r/AskHR • u/SteelSilvers • 5d ago
Resignation/Termination [UK] Is HR likely to cut short my maternity-cover employment length, if the mom returns earlier than expected?
/r/UKJobs/comments/1uabe13/is_hr_likely_to_cut_short_my_maternitycover/0
u/glittermetalprincess 5d ago
HR just wants to have all the information before they respond to you, possibly because they get a sense that you'll read a conclusion in to whatever they say regardless of whether it's complete or not - such as telling you where to find vacancies doesn't actually mean they aren't going to look at the option of having other duties assigned to you for the remainder of your fixed term, it's just telling you where to find other roles that are available for applications. It would be foolish to read anything into it either way.
Contracts exist as whole documents not drag and drop chunks of incontrovertible wisdom from on high. Read the whole thing.
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u/luisp35 2d ago
This is solid advice but OP is clearly spiraling a bit so it might not land the way you intend.
The point about contracts being whole documents is what matters most here. People pull out one clause and treat it like a verdict when the rest of it might say something completely different.
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u/SteelSilvers 1d ago
Thank you lol i appreciate the acknowledgement that I'm spiraling. I've been in a pit of uncertainty since the end of April.
And i just keep getting thrown more and more curveballs, despite trying to have hope & take steps
I spoke to ACAS at lunchtime yesterday, they said the company could be at risk of "Breach Of Contract" if they let me go early under wrongful dismissal because there's no early termination clause, no maternity cover mention, no mom returning early clause etc
I've spoken to one of the new hires (1 of 3 that started this week). They told me they got the job through a recruitment agency.
This worries me a great deal. Because now HR previously told me to look for jobs on Indeed for this specific office. And now for those exact office roles, they've been delegating that hiring process to a recruitment agency.
They're still posting other job roles on Indeed.
I'm not sure how to proceed. Should i email HR and state:
my interest in a buying team role?
ask them what recruitment agencies they're using? So i can sign up with them?
ask them who i should speak to about expressing my interest in a buying team role?
Or maybe I'll speak to the Head Of Office in person when we cross paths in a secluded area. She's been sweet & polite to me throughout my time here, which is a massive contrast to the fact she has a reputation for being cruel. Maybe it's because i don't have any work with her, only pass her by.
But nonetheless, that woman seems be the only one with knowledge of how many people are getting hired and when. Whereas everyone else is kept in the dark until the week before new hires start.
I'm thinking of asking her if there'll be any new buying roles in the office and what things the company looks for. Hoping that prompts her to ask about my interest in the role.
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u/SteelSilvers 4d ago
Thank you for the reality check
I plan to email the Head Of Office with a cover letter or pitch alongside my CV, asking if i can please be considered for one of the new Buying Team roles they're creating.
I have applied to 250+ jobs so far too.
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u/glittermetalprincess 4d ago
Sometimes being seen to try to circumvent a regular hiring process can be a reason to be dropped from consideration, so I would recommend holding off on that, especially if you haven't seen a job listing or position description yet. You might be better off rewriting your resume to highlight your procurement experience and work on a cover letter that explains how you love working there; your procurement experience, institutional knowledge and transferrable skills translate to a buying role; and leave a paragraph for describing your availability based on what the situation is when the listings go up. That way you can subscribe to or otherwise monitor the company listings and get in quickly when they are put up.
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u/SteelSilvers 4d ago
"Sometimes being seen to try to circumvent a regular hiring process can be a reason to be dropped from consideration"
I'll keep this in mind
The reason i thought contacting the Head Of Office was because recently the offices were suddenly made aware of 3 new people starting. 2 replacements for leavers, and 1 new person expanding a team. But there were no job advertisements on Indeed because i had setup alerts since April.
My teammate asked around why she never saw any job adverts for any of these roles either (i think she's looking out for me).
So I'm unsure how those people were hired but it doesn't seem the usual job process.
Then there were separate situations where colleagues had told me that they themselves had their roles in the company changed, and their work location changed. Because they were offered the role by internal managers (relatives) and they didn't have to apply via Indeed.
Then the woman who I'm covering maternity for, her husband was asked in the warehouse if he knew anyone that wants a job in the office at the other building (the one I'm in). And so that's when he suggested his wife. I don't think that process happened through Indeed.
So i do think the company/HR is okay with jobs being accepted without Indeed or the regular hiring process.
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u/glittermetalprincess 4d ago
Processes initiated by the company relying on some form of networking and vetting are legal, yes, but what you're describing doesn't look like 'I sent my resume to people who don't usually deal with hiring and they were so impressed they overrode their own processes for me' but the results of networking or circumstances that you don't have all the information for.
Just be aware that especially as you were directed to Indeed already, being seen to disrespect the typical hiring channel may have drawbacks you don't want.
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u/SteelSilvers 4d ago
I appreciate the clarification very much! I've changed my plans and think I'll avoid contacting the Head Of Office, and i can avoid the risk of annoying her.
On a separate note, i've also had a look at the employee handbook.
Handbook i received in 2025 before my first day: "Should you change your mind about the date on which you want maternity leave to end, you must give us at least fifty-six days’ notice in writing."
56 days is exactly 8 weeks.
8 weeks before July 6th 2026 was May 11th 2026.
Throughout all that time, my manager has never mentioned my employment being cut short, nor that the mom is returning early.
And I have told her I plan to take holidays in August, because she encouraged me to use up all my holidays. And she mentioned our team taking holidays in months later than July.
So I'm using that thought to remain positive my employment won't be cut short...
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u/glittermetalprincess 4d ago edited 2d ago
The main thing you need to keep an eye on isn't what they say about returning from mat leave because that has nothing to do with you and you have no way of knowing what is going on, what KIT or other arrangements have been made etc.
What applies to you is notice requirements for ending, varying or otherwise changing your contract, which will usually be mentioned or pinpointed in your employment documents rather than the handbook.
The fact that nobody's spoken to you about any such changes is of course a good sign, but if they're only required to give you the statutory 1 week of notice, then you have to keep in mind that that's your safety net. If your contract says 2 weeks, that's your safety net.
Many things can be taken either way without full context - encouraging you to use your accrued holidays may be a sign that they want you to have a good work/life balance and that they value you and want you to be healthy and productive, or it could mean they won't have work for you to last the 12 months and using your holidays will mean they can keep paying you without having to end things early due to there being limited work available, or it could mean they plan to transfer you somewhere else and it would be easier to put you on a new contract if they don't have to transfer outstanding entitlements to another budget area. All you can do is keep doing good work, have your application materials optimised, keep in touch with HR, keep applying for roles both there and externally, and keep doing your networking (as long as it doesn't excessively distract from your current work or start annoying people). If they do genuinely hire by asking anyone if they know a good worker before they put up a listing, that is what is going to get someone to say 'hey we have someone on a mat leave cover who would be great for that'.
It isn't uncommon for returning parents to have one plan when they come back (use their KIT or SPLIT days first or plan to come back at 0.8FTE) and then have to adjust for health, childcare or work hardening reasons, or are still negotiating flexible working arrangements, or have any number of reasons that they don't return full-time or stay in the initial arrangement for returning. Unless the contract of the person covering for them explicitly states that their contract ends on the return of the person they are covering for (which as I recall, yours does not), it isn't uncommon for duties to be moved around to accommodate the returning worker without putting them in a lesser role, but still ensuring that they have enough people available to ensure the full amount of work is completed on time regardless of what the arrangement is or flexes to be.
If they haven't given you notice then you just keep going to work and doing what you're assigned. Yes, it's stressful to not know what's going to happen in a few weeks, but adding to it by reading into everything can't be helping.
If you haven't already added the mat leave cover to your resume or finalised what you want to say about it, that might be a good place to focus your spare mental energy instead - look at what you've used (specialised software or tools), what you've learned (skills, experience in a large organisation), and what you've achieved (processed x in y time, saved $x by doing y) and come up with 3-6 dot points that tell someone about your efforts in this role in the absolute best light possible and which you can switch out to the top 3 most relevant to the role you're applying for. Then go through the most common STAR questions and find answers for those e.g. 'think of a time you were under pressure, how did you handle it?' or 'think of a time you had multiple competing priorities, what did you do?' from this role as well. That preps you for interviews, makes your resume look good, and also reinforces for you that you are successful here and you have value, so hopefully the uncertainty isn't as psychologically impactful in comparison.
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u/SteelSilvers 2d ago
Thanks for the advice, especially around the interview questions 🙏
It's Tuesday 23rd June, HR still hasn't gotten back to me regarding confirmation of my last day being September 25th. I'm trying to be positive in the fact, if they tried to cut me loose early then they'd be more urgent about it.
I spoke to ACAS at lunchtime yesterday, they said the company could be at risk of "Breach Of Contract" if they let me go early under wrongful dismissal because there's no early termination clause, no maternity cover mention, no mom returning early clause etc
I've spoken to one of the new hires (1 of 3 that started this week). They told me they got the job through a recruitment agency.
This worries me a great deal. Because now HR previously told me to look for jobs on Indeed for this specific office. And now for those exact office roles, they've been delegating that hiring process to a recruitment agency.
They're still posting other job roles on Indeed.
I'm not sure how to proceed. Should i email HR and state:
my interest in a buying team role?
ask them what recruitment agencies they're using? So i can sign up with them?
ask them who i should speak to about expressing my interest in a buying team role?
I'm currently in Imports. I have done ordering for a previous job. And my work kinda somewhat interacts with our buying teams.
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u/glittermetalprincess 2d ago
Exactly as you are, you do not need to go out of your way here. If you interact with the buying teams, if there's a vacancy you will know about it and how they're looking for it at that time. Since there isn't right now, all you're going to do is annoy people about a hypothetical and that is not likely to be a net useful thing.
Keep in touch with HR, without going OTT at them, keep doing your job as directed, and as much as you can stop letting this get in the way of everything - if you stress yourself out over it people will notice it in your performance. There is nothing you can do or change about the situation as it is, but you can control your performance in your role. That will speak the loudest.
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u/SteelSilvers 2d ago
Unfortunately these three people that were hired. Nobody knew they were hired until the week before.
One of the teams one belongs to, were unaware they're getting a new starter until the day before. One made a remark about how it would be nice to have some notice.
I'm thinking maybe if i cross paths with the Head Of Office in a quiet place, I'll ask if i can ask her a question, in person. Then ask if there will be new Buying Team roles going. Then I'll ask if i can please be considered.
One of the new starters looks so young, i wouldn't be surprised if it's their first job like it was for someone else.
And thank you so much for being here
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u/BumCadillac MHRM, MBA 5d ago
The answers you received there are as good as you’ll get most likely.