Maternity and part-time employment

An employee returning after maternity leave or absence has the legal right to request to resume her original, full-time job on a part-time basis.

The employer, however, has the right to assess the feasibility of such an arrangement. If the employer refuses the employee's request, they must give reasons for the refusal, that meet the specific business grounds legally required in order to justify turning the application down. This should be confirmed in writing.

In practical terms, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult for employers to deny requests for part-time work on the part of employees returning from maternity leave.

A number of women have successfully challenged their employers' refusal to allow them to return to work part-time as being indirectly sex-discriminatory when the employers have been unable to show objective justification for the refusal.

It may be advisable wherever appropriate to seek a solution through job-sharing, rather than to risk entering into a legal battle.