Redundancy whilst on Maternity

[lindsay84]

Hi

I work for local authority which is undergoing a restructure and I am told that I should recieve my 'at risk' letter next week then I will be able to express an interest in the jobs available and go for competitive interview (told the interviews take places mid May to end June but this may be delayed).When I recieve my 'At Risk' letter I go onto the redeployment list for 3 months.
I am due to go on maternity leave on 9th June and I asked what happens if I am made redundant whilst on Maternity to which I go this response

'If your post becomes redundant whilst you are on maternity leave then it is for us as your employer to offer you any suitable alternative job. It would be for us to identify suitable alternative work for you and to offer this to you, you would not need to apply or to be interviewed. You may be required to provide us with information such as to facilitate the finding of suitable alternative work '

I then asked 'If I was to express an interest in a job and was unsuccessful at interview what would happen as on 9th June I go on maternity leave, therefore would receive my notice after I am on maternity leave ?'

and got the following response

'I can confirm that if you are issued with formal notice to terminate your employment by means of redundancy whilst on maternity leave you will be offered any suitable role available.

If you are unsuccessful at interview following submitting expressions of interest and therefore remain at risk up until you go on maternity leave then you would be served with notice to terminate your employment if it is confirmed that you are at risk of redundancy at that time'


What I am confused about is that say I get my 'At Risk' letter on 18th April meaning that I am a redeeployee for the next 3 months and do not get my formal notice to terminate my employment until after the 3 months is up (taking me to around 18th July) and I express an interest in a job, am unsuccsessful then they will serve me my notice (even though I am on maternity leave at that point) which goes against what they are saying in previous email which states 'I can confirm that if you are issued with formal notice to terminate your employment by means of redundancy whilst on maternity leave you will be offered any suitable role available'

Please advise ??

[Bonkerz]

im not sure i have read this right but it seems to me if you just sit back and let it happen....ie be at risk but do not apply for redeployment.....then your maternity rights will ensure you have a job to come back to although this may not suit you BUT you have the right to go back to employment of the same hours and pay and type of job role that you left and you will accrue holiday etc and continue being paid so therefore redundency or threat wont really apply.
If you decided to apply for new posts of your choosing and are refused the company can terminate your employment before maternity BUT this leaves them on dodgy ground really!

[lindsay84]

hi

thanks for reply, yeah thats what I thought also but my employer are not being very forthcoming with information.It was only when I digged that i REALISED IF i am made redundant on maternity that have to find me suitable role.Whenever I try to ask questions I just get people being snotty with me as they think I shouldn't get 'special treatment' etc...but its not my fault that the rules regarding maternity are there.

[Bonkerz]

I would be relaxed about it. Find the relevant info on the gov website where it states your maternity rights and maybe compose a letter stating that you acknowledge reciept of at risk letter and want to clarify your understanding and that your rights are protected and that you will see then in 9 months year etc when maternity finishes and look forward to being informed about your job role in due course and maybe request a meeting later in the year to discuss returning etc.

My maternity letter was copy and pasted and i made sure i wrote in it exactly what my rights were and that i knew them lol obviously i did it in a nice way!

[prh47bridge]

I'm afraid Bonkerz is wrong.

Your protection against redundancy whilst on maternity leave is a lot more limited than most people seem to realise. They CAN make you redundant whilst you are pregnant or on maternity leave. Your maternity rights DO NOT ensure you will have a job to go back to.

Your only protection against redundancy is that they cannot use your pregnancy as a reason to select you for redundancy. However, that doesn't stop them making you redundant. Imagine that the company employs 30 bottle washers and needs to make 5 of them redundant. Imagine also that 5 of the bottle washers are pregnant or on maternity leave. The company cannot decide that, just because those 5 are pregnant, they are the ones to go. However, if the company decides to get rid of the bottle washers who break the most bottles and that happens to be the 5 who are pregnant they are entitled to make those 5 redundant.

If you are selected for redundancy whilst you are on Statutory Maternity Leave they must offer you any suitable alternative job within the company even if there are other employees who are more suitable. However, they do not have to create an alternative role if none exists. And that protection ONLY applies whilst you are on Statutory Maternity Leave.

So the letters from your employer are right. If you express an interest in a job and are unsuccessful they will serve notice that you are being made redundant. If the notice is served whilst you are on maternity leave your extra rights kick in and mean they must identify any suitable alternative jobs and offer them to you. What they have said suggests that they would offer you the alternative jobs at the same time as serving the notice of redundancy. If you reject the jobs offered or they find that there are no suitable alternatives to offer you then I'm afraid you will be made redundant.

[lindsay84]

I have spoken to my Union Rep who has stated that if I am unsuccessful at job interview then I will get 3 months redeployment period and 2 weeks contractual notice, during which time I shall be on Maternity Leave and according to Reg 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 If notice is served whilst I am on Maternity Leave then my employer has to offer me suitable employment.
If, after the 3 months redeployment period and 2 weeks contractual notice, no suitable employment has being found then I will receive my notice to terminate my employment.

This make sense ?

[prh47bridge]

Yes. That's what I said. If they serve notice whilst you are on maternity leave they must offer you any suitable alternative role within the company. However, if there are no suitable alternatives you will be made redundant.

[springlambkin]

Hi,

I've just been made redundant whilst on maternity leave.

They have to offer you suitable alternative employment if it is available.

So - if they are rationalising 50 jobs down to 25 and you have the skills for one of the 25 jobs then they have to give it to you without making you compete.

But, they are not obliged to create a post for you, or to make somebody else redundant so that your existing post remains.

[springlambkin]

Sorry - missed your 12:27 post. Yes, you're right.

You will be treated the same as everyone else until you go on mat leave and will have to compete for posts. Once on mat leave they are obliged to offer you a suitable alternative post if it exists, which it may not.