Questions on making someone redundant.

[HelpIamStuck]

I own a small shop and employ 5 shop staff. None of the staff have contracts.

One member of my staff, i'll call her Sally, went off sick on the 10th November last year and she is on SSP. Her 6 months six pay is due to end in the middle of May and her sick certificate ends at the end of May.

She does 11.30am - 4pm Mon to Fri. Whilst she has been off, the shop has been a bit quiet and the remaining 4 shop staff have been doing a good job covering her work which consists of serving, cleaning up and washing up. In the last month, my dp and i have been discussing the possibilty of making Sally redundant because we feel we don't need a 5th body anymore and it means less standing around time for the other staff because they have more work to do.

Yesterday when Sally came in to get her SSP, she informs me she is 18 weeks pregnant. I am now stuck, can i still make her redundant? Now it looks like i am only making her redundant because she is pregnant. Her job has never been filled by anyone whilst she has been off and won't be filled if/when she is gone.

Any thoughts on this would be helpful. Thanks.

[Tinker]

Don't know enough about the law on this but isn't it the job rather than the individual that goes? So, if all your staff all do a similar job, who will be made redundant presumably has to follow a set procedure. I don't think it's relevant that Sally has been off sick. Not sure what happens now she is pregnant. She will be approx 28 weeks when she come back. How long has she worked for you?

[HelpIamStuck]

She joined us in Feb last year.

[Tinker]

some basic stuff here

If it were Sally that was selected for redundancy, it wouldn't be because she was pregnant, I presume.

[trixymalixy]

You can still make her redundant, she has no extra protection just becasue she is pregnant.

As long as the selection process is fair and I believe you can use sickness records as one of the criteria for selection.

I would be very careful though as it could look like you are making her redundant because she is pregnant.

[HelpIamStuck]

No, if Sally were to be made redundant, it would be because whist she has been off with no replacement, i have realised it is not nessesarry to have 5 shop staff anymore and the hours she does are no longer needed (the shop staff all do different hours.)

[flowerybeanbag]

I can't give you free advice I'm afraid as you are an employer who I would obviously normally charge, but as Tinker said, be careful about how you are deciding who to make redundant, and please please take some advice about an appropriate procedure, especially if there is pregnancy involved.

[Tinker]

But isn't it becaue you just need 4 staff not 5? So, could be any of them. But, yes, please seek advice.

[Squiffy]

You need proper legal advice from a specialist employment lawyer. This is a really difficult situation and you are walking through a minefield here.

[HelpIamStuck]

I decided she isn't needed anymore because the other 4 staff work all morning and are finished by 2pm except 1 lady who works 7.30am until 4pm. The others are there when the shop is busier in the morning and through lunchtime. Sally does 11.30am until 4pm and i don't need 2 people in the afternoon anymore, just one and so as the other lady who is there in the afternoon works from 7.30am, it would make more sense to loose sally.

Anyway i have now decided not to make her redundant because as she has informormed me now that she is pregnant, i fear it will look like i am getting rid of her because she is pregnant. So if/when she comes back after the maternity leave, i will have to cut everyones hours to compensate her coming back because there isn't a position for her anymore, but it's the only way to make it fair.

[cece]

I am pregnant and my post is under threat of redundancy. ALL EMPLYED PEOPLE with the same contratc as me are having to in effect reapply for the jobs that are left. Apparently my part time hours and pg cannot be taken into account when cosnidering who is going to be offered the redundancy.

I agree you need to be very careful about this. My employers are certainly going out of their way to emphasise the pg thing not mattering in the leats!