Returning to work after Maternity Leave

[pitbull turbo]

My girlfriend recently finished maternity leave and applied to her employer for flexible working. She wanted to work three days a week, 10-4. She used to work 9-5.30 monday to friday, for an auction house in their jewellery department doing admin and photography. Before she started maternity leave, they employed someone on a temporary contract to cover her whilst she was off (who happens to be a close friend of hers). They've kept this person on full time and also employed a 'gemologist' full time. When she applied to go back, they refused her application on the grounds that as she wanted to work part time, they could not afford to employ another member of staff to cover the workload when she wasnt there and that the gemologist they had employed did all of her own admin and therefore there was no longer an admin position within the department. They offered her a full time position in the administration department but because we couldnt get childcare full time, she had to hand in her resignation. Only four months later, they have moved another member of staff from a different department in to the jewellery department part time.
Before she started maternity leave, both her manager, and director of department kept asking her whether she was definitely coming back part time because they really wanted her back. They also kept asking the person who was covering her maternity leave whether my girlfriend would be back as they were looking forward to her returning, right up until the day before she applied for flexible working.

We were wondering whether anyone knows if she has grounds to take them to court, for either her job back, or compensation as she is now struggling to find a part time job which fits in around our son.

[GeraldSmith]

Picking up on the 'four months later' comment - if this was more that three months ago you are out of time for making a claim, they need to be made within three months.

If it was in the last three months then it is a bit of a minefield, the law says that the employer should consider flexible working but not that they should grant it, however it can be seen as discrimination if there aren't grounds for granting it. So if in the last three months you need specialist advice, but if more than that it makes no difference, you are too late to claim.