Redundancy while pregnant

[damianjmcgrath]

I am 6 months pregnant (today is June 10th, and my due date is September 4th). I am planning to start my maternity leave in early to middle August, as I'm struggling a little - can't sleep, feeling too uncomfortable to stand up all day, which is what my job requires.

I work for a company that supplies people to work for concession stands in shops, for example, an Apple stand in a computer store, or a Sony stand in a department shop, etc. When I got the job 18 months ago, it was to work on the contract for a computer company who had a concession stand in a large PC shop. The staff employed on this contract is not large - there is only me representing the South West, then there are other people representing the Cornwall area, Manchester, London, and Glasgow. Even though I am the only South West employee on this contract, I am based permanently in a Bristol shop, as I don't drive, and my employers knew this prior to taking me on.

I had a phone call today with the management and my colleagues, and we were told that the computer company we were representing on these concession stands was pulling the plug on the stands, and the contract with them is ending on July 31.

My company has told us that they will attempt to find us alternative contracts/concessions to work on, but if they can't, then all of us, or some of us, will be made redundant. As I'm pregnant, and close to going on maternity leave, I believe that they have to offer me a suitable and appropriate role, but as I'm the only South West person, there won't be any suitable roles that won't involve relocation to London, which isn't an option for me.

I am trying to find out my rights. If I am made redundant before I start maternity leave, does the company still have to pay me maternity pay. According to my contract, I am due 6 weeks maternity pay at 90% pay. If I go on maternity leave before July 31, do they have to keep me employed until I return from maternity, and then what job do I go back to? If they find us all an alternative concession/contract to work on, but this new one requires all of us to start immediately, I obviously won't be able to, as I'll be on maternity, so are they allowed to make me redundant because of my unavailability? Isn't that pregnancy discrimination?

If anyone has any advice or places to go to find out my exact rights (the company's HR department isn't exactly helpful), that would be very welcome!

Thanks in advance.

Firstly you don't get any additional rights because you are pregnant. If you were on maternity leave at the time you were redundant, and there was a suitable alternative role, you'd have to be offered it. But as you won't be and as there is no suitable alternative anyway, that doesn't apply.

If your role is redundant and there is no alternative, they don't have to keep you employed, so your employment will end.

If they do find you an alternative concession to work in, they can't make you redundant because you are pregnant, so you wouldn't be redundant. They have to employ maternity cover and keep the job open for you. But you say there won't be any suitable alternatives because anything there is would involve relocation?

If you qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, which is 6 weeks at 90% salary and 33 weeks at a basic statutory amount, then they still have to pay it to you even though your employment has ended.