Returning to Work after Maternity Leave Legal Rights

A lawyer will listen to you talk about your situation and help you by advising you on what you can do to resolve your situation. If childcare is compromised for more than a few days or a week, you can request flexible work, either as a formal or informal request, if it would help you, for example, to temporarily change the hours or days of your work. You can also request other forms of unpaid leave. Your employer is not required to accept the application. Please see the additional information on flexible working above The request may be to vary working hours, but you can also request a change of location or hybrid work configuration or other forms of flexibility for your work pattern. If, upon your return from regular maternity leave, you are offered another role that is not the same as your original role, or if you are offered employment upon your return from additional maternity leave that is not a suitable alternative, you have a number of options. You could either: An example of where your employer may be able to offer you suitable alternative employment is if there was a restructuring during your maternity leave. However, if your employer simply intends to keep the agency worker they hired for your maternity leave, the courts have indicated that this would not be a sufficient reason for your employer to offer you another job. Your boss can`t fire you during maternity leave or if you come back and keep the rest of your department and call it a necessary layoff. They can`t fire you just because you`re on maternity leave. They can`t force you to take a position you`re not qualified for because they had to bring someone else to replace your shoes during maternity leave.

These cases are examples of reprisals and unjustified dismissals for maternity leave. To come back later after maternity leave expires, you should: It is common for companies to require employees to use vacation and sick days before FMLA vacation time is granted. Check with your human resources department for details on your company`s exact policy. In addition, FMLA can only apply to one person per couple in a workplace, if you and your spouse or partner work together, you should definitely take this into account. If you found this article helpful, share it with your friends. It is important that mothers feel protected when they return to work. We all need to help each other. Now let`s take a look at what each of these rights really means and what you can do if you think your employer isn`t respecting them. If you take medical leave, your employer must keep your job or an equivalent job open for you. They can`t give you a job you`re not trained or qualified for. They cannot dismiss you when you return, unless they would have dismissed you if you had not taken maternity leave. If you give less than eight weeks` notice, your employer may decide whether or not to agree to return before the end of the prescribed eight-week notice period.

Upon return, it is important that maternity leave is divided into two parts – Normal (the first 26 weeks/6 months) (“OML”) and Supplementary (the second 26 weeks/6 months) (“AML”). Whether you return from regular or additional maternity leave is relevant to your rights upon your return. If you returned from maternity leave and were released shortly thereafter, you may be entitled to wrongful dismissal or reprisal. If you used the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for your maternity leave, you can sue your employer in federal court. The FMLA allows you to file your claim within two years of the violation. The time limit is three years if you believe the employer intentionally broke the law when they were fired. So you dusted off the old briefcase and got back to work like a champion. Ready or not, I`m coming! It is not easy to return to the world of work after the baby. Labor has piled up, coworkers are easily irritated because they have to pick up the gap, and your breasts are punishing you for leaving your baby by licking your fancy work clothes. They better welcome you with a plate of pancakes and a team of assistants. But they won`t.

Instead, the best-case scenario is that you pick up where you left off.