Maternity leave - email rights Post Reply

[supermummy]

I'm trying to get to the bottom of whether I am strictly entitled to have email/It access during mat leave. I have been accessing my emails for the last few months but having now forgotten my password, holy IT have decreed that I am not actually entitled to any access at all while I am on mat leave (breach of security and I should not be 'working '). I just want to be able to access hr/payroll/benefits stuff and read team news, wider items of interest. I won't be doing any actual 'work'.

I need to pick it up with hr obviously but wondered if anyone can specifically advise on whether I am entitled to this?

[ekf]

I can't advise on what the law specifically decrees but where I workit is up to you to decide how much contact you want. I can keep my laptop, blackberry, etc during the leave or can have my email andblackberry accounts frozen and hand everything back and effectively be out of touch.
First time round I forgot my passwords and couldn't get them reset until I was actually in the office. Second time round I didn't forget my passwords but actually have had much less time to login in and keep abreast of things!

[BettyBoo]

You have complete right. You are still employed and have not left the company. If you were able to access emails remotely before mat leave you can continue. Speak to IT, manager, HR.

I was in touch regularly and used all my 10 keep in touch days whilst off. I didn't like being completely cut off.

Best

Annette

[CHT]

I think it really depends on your employer's policies: where I work (central government) we are allowed to keep our building pass but not our blackberries or laptops if we are off for any length of time, including long term sick, career break or maternity leave. I think in part it is because of tight security protocols.

Your office should be ensuring that you are kept in touch with key developments, even if you don't have normal IT access, though.

[NannyChloe]

Having managed someone who went off on maternity leave, I believe that your rights are:
- to still have access to your email account
- be kept in the loop with any changes and ongoing progress with the company
- entitled to a number of 'Keeping In Touch' days (KIT's). This is around 5 or so and it enables you to be involved in aspects of work without being back from maternity leave. However, there is something legal around if you use more that your allowance you're returning to work.

They have to be very careful with Mat or Pat leave, including giving you preferential treatment in cases of redundancy and things, so do spend some time knowing your rights. Do you have an HR department you can talk to? If not, ASACs (I think it is) are good and give you free HR and legal advice around these things.

Good luck =)
Chloe

[CBW7779]

I advise on this stuff so please pm me if you'd like to chat. CHT is on the money here, it really will depend upon what you do, what sort of security needs your employer really has, what its policies say about this issue (if anything), and how they treat other absent employees with similar roles in this regard. The employee is really in the driving seat in terms of how much contact is "allowed" during mat leave, although as one poster says, you are entitled to be kept informed about important information about the company and your role, and whatever means is used to do this (often done by letter/ printing off certain emails eg payroll docs and team updates) shouldn't make you feel left out of important information while you are off. There is no absolute legal right to access though, any legal claim you might have would depend upon a number of factors, but if you speak to your HR department (if you have one) or your manager it should be possible to work out what is best, IT don't always know what is correct when it comes to managerial matters! A KIT day (you have 10) might be a good opportunity to catch up on things! Good luck!