NHS Maternity Leave & Fixed-Term Contracts

[Sunrays22]

Hi,

Wondering if anyone can help here - long and specific post but essentially:

• I'm currently working in the NHS covering someone's maternity leave on a fixed term contract
• I'm now pregnant (I'm aware of the irony!) and due to commence Mat Leave in the Autumn.
• Under NHS terms and conditions my organisation will extend my contract to allow me to have the full mat leave entitlement and I'm eligible for the enhanced maternity pay as I already have 2+ years NHS service.
• I'm aware however that after my mat leave, because I'm covering someone else's mat leave, I wouldn't qualify for redundancy because the role I'm covering still exists (and roles are made redundant not people) so I would essentially be dismissed for 'some other substantial reason'.

I'm wondering however, as I'm pregnant/will have had a baby, if I would be offered different protections such as redeployment in this circumstance instead? Or would it just be the standard dismissal for 'some other substantial reason'.

Asking as I know pregnancy generally offers some enhanced rights and extended protections when it comes to employment!

Wouldn’t coming to the end of your contract ( and the additional maternity leave entitlement this has given you) just mean that you have come to the end of your fixed term contract , not that you were being made redundant/ dismissed? Surely a fixed termcontract implies that at some point it ends? I don’t see that your pregnancy makes any difference to the terms of the contract.