redundancy and pregnancy

[oldboy]

Hi have just found out i am going to be made reduant by the time my redundancy starts i will be about 19 weeks pregnant. Which is obviously gonna make it hard to get a job i also have as ds to work my hours round he has sen so gonna claim careers allowance for him which i had already planned to do. Just wondered if anyone knows how maternity allowance works and what benfits i can get ?

some info here but don't know if that helps at all!

Thats grim - I was made reduindant at 34 weeks pg. It feels crap, doesn't it?
I'm not sure what advice I can usefully give as your situation is so different from mine, but I did find ACAS very helpful.

I was made redundant and then fell pregnant... You should be able to claim MA, I think, but I'm not sure about other benefits.

Have a look here for more information:
www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_4017811

However, you might be able to get a temporary job to cover the months until you're due - I managed to get a 4-month job when I was 20 weeks, which really helped. Some employers are very happy to take someone on, even if they're pregnant, if they won't have to provide maternity pay and cover.

It does suck, doesn't it, but it needn't be all doom and gloom.

Good luck!

Oh, poor you :( To be honest I'm expecting this myself...

I have a question - My colleague reckons that my redundancy payout will be based on my most recent pay, and if I'm on mat leave when I'm made redundant it will therefore be based on that. This seems really unfair - anyone know if it's true?

Katie an employee who is made redundant during maternity leave is entitled to redundancy pay as if she were not on maternity leave.

I'm 9 weeks and have just been made redundant, have worked out that I will be able to claim MA (looked up info on direct.gov.uk) but have no idea about anything else. Am hoping to get a temp job but to be honest am finding it really hard to focus on the future whilst waiting for first scan and confirmation that all ok so far. OH is being very positive about it all which is great.
Fingers crossed it all works out.

Oldboy, you need to get proper legal advice.

If there is any chance your company might have selected you for redundancy because you are pregnant it may count as unfair dismissal, entitling you to a large payout in addition to your redundancy package.

Try to find a law firm with a specialist employment law team who will give you a 1/2 hour consultation for a fixed fee (or even free?) to find out exactly where you stand!

It's your right, so go for it!!