HELP HELP!!! Being made redundant whilst pregnant

[ellenjames]

hi can anyone advise me, I am 22 weeks pregnant and have been told will be basically made redundnt nxt week so will be 23 weeks pregnant. Think they will give me 4 weeks notice ( what i was told in meeting), which isnt a prob as will then qualify for SMP. But they can legally give me just 1 week as have only been there since Feb. If this happens i will be 1 week short of qualifying for SMP, but will i qualify for MA Have been earning roughly £550-600 per month so i know i have been earning enough. Sorry for the epic but would love any advice, thanku xx

Hi, I got made redundant at about 20 weeks, so only qualified for MA - the only way to get SMP from them is if the midwife/GP or a scan can show your dates as taking you to being x no. of weeks pregnant at your leaving date - I think it's something like 25 weeks and one day or something, i.e. you have to be actually employed by them in your qualifying week or something to get it, as your EDD stated on your MAT B1 form is the date that is used for claiming SMP, MA, and the Sure Start Grant etc. This may make more sense to you!! See here
I think you will get the full Sure Start Grant and milk tokens/vouchers as well if you don't have a job to go to - I temped for a couple of months up to 38 wks, and I got the full tokens and grant - probably different now though!!

CAn i just ask did u get the same amount of money on MA as what u would have done onSMP and for the same amount of time which is 9 months now? Thanku x

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Hi, no, I got about £60 a week by Giro - had to claim through the Social Security office, and it was only for about 18 weeks - may be longer now though.

Sorry, should have said this was at 2001-2002 rates!!!

Are their reasons for making you redundant legit?

yes shybaby the company is fucked really they have made me redundant and another person. Does anyone have any recent experience, (thanku Charlene1)

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Do you have any leave owing to you?

If you do they might let you take a weeks leave after your notice date so your actual leaving date meets your SMP date requirements.

no used up all my holiday entitlement! Am fretting a bit really as don't know anything bout MA I know i earn enough to get the same amount as smp(as stated above) but am worried abiut whether u get it for the same amount of time (9 months)

Being selected for redundancy whilst pregnant is automatically unfair dismissal unless the company can prove it isnt. Suggest you talk to CAB and get some employment law advice

MA is paid for a maximum of 39weeks.

see here

From when baby is born you'll also be entitled to apply for child tax and working tax credit. As well as child benefit.

was also going to say that they can't choose you for redundancy whilst you are pregnant. If you have volunteered to be made redundant then that is different. You can claim against them if they've done it and kept for example a male colleague. Look at this and scroll almost to the bottom of hte page

Thanku for the link, seems U get MA for the same amount of time which is reassuring!

Being selected for redundancy while pregnant is not 'automatically unfair dismissal unless the company can prove it isn't'. You have no extra protection as such from redundancy during pregnancy, so unless you feel you have a case that your pregnancy is all or part of the reason for your redundancy, it's irrelevant.

There seems to be a myth that a company can't make someone redundant who is pregnant. That's rubbish. A company should be more cautious and be sure that the redundancy is genuine, but there's no reason they can't do it.

It sounds as though you are sure the redundancy is genuine, which is fine, and yes if you are made redundant before 25 weeks pregnant you won't get SMP but you will be entitled to MA. You can also claim incapacity benefit for a couple of weeks in late pregnancy/just after childbirth.

YOu can get income support as well: I did (made redundant at about 20 weeks). Basically they accept that you are not going to get another job at this stage of pregnancy so you don't have to apply for JSA and get hassled to prove you're looking for work.

Well I was made redundant during my mat leave. There was another girl who did the same job as me, who I had trained. We were equal more or less in what we did but I had more service and qualifications.

I sued them and won because when they went bump and opened up another company they automatically employed her and made me redundant. I never even got the chance to re-apply for my job. That was why I asked.

You do have extra protection during mat leave shybaby, if there is a job it must be offered to you, without having to compete, which is why you quite rightly won your case.

I do get a bit concerned at the general tendency (not just on this thread) for many people to be convinced you can't make someone pregnant redundant. I wouldn't want anyone reading this in a similar situation to act on those comments.

Although a company would be well-advised to be extra cautious when making someone redundant who is pregnant, and be very sure they can clearly demonstrate the reasons for the redundancy, in terms of what the actual law says, pregnant women are in no better position than anyone else when it comes to deciding redundancies.

thanks for response i know that just because i am pregnant doesnt mean i cant be made redundant, so i have no issue there as i know why they are getting rid of me and the other lad. Have got my meeting tommorrow so with 4 weeks notice i should be fine hopefully!

If anyone can tell me exactly the difference in amount of money between MA and SMP,you will give me peace of mind. As I am being redundant on the 15 th week of pregnancy, i presume i will not be eligible for SMP ??/ I worked for a company for 3 years and strongly feel that i have a right for SMP. My deep concern is how much money i will loose if i will be entitled to MA only. I roughly earned 1000 pounds a month.Please, if you know the answer, let me know as i have been struggling a lot to find the truth from anyone!

its the same as u qualify for the full amount.I get the full amount of roughly £468? per month which is the max u can get, only diff is u dont get the 90% of ur wage for first 6 weeks hth.