Work needed on inclusive company policies - Business Development Executive Abbey Group Employee Review

You might assume a company employing as diverse an array of nationalities as Abbey does, would have an inclusive diversity program in place. You’d be wrong. Two days before I was due to return from my standard 26 weeks (unpaid) maternity leave, I received an email from my manager telling me I wouldn’t be returning to my role. Instead, I’d be giving a ‘dig out’ to another team for the foreseeable future. I advised I was not happy with that or the notice I was being given. I was told I had no choice. I questioned why it had be me and not the person hired to cover my mat leave or the second person hired during my leave. Again, I was fobbed off and told they weren’t considering those options. There was zero consideration given to how difficult it is for a first time Mother to transition back to work. HR steered well clear of the situation. Almost three months later, I was still in this other team. I constantly asked when the arrangement would end, but each time I was given non-committal responses. At that point I’d had enough and I sought external advice. I advised my manager, I was aware they couldn’t enforce this as permanent, and with that I was back in my own role a few days later. Too little too late, I’d lost all respect for the company and knew I was not valued. I’m emotionally intelligent enough to ‘read between the lines’, they may have preferred the new setup, but that doesn’t negate my rights. It’s only since leaving and seeing the maternity / parental leave polices in other companies, I fully realized how badly I was treated. I debated for some time whether or not to post this (I’m aware it’s quite damning) regardless it’s an important story to share, if it prevents another person from having a similar experience.