Stories

I was told that the department would be restructuring so she needed to establish where I would ‘fit in’

I work for a law firm, which is the first thing you should know! When I was pregnant, I was told by my manager that I could come back as an administration person despite my role at that time being a manager of a department of 25 people. Needless to say I informed him I would be returning to my role!
6 months into my maternity leave, I was informed (by someone who reported into me – not by the business!) that a new person had been recruited who seemed to be responsible for the same duties I had, but this person had a different job title to my own. This role was not advertised. I queried how this would work with my role, but never received a clear answer.
When discussing my return to work, I was introduced to a new senior manager who I had not met before. In this meeting, I was subjected to interview questions such as ‘what are your strengths’. I explained I simply wanted to discuss returning to my job, and I was told that the department would be restructuring so she needed to establish where I would ‘fit in’! After various correspondence, I was informed that my role was made redundant. Subsequently, I was offered an alternative role which would involve managing a team of people located across the west side of England/Wales – from Cumbria to Cornwall! I have declined this role stating it is unsuitable to my change in circumstances as I am primary carer to my child and cannot for example, drop him at nursery then drive from my home in Bristol to Liverpool, do what I need to do and then be back at the end of the day to pick up my child! My previous role did involve national travel but this was approx 10% of my time – and so manageable with me being in the office 90% of the time.
The business is now considering a different role for me – but this would be on different terms and conditions as I declined the alternative. My new salary would be less than half of my old if I am successful. I have three weeks until the end of my years maternity so needless to say, I am at my wits end.
Thanks for listening

Stories

Never Miss Out {{ responseTitle }}

Sign up to the Pregnant Then Screwed mailing list so you can stay in the loop on our latest campaigns and achievements as well as tips on how you can help end The Motherhood Penalty {{ responseMessage }}
Whoops. The form is invalid.
  • {{ value }}.