Redundancy package while pregnant

[mendingheart]

Hello all,
I'm in a very tricky work situation at the moment and wondering how best to negotiate the terms of my redundancy package.

• I've worked at x company for 5 years
• I'm being made redundant (the day I go on mat leave) (still is questionable whether that is the reason in my view - though they said they are closing the office)
• Company have offered me 6 weeks pay - I guess I'd already be entitled to 5 weeks for my years of service but capped below my regular pay
• They want to offer a part-time contracting position after my mat leave
• They have said my redundancy is due to office closing in London - but another employee is being offered to keep her job and work from another office
• My job is not technically redundant - they are hiring someone to cover whilst I go on mat leave (likely a contractor or agency for example)

Overall, the best outcome is that I am made redundant - as I'll get the mat pay tax free. But I am thinking to ask them for 10 weeks full pay as the package. Is this reasonable? My main argument would be length of service, no health insurance whilst on mat leave and also no vacation days accrued - normally I'd get 5 weeks whilst off for the year. I just want them to be a bit more generous in their office - especially if they want me to contract for them...

They are a small company and thus smaller financial resources.

Anyways, keen to hear any thoughts/ideas on any bargaining chips I could use.

I do want to be made redundant though as I'd like to find something new whilst on mat leave...

Why do you think your maternity pay will now be tax-free?

Length of service is no argument - you say yourself your length of service entitles you to 5 weeks, not 10.

Not sure what you mean about no health insurance. I'm assuming you're in the UK?

The negotiation points aren't about things you'll lose, because you'd lose those whether you are genuinely redundant or not. The negotiation points are around their legal vulnerability (or otherwise). The only reason for them to pay you anything over and above statutory, as they are small with limited resources, is if not doing so might be more expensive.

Therefore your negotiation points are that you don't feel the redundancy is genuine as the work is continuing, and (presumably) you'd be able to continue - it's not as if the function is relocating hundreds of miles away - it sounds like you could carry on doing the work (other than your maternity leave but for the purposes of this that isn't relevant), therefore you'd argue the redundancy isn't genuine, and that you are being treated less favourably due to your maternity leave as you haven't been offered the opportunity to work from another office like your colleague, and as they have indicated they want you back afterwards, it seems they are trying to avoid their obligations during maternity leave, such as holiday pay and other employment rights.

There are risks involved in making those arguments, which are that they might rescind your redundancy altogether, meaning you'd have to resign if you no longer want to work there, or they might change their mind about employing you again later on, as that (rightly) undermines their argument about genuine redundancy.

I didn't mean the mat pay will be tax free! You are right SMP will not be. I just meant that the enhanced maternity pay would be received as a redundancy payout and since it would be under 30k that would be tax free.

Yes, that is true about health insurance but our current policy costs 2k a year or something similar.