redundancy and maternity pay

[mollymollymoo]

Hi
I'm currently in consultation to be made redundant. If there is 'no suitable alternative' found then in theory I'll be redundant on 12th October. They are paying in lieu of 3 months notice so effectively til 12th January.
I'm due to start Mat leave on 12th November.

Are they contractually obliged to pay me the enhanced mat pay stated in T&Cs that I have already qualified for?

Thanks

Well that sounds rather convenient for them! Sorry I have no advice to offer other than get good legal representation

No one can advise you whether your employer is contractually obliged to do something without seeing the relevant contract or policy,

However, enhanced maternity pay is normally only available to employees, not to ex employees. Is there anything in the contract/policy saying it does apply to ex employees if they leave via redundancy?

Thanks for the quick replies!

Don’t worry - No need for legal representation - they’ve just opened up a voluntary redundancy window for people on my pay grade (there are loads of us!) I haven’t been picked on personally or anything - it’s all voluntary so it’s me who’s going to be deciding whether to apply for it or not.

The reason I’m not sure about smp is because I read a law stating that so long as you worked for someone for 26 consecutive weeks before your qualifying week (15 weeks before due date) then they have to pay it. So that kind of sounds like they would have to pay it even if I technically left before maternity started.

It’s all a bit confusing though - I think I need to examine the maternity policy thoroughly tomorrow!

Yes if you have 26 weeks service as at the qualifying week which is 15 weeks before your due date you would qualify for smp but if you would be made redundant before that qualifying week then I'm afraid you miss out on smp. Likely any enhanced pay too as that's likely to have the same criteria but of course that will depend on what your maternity policy states. You may be able to claim maternity allowance if you dont get your smp.

If it's voluntary redundancy I'd ask them to pay you your enhanced pay as part of a settlement plus any redundancy entitlement. They might ask you to sign a settlement agreement but worth a shot.

There are two different things. The first is SMP which is statutory maternity pay. They will need to pay this. Your question is whether you are entitled to OMP, occupational maternity pay, the enhanced pay that your employer pays to its employees. As flowery says, without seeing your contract and the policy it is not possible to say but in my experience it is unlikely.

”The reason I’m not sure about smp is because I read a law stating that so long as you worked for someone for 26 consecutive weeks before your qualifying week (15 weeks before due date) then they have to pay it.”

You’re right, but that’s not what you asked, you asked about your employer’s enhanced pay.

You need to be in the same job you were a month before you got pregnant when you get to X amount of weeks. Can't remember off the top of my head, but you need to look it up. I was on a fixed term contract when I got pregnant and would have missed the date as was after I ended. My boss was very understanding and extended it so that I would receive full maternity pay

I have known several people in different companies who were given their OMP as part of a settlement when taking redundancy. There was nothing in their contract about it.

However it depends on what your contract and maternity policy says. Even if it doesn't say anything, it doesn't stop you from querying it with them.