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Hi,
I've been trying to get some advice around if i'm being treated unfairly at work but since i'm on maternity and under going TUPE transfer I seem to be in a rare situation.
I will try to describe my situation as best I can:
The company I work for lost a contract back in February 2013 but it doesn't transfer to the successful company until April 2014. I'm currently covered under TUPE but I will be facing redundancy since the new company is based at the other end of the country and I can't relocate. I went off on Maternity in June 2013 and at this time I was still awaiting confirmation from my employer as it if I would need to apply for roles to stay in the business or if my Manager would be allowed to redeploy me into another vacant identical role on the team. I chased this several times between Feb 13 and going on mat leave in the June but didn't recieve an answer. Just around the time I was due to give birth (already started mat leave) a role became available and i asked my manager again if I needed to apply, he said he would clarify with HR and come back to me, i stated that I wanted to know so that I could apply for the current role available if required. I gave birth the day after this discussion and in the following week my employer went ahead and interviewed and hired for the vacant role without informing me if i needed to apply.
I was only informed about this role via a friend in the company asking why I hadn't applied and since then my employer has said that since I have a work laptop I should be checking internal communications and job adverts from home and they have no responsibility to inform me of such roles as they become available.
Since then I have had several other issues around lack of communication including being invited to key briefings about the ongoing TUPE transfer.
I feel that the company didn't inform me about a potential role or give me the opportunity to apply for this role once I did find out about it through a non offical channel, since this time my employer has also moved another employee into another vacant role in the team without making this vacancy available for application or advertising it.
To summarise i'm wondering where I stand ont he below points:
1. Is it right that the company expect me to be accessing the internal work environment several times a week from home via my work laptop to check for updates and search available jobs?
2. Do the company have a right or obligation to inform me about available roles?
3. Should I be given an opportuity to apply for roles even if i'm unable to attend an interview i.e. the interviews were happening while i was giving birth or shortely afterwards?
I have tried to address this informally with my manager, HR and FD but at every turn i'm being pushed down a formal grievance route that I really didn't want to take especially at a time when i'm trying to get a job in the company to secure my employment.
I'm unsure what I would gain from raising a grievance as they can't vacate a role for me retrospectively nor can they promise me a role in the future as this would be unfair to others on the TUPE list.
I'm just looking for some advice and maybe some confirmation that this isn't just me and that my employer are in the wrong.
Thanks in advance
I've been trying to get some advice around if i'm being treated unfairly at work but since i'm on maternity and under going TUPE transfer I seem to be in a rare situation.
I will try to describe my situation as best I can:
The company I work for lost a contract back in February 2013 but it doesn't transfer to the successful company until April 2014. I'm currently covered under TUPE but I will be facing redundancy since the new company is based at the other end of the country and I can't relocate. I went off on Maternity in June 2013 and at this time I was still awaiting confirmation from my employer as it if I would need to apply for roles to stay in the business or if my Manager would be allowed to redeploy me into another vacant identical role on the team. I chased this several times between Feb 13 and going on mat leave in the June but didn't recieve an answer. Just around the time I was due to give birth (already started mat leave) a role became available and i asked my manager again if I needed to apply, he said he would clarify with HR and come back to me, i stated that I wanted to know so that I could apply for the current role available if required. I gave birth the day after this discussion and in the following week my employer went ahead and interviewed and hired for the vacant role without informing me if i needed to apply.
I was only informed about this role via a friend in the company asking why I hadn't applied and since then my employer has said that since I have a work laptop I should be checking internal communications and job adverts from home and they have no responsibility to inform me of such roles as they become available.
Since then I have had several other issues around lack of communication including being invited to key briefings about the ongoing TUPE transfer.
I feel that the company didn't inform me about a potential role or give me the opportunity to apply for this role once I did find out about it through a non offical channel, since this time my employer has also moved another employee into another vacant role in the team without making this vacancy available for application or advertising it.
To summarise i'm wondering where I stand ont he below points:
1. Is it right that the company expect me to be accessing the internal work environment several times a week from home via my work laptop to check for updates and search available jobs?
2. Do the company have a right or obligation to inform me about available roles?
3. Should I be given an opportuity to apply for roles even if i'm unable to attend an interview i.e. the interviews were happening while i was giving birth or shortely afterwards?
I have tried to address this informally with my manager, HR and FD but at every turn i'm being pushed down a formal grievance route that I really didn't want to take especially at a time when i'm trying to get a job in the company to secure my employment.
I'm unsure what I would gain from raising a grievance as they can't vacate a role for me retrospectively nor can they promise me a role in the future as this would be unfair to others on the TUPE list.
I'm just looking for some advice and maybe some confirmation that this isn't just me and that my employer are in the wrong.
Thanks in advance
