Redundancy during maternity leave

[Getdressed]

Hi

I was made redundant on maternity leave last year and am still appealing with employers ant taking to ET now. A suitable position arose whilst I was on ML and I was informed about but not offered. Reg 10 states a similar position should be offered and the Maternity Action website states it should be offered without applying or being interviewed. Is this the law or good practice?

Many thanks

They can interview you but only to find out if the role would be suitable, not to conduct a "normal" job interview against other candidates. They certainly don't have to give you the job no questions asked just becuase you are on maternity - they can make sure its a "suitable alternative".

When you say informed about did they tell you about if but decide you weren't suitable?

The law is that when a woman on maternity leave's post is made redundant, if there is a suitable alternative vacancy available, it must be offered. It's fine to interview/require applications to establish whether the role is suitable, but the woman can't be expected to compete with others.

Was this role available at the date your redundancy was effective?

Thank you Grevling. I was e-mailed a copy of the JD and an application form. I have just seen minutes from my senior manager explaining he thought the job matched my skills but I did not apply for it.

Just to add, he was explaining this situation to HR in regards to severance pay.

Thank you Flowery. As far as I am aware it was. They were interviewing in October and I returned in September but informed of vacancy in August.

You returned to work? Meaning your redundancy was not effective when you were on maternity leave? What was your termination date?

I returned for 10 days at the end SML for 10 days until post was officially redundant. So no I was not on maternity leave on redundancy date.

In that case Reg 10 doesn't apply to you I'm afraid.

When were you notified of your redundancy? Was it before applications for this post were closed, in which case was there a reason you chose not to apply?

The jobs came out at the same time I was issued with redundancy notice. I didn't apply as employer did not confirm if I could do the same hours. I am kicking myself for returning to work now :(

I thought Reg 10 would apply as it says a suitable available vacancy should be offered before the end of her employment. Should the job not have been offered to me in when it became available and I was still on ML? I thought Reg 10 went when you returned to work.

Yes Reg 10 ceases to apply once you return to work, so if you weren't redundant until after you returned to work, it won't apply. You are right to say a suitable alternative must be offered to start immediately the other job ends, but if the old job doesn't end while the woman is on maternity leave, there is no requirement to do that.

You mention that you didn't apply because your employer didn't confirm you could do the same hours. A post would only be a 'suitable' vacancy if it were on the same terms and conditions so if the hours were different anyway, again there would be no obligation to offer it to you.

If you were redundant in September presumably you appealed your redundancy and put in a tribunal claim a while ago, yes? Did your case revolve around reg 10? If so, what is your employer's defence?

Right I understand. At the time they did not know that I was returning in Sept. I could have had until January 2011 off so perhaps they should have assumed that Reg 10 did apply? I have also gone on the grounds of failure to consult. I have not heard back from employer yet.

Many thanks once again Flowery.

What did they say in response to your appeal?

Yes if they confirmed that your termination date would be in September and as far as they were aware, you were due to still be on maternity leave at that point, then yes, if this role had been suitable in terms of job content and terms and conditions, and would be still available on your termination date, they should have offered it to you.

They will say that you elected to waive your extra protection under Reg 10 by deciding to return to work before your post was redundant. They will also say that you yourself indicated you did not believe the role to be suitable by not applying for it and (presumably) stating that this was because the hours of work were not the same as your existing role.