Adoption and redundancy

[ahorsecalleded]

I've NC for this.
(I'm also not a night troll, I'm abroad at the moment visiting family).

I am going through redundancy at work. I am about 6 weeks away from matching panel date and hopefully the matching certificate and then I'll start introductions for about 2 weeks when the AD will be placed with me.

Does anyone know if I will qualify for SAP if I am made redundant before placement date? My employers are aware of my adoption and the panel date etc, but are still keen to make me redundant.

It's hard to find adoption specific advice about whether I will qualify for SAP if I'm not employed by placement but at the moment I meet all the criteria for SAP.

Does anyone know any organisations who know the law around this? Would HMRC know? I've contacted a few of the usual places (ACAS etc) but no one I have spoken to has any idea about when I actually qualify and I find the gov website not terribly clear in terms of the language they use. "the date you were matched with the child" is one of the qualifying criteria. I have been told that is the moment I was told the agency give me a matching panel date, my employer is arguing with me that is it actually the date they receive the matching certificate from me (they want me off payroll so they don't have to administer my adoption pay).

So sorry you’re going through this stress so close to matching panel!

I don’t know for sure but this sounds really suspect to me and I would reach out to citizens advice or your union if you are in one.

If you were pregnant, they wouldn’t be able to make you redundant just before you went on maternity leave to avoid paying maternity pay.

Definitely seek advice. Not to scare you but it may also disrupt your matching panel if you don’t have a job any more. Definitely seek advice asap.

I’d seek legal advice to be honest, it’s no different in effect than paying someone off while pregnant which is illegal. Is this part of a wider redundancy process or is your the only post up for redundancy?

I don’t know what the law is here but it sounds dodgy to say the least.

I'm not in a union, I have sort legal advice about the wider issue re redundancy - but I am still struggling to find an organisation who can help we with the question of when my adoption is considered as valid as a pregnancy in terms of it being a protected characteristic.

I have told my SW this is happening, with my financial picture in the round they are not concerned (just so the thread doesn't get concerned about that aspect).
SAP would make my adoption leave much easier in terms of being more relaxed about when I need to return to work as I was previously planning the whole 12 months off and could have been comfortable doing that - it's not an insignificant amount of money to lose weeks before the adoption happens.

You are only Matched once you have a Matching Certificate. This is when the ADM has officially approved the Match following Matching Panel.

So in terms of Adoption being a protected characteristic it would only apply to you at the earliest once you are officially Matched.

From your posts it seems that the Redundancy process is in its later stages and you are actually going to be made redundant shortly.

I guess the question is if you are still in employment when you have the Matching Certificate what happens then ?

Have another look at gov.uk. Your employers HR should (!!!) know what the process is. Many employers HR's dont though unless they are a big organisation e.g NHS or local Authority.

Good luck with everything and I am very pleased that the redundancy would not impact the Matching Panel going ahead.

@ababababa is right in that you need the matching certificate however it could be argued that they know you’re in the later stages of the process and are making you redundant based on your impending parenthood. You may not be able to do much about the timing of redundancy but I’d be going into that process arguing that they’re potentially discriminating against you on the basis that you’re about to become a parent and are trying to avoid their statutory duties by making you redundant just before you reach that threshold.

It’s not just the money - important as that is, it’s the duty to bring you back into a commensurate job role at the end of your adoption leave that they avoid by redundancy. If you were 6 weeks away from giving birth they’d be on a sticky wicket - adoption gives them warning without giving you legal protections.

Are they going through a wider redundancy process or is it just your role? Do you want to be made redundant (worth it theres a decent pay out) or would you want to keep your job. If you want to go can you use the potential discrimination issue as leverage for a better payout or for them to delay redundancy until you’ve been formally matched?

Thanks for the responses, I'm looking into all the options in terms of resisting being made redundant, and your help has been valuable