Returning to work after maternity leave
Returning to work after having a baby can be a daunting experience, you want to ensure that you do the best for your child and your employer and sometimes getting that balance right can be difficult.
Legislation has been introduced which aims to assist parents when making the difficult transition back to working life. The Employment Act 2002 (EA) which came in to force on 6 April 2003, introduced the right to request flexible working.
Any application under the EA must satisfy certain criteria which are contained within the Employments Rights Act 1998. There is also further legislation which sets out in more detail any procedures etc which need to be followed.
It should be noted that in order to qualify to apply for flexible working you need to be able to show that you are the main carer for a child under the age of 6 (or a disabled child under the age 18). There is also a section relating to if you are the primary carer for an adult.
It is important to note that the law has created a right to request flexible work but an employer may reject these requests as long as it complies with the rules set out in the legislation. It does have to consider the request if properly made. Your request must provide an explanation as to what, if any, impact this will have on your employer where it to be granted.
Employers may reject the request if it falls within any of the specific grounds set out in ERA 1996, for example, if it were to have a detrimental impact on performance or quality etc.
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