPIs. It’s very difficult to find evening childcare during normal times, now because of COVID it’s near impossible. I explained this to my new boss, she gave me 6 weeks to comply. After 4 weeks I didn’t have any luck so I told her I was struggling she then put me on a performance improvement plan and told me to submit a flexible working request. I was confused as why I need to request to keep the rota I had been doing for the past 3 years so I asked HR about it and also raised the concern of the motive behind it. They basically said it’s business needs and dismissed it and told me I have to submit one. Then we entered anther lockdown, after being furloughed she called me and suspended me over the phone for refusing to comply with her new set rota and failure to submit a flexible working request! She had also made very insensitive comments like being a mother is a personal choice, I wouldn’t have got the job if I was not in my position already,etc. I raised it with HR as a grievance but got suspended instead. I am still waiting for HR to get back to me since they had issued me with a final written warning as an outcome of my suspension and ask me to comply with her rota straight away even though I still don’t have anyone to look after my daughter at night time. I am completely stressed out with this situation and feel bullied and targeted. I have anxieties and panic attacks just thinking about going back to work. I feel they are doing everything they can to push me out of my job. Can someone out there help me?

[ULA]

Sorry just need to ask some questions so that I can provide some assistance.

Was your contract of employment based on the original rota and of so are the hours you were working as part of that detailed in that contract?
If not and the rota was agreed after you has been at the company for a while were the new rota hours confirmed to you in writing as an agreed amendment to your original contract?
Have you now submitted a flexible working request?

[Havefaith]

Hi Ula, thank you for your reply.

my original contract just says I need to work 48hrs a week, not specifying any shift pattern. They’re saying I’m not working to business needs as night shifts are busier than day shifts, however I have managers to cover all the night shifts and had produced results and profits. I asked HR why I need to request the rota I had for years and the evidence of how the business had suffered due to me not working to business needs. They never got back to me and just said I need to submit one. I asked my boss what’s the process she said I will need to send the request and if it’s declined I will have to leave. This was included in the grievance amongst other bullying behavior I had received from her and it’s still pending. As I was waiting for my grievance outcome I did not submit one. They suspended me as a punishment and gave me a final written warning.

[ULA]

So a couple of things to unravel here:

1. So at the moment you have not submitted a flexible working request because you raised it as a grievance? Did you have to raise a flexible working request to get the hours you had for the original rota?
2. When did you submit the grievance which if I understand corrrectly has not been responded to? Was it a formal grievance that you put in writing?
3. When you were suspended which seeems to be as a result of you submitting a grievance, were you given details of why they had suspended you, which were?
4.I presume after they carried out the investigation following your suspension you were invited to a disciplinary meeting, given details of the allegation, given the right to be accompanied and also told what the outcome might be?
5. When did you hear about the outcome of the disciplainary?
6. Have you been given the right to appeal? If do have you done that yet?

Sorry I don't think you have confirmed whether the details of the original rota were confirmed to you in writing?

I am sorry there are still more questions but since so may issues are wrapped up around the initial issue which was the change to your hours of work I need to get a full understanding of what has happened and the order of events.

[Havefaith]

Thanks again for trying your best to help.

1- my original rota was agreed with my previous boss who got made redundant verbally, so sadly no written evidence to support it. However I’d been doing this rota for the past 3 yrs that’s the only evidence it was allowed. I haven’t submitted flexible working request as I was confused with the reason why I need to do so. I did however submit one in Jan this year to have some flexibility to do some admin work from home but the request was declined at the time.

2- I submitted the grievance 4 weeks after the new set rota was imposed by my new boss. I was initially trying to comply but evening childcare doesn’t seem to exist during a pandemic and I called ACAS they said it’s not a flexible working request if I’m not changing the terms of my contract and advised me to raise my concerns as why this had been imposed to HR, that’s what I did. They told I have to submit a flexible working request and also reminded me that I did one already this year and accused me of lying to my new boss as I forgot about it or even thought it was relevant at the time. I kept on asking for evidence as of how I have not been working to business needs and why as a general manager my rota now is being dictated as it never happened before. They didn’t het back to me who the any evidence but keep on saying I need to comply and that’s it. Then I was suspended soon after. I had to email HR to ask what happened with my grievance and why I’ve been suspended. They said they didn’t recognize my emails to them as grievance as it was not tilted as grievance but flexible working. I had to make it clear to them it was a grievance and I managed to have a meeting with HR to give them the full details which included the inappropriate comments, PIP etc. They said they will get back to me before Christmas.

[Havefaith]

Sorry it’s a bit long...

3- allegations for the suspension were

failure to work to business needs
failure to submit a Felix letter working request
Dishonest and breach of trust ( this was never said when she suspended me over the phone. It was added later to say I wasn’t honest when she asked me whether I submitted flexible working request before. I was stressed and confused at the time when she asked so completely didn’t come to mind)

4- I was investigated and disciplined by another regional manager who sided completely with my new boss saying I’m not working to business needs, being a parent is a personal choice, he even said my grievance is tit for tat as I was given ample time to sort it out. Saying I was dishonest about as I didn’t mention about submitting a flexible request almost a year ago.

[Havefaith]

He said in the disciplinary meeting that he will give me more time and issued me a final written warning. But the notes was amended after the meeting which completely removed giving me for time part and change it to give me another chance so now I have to comply straight away. This outcome was given to me during the meeting on Monday and I am still waiting for the letter to confirm. I questioned why the notes were changed and HR said he never said more time will be given which is completely untrue. I said I’m concerned that the notes had been changed then they just said I now need to go back to work the rota set by my line manager and I should contact her instead l.

[Havefaith]

6- HR said I can appeal once the outcome letter is given in due course which I am still waiting in.

I was meant to go back tomorrow however I’m self isolating with my daughter as I was contacted by her school that she was in close contact with a kid that tested positive for covid. He said that’s my problem then later on agreed to give me off until the 11th as that’s when the isolation period will end.

I am completely stressed out as I still don’t have evening childcare and I’m expected to work 3 nights as of next week.

[Havefaith]

At this point I really don’t want to go back to work under these circumstances. It’s clear they’re doing everything they can to push me out so even if I go back they will try to get me in other ways. I just want to know whether I have a constructive dismissal case as I wasn’t treated fairly at all during this process and clearly I’m being targeted and made a victim. I’m now suffering with anxiety, headaches, panic attacks and depression. I don’t know what to do.

[ULA]

Sorry not to get back to you sooner and to hear what an effect this is having on you. There are a number of issues here that I can think of:

1. Although not technically a change to your contractual hours because i assume the pattern they want you to work now still equates to a 48 hour week, the verbally agreed hours with your old boss has become what may be termed "custom and practice" which could mean that the company should have gone through a period of consultation with you regarding the need to change your working pattern. The outcome may still have been that the change had to happen for business reasons but they would have had to engage with you and listen to your concerns and any alternative suggestions you may have had.

2. There is the issue of them seemingly not accepting your "grievance" as being a grievance. Just because you did not title the letter "this is a grievance". There could be an argument to say that any reasonable person reading what you had written would have worked out it was a grievance, (albeit I have not seen what you wrote so cannot say for sure that this is the case in your situation).

3. You can only submit one flexible working request in a 12 month period. However, not sure why your employer made you not submitting one in regard to this work pattern change, one of the reasons for suspension, as they knew you had already submitted one in this time period.

I am not a lawyer so really could not give an opinion on the merits of resigning and claiming constructive dismissal which is a bit step to take. Pursuing a claim would mean the onus would be on you to prove a fundamental (rather than minor) breach of contract by the employer. You must also show that your decision to terminate your employment was in response to the breach. An employment tribunal will also need to satisfy itself that you did not delay too long in resigning and they will usually expect that you have tried to resolve the complaint through the grievance procedure before resigning.