Made redundant on maternity leave

[Bluesea14]

Hi, has anyone been in this situation before? I am three months into my maternity leave and I've been told I'm being made redundant. My period is one month, so I know I'm not entitled to my usual salary as it's longer than 1 week, but I'm unsure if I just get normal smp or another payment on top of this for the notice period?
thanks

I would definitely have a look at PregnantThenScrewed (sorry it won't let me post the link!).

It depends on your individual situation but they may be able to offer help - they have guidance pages and a helpful telephone line!

The good news is legally they can’t do this without paying you 18months pay. The rules/law changed a couple of months ago and maternity leave is now protected so if they do this they have to pay a minimum of 18m

Did they go through a consultation with you?
You should be offered a suitable alternative position (if there is one)

maternityaction.org.uk/advice/redundancy-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/

@Horsemadlady123 the redundancy protection period is 18 months. That doesn't mean you'd get paid for 18 months worth of work. You'd get paid standard redundancy amounts if its a true redundancy situation

The redundancy protection period ends 18 months after child born but that doesn’t mean that they have to pay 18 months - it does mean they should give priority for suitable alternative vacancies. If there are none then it’s redundancy payout.

the redundancy payment should be based on standard pay, and all the stat maternity should also be paid.

As others have said - ACAS and Pregnant then Screwed should be able to guide.

I was made redundant about a month into my maternity leave & was paid full redundancy plus all the maternity pay I had remaining. I knew before starting my maternity leave that I was being made redundant as we were given more than 6 months notice- our branch was being closed & there was nowhere close enough to transfer too.

I got told in December 2014 that I was being made redundant (our company got acquired and they got rid of us all). I was weeks away from giving birth and my baby was born mid January 2015. I got paid my usual redundancy rate of 4 weeks pay, as I’d been employed for 4 years, plus I got my full enhanced maternity allowance paid to me as a lump sum

I was made redundant in March, but it was discussed prior to Christmas when we couldn't agree if the changes they wanted to make (to my job) were 'significant'. It is shit. I did get accrued annual leave, notice period of paid leave, plus a small redundancy payout.
It has made maternity leave stressful and I'm currently looking for another job.

This isnt correct. I was made redundant while on mat leave. The 18 month rule means you’re protected for 18 months after your due date. It doesn’t mean you can’t be made redundant - it just means there are greater protections - that your employer is required to offer you a suitable alternative - if one exists.

get a lawyer - don’t take the free legal advice they offer, pay someone independently. It’s not illegal to do what they are doing but it’s difficult - they will want to pay you out to avoid that. Remember your first £30k is tax free.

You can 100% be made redundant on mat leave
but they need to follow the correct process and show the selection process and be able to show it was nothing to do with pregnancy or maternity

Since 6th April 2024 employers are unable to issue mandatory redundancy to those that have declared their pregnancy, this would include you.

Hi there, I had a fairly similar thing happen.. as someone else said, as much as I could decipher it’s not illegal, it is absolutely brutal / awful though.. I can’t believe that it’s not illegal. It’s had a really significant impact on me.. I hope that’s not the same for you. I’m going to follow this chain - I tried to called ‘pregnant then screwed’ a load of times and couldn’t get through (testament to the overwhelming need in this area)

This is wrong.

This is also wrong.

Okie dokie

Yes you can still be made redundant in certain circumstances
if the company had a fair selection process and you'd been selected because of the selection criteria and others redeployed because they further down the list due to there criteria
in this circumstance you couldn’t be made redundant you would be protected and someone else who’s job was originally safe would be thrown under the bus and lose there job on the back of your redundancy protection

if they were shutting the entire department and there was no suitable or comparable jobs you can be made redundant even though you have protected status
if there are other people with protected status and there wasn’t enough redeployment opportunities you can be made redundant with your status

I'm in this situation at the moment, 4 months into mat leave. It's not illegal, unless you can prove discrimination. It is awful though, at what is already a really challenging time with a young baby.

I'm getting 2 weeks pay for each year worked, my notice pay (based on my usual salary), the rest of my enhanced and statatory maternity pay, and any accrued annual leave.