The company I work for are a set of dinosaurs - im being polite lol

A woman I work with is pregnant and going on maternity leave early next year. Our boss has advertised for her cover but has not stated anywhere on the advert or any other communication that this is for maternity cover. He has also advertised two positions part-time and full-time and there is actually only one job.

So either they are going to screw over the person that covers maternity so she is going to be let go when my colleague returns, or my colleague wont have a job to come back to.

Surely this is illegal?

Dan

well really its not an issue till she returns is it?
what i mean is the company can do as they like while she is off,but its how they handle the return
i would recommend she doesnt rock the boat too much as you never know what she will want to do when the maternity period is up

Well I would have thought employing someone who thinks they have got a permanent job, who then finds out that it isnt permanent but maternity cover, is not legal. My problem is not my colleague but the fact that I feel for someone coming to work for us who doesnt know until their first day that they may well be redundant in a year.

My colleague will be returning to work and they as employers have to assume that she is returning unless she states otherwise. She doesnt have to worry about rocking the boat so much as she has law on her side.

My question was in respect to advertising a job as permanent when it obviously isnt. This must be some sort of false advertising kind of thing.

Dan

well up until that point the employer is the only one who knows
perhaps they have budgeted for the extra staff,new projects etc
perhaps they dont want to advertise its temp as nobody would apply and they will raise it at interview level
as for having the law on your side
its a little naive to look that way
the law is one thing but things can be made awkward for a returning mother

its standard practice. few people apply for maternity cover jobs, but plenty of people are looking for permanent work or a temp position with a chance of getting permanent.

are they misleading candidates? yes of course they are, but thats normal. have you ever got a job where the description was accurate? end of the day they are selling a position, and sales means lies.