Q. I am a nursery owner with several staff off on maternity leave. They are all due to return soon and I think some of them will want to come back part-time. Can they choose the hours that they want to work?
A. There is no right to return to work on a part-time basis. Employees returning from maternity leave are essentially entitled to return to the job in which they were employed prior to their period of leave, and certainly to terms and conditions that are no less favourable.
However, employees do have the right to make a formal request for "flexible working", such as a change to their working hours or times of work, to enable them to care for a child. Employers must treat any formal request for flexible working very carefully and must follow the correct procedure.
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