Maternity leave and redundancy

[SundaySalon]

Hoping someone can give me some insight to this complicated work situation!

I am due to go on Mat leave in 10 weeks. I work for a local authority in a sector that is about to get a complete overhaul. We were told last year that what we offer would be stopped altogether and we would all be made redundant. Then a new manager decided that we would just have a huge cut and change what we provide. The place I work in has found out that we will still be there when all the cuts are made but 70% of the services in my county will be closed down and staff re deployed. There has been little HR guidance offered by the council however the general consensus seems to be we will all have to re-apply for our jobs, so those that are closed down have a fair chance at keeping a role just at a different location.
I will have just had the baby when all of the HR guidance is released and apparently it’s going to be a few weeks after that they re-interview for job roles. What I am wondering is, will I be expected to go in for an interview a couple of weeks after giving birth? Will I have to be offered a job because of maternity law? It’s a complete mess to be honest and no-one seems to have any idea what the case would be with someone on maternity because they have never had a change like this put in place.

I love the job and it’s ideal with my DS4 school times I am just worried that I will miss the opportunity to get my job back because I am not going to be there. I am also dubious that they would choose me over someone else due to me still having a years Mat leave left, I can’t imagine that they would want to put someone in as Mat cover, train them up in the new system and then have to do it all over again when I get back.

Anyone had anything similar to this before or know where I would stand legally?

Will I have to be offered a job because of maternity law?

Basically, if there is a job you can do you’ll have to be offered it. Can do is based on existing skills and experience, not “if you were trained”.

Your union/ACAS should have clear guidance on their websites.

Thanks Pouty. I did contact the union and they said they are in talks with the local authority about HR guidance but they “are aware of the issue” a lot of people have contacted them. Apparently I am the only one in the county in this sector who is expected to be on Mat leave at the time of the changes.

Your maternity leave can't be a factor in your redundancy, obviously, so whatever criteria they use needs to apply equally to you.

Having said that, if your own job is redundant while you are on maternity leave, and there is a suitable alternative vacancy available, you must be offered it and cannot be expected to compete with others.

So it really depends on how they are doing it, whether it's your job redundant and the jobs you could/would apply for being new vacancies, or whether it's just headcount cuts, if that makes sense.

Whether you'd be expected to attend an interview depends on them. If the selection process is happening at that point, they can't exclude you, so if it involves an interview and you don't want to do that, you could ask for yours to be conducted remotely via Skype or similar?