Back after maternity & pregnant..issues.

intothewest

I had a baby last Dec and took 9 months of maternity leave. I returned in Sept having used some of the holidays I had accumulated from the year (+ bank hols etc). In June this year, I informed them I was pregnant again and due in Jan 2012. This I very much know, is not ideal for an employer. As I didn't want to be blase about it, I acknowledged this to them, and pretty much admitted the pregnancy was not planned and not some masterplan of mine to have back to back pregnancies. My holiday situation was mentioned then, and I said how I'd planned to use majority of them up, and would do as I did last year and take half days/4 day weeks in last few months to use up the remainder of my days (approx 8 days). I also stated that I would take the day/half day at a time that was suitable for both customer and my colleagues for cover. Two weeks before my return to work date, I got a call from my manager to say that I would have to take my hols in blocks of one week in Oct and Nov, and would not be able to take days off in Dec at all. At this stage, I'd obviously arranged my childcare to start the week I returned to work. Had I known that they were going to stipulate my days be taken in Oct/Nov, I would have returned to work a week or two later and only held on to a few days. At that stage, work date had been finalised, and childminder had been given a start date etc so changing the start date wasn't an option.

I had a meeting with my manager today, and her main agenda was how these days were going to be used....not how best I could be utilised for the job/team/company (FYI, there are a number of projects I could be working on which need to be completed before year end, and would free up other team members). A number of colleagues have said that she clearly has been given a target re holidays for staff, as she is on a one woman mission with it this year. A number of things were said during the meeting, that unless I am super paranoid, were clear digs at fact I am going on maternity again so soon - and given I've worked with this lady (who is herself pregnant ironically) for number of years, I don't think it's paranoia I am suffering with. A number of other things were also said which I feel were inappropriate, not to mention unprofessional. We work in a large multi-national.

I want to have a chat with her and get this nipped in the bud, cos I've zero interest in having that attitude thrown at me, even if it is for just a few months. I don't want to get confrontational, just to make her aware of how I've been made feel and so she knows it hasn't gone unnoticed. I am not saying I'm being bullied, but I don't think anyone should put up been made feel this way either. I want to reiterate, I am not completely been an arse about realising this is not an ideal situation for them and it does cause hassle. I had my period of time where it very much played on my mind, but it is what it is and has to be got on with.

Any advice on how I should approach this???

tenchi-fan

Not much you can do. It is up to your employer to decide your annual leave.

Mrs OBumble

Sounds to me like you know what needs to be done. As you say, nip it in the bud.

If it was a small company, I'd feel sympathy for the boss. But it's a multi-national, they can cope.

LegacyUser

I'd be worried OP that there's an awful lot of detail in this post that could give away who you are

Mrs OBumble

If the OP wants to reconsider, she can report the post, and a mod will trim out identifying details ....

syklops

I had a meeting with my manager today, and her main agenda was how these days were going to be used....not how best I could be utilised for the job/team/company (FYI, there are a number of projects I could be working on which need to be completed before year end, and would free up other team members). A number of colleagues have said that she clearly has been given a target re holidays for staff, as she is on a one woman mission with it this year. A number of things were said during the meeting, that unless I am super paranoid, were clear digs at fact I am going on maternity again so soon - and given I've worked with this lady (who is herself pregnant ironically) for number of years, I don't think it's paranoia I am suffering with. A number of other things were also said which I feel were inappropriate, not to mention unprofessional. We work in a large multi-national.

This sounds typical of a multi-national. You have projects which need to be completed, which would free up other members of the team. Meanwhile, your manager has an Excel spreadsheet with her managers targets for your team or division, and right now, for her, hitting her targets are more important than helping you hit yours.

I am in a similar situation myself. Assuming your manager is not being personal about the pregnancy issues, I would suggest you bow to her wishes. You were out for 9 months of the year so I doubt anyone expects your projects to come in on time. In fact that has probably been built into the end of year projections.

So long as you dont feel like you are being abused, or walked over, smile and nod, and say "I am completely flexible to you".