Redundancy and who has 'protected' status?

[ArranUpsideDown]

A family member has just learned that there is an extensive re-structuring in the large business she works for and that her department will cut 4 people from 16.

Of the 16, the 4 leaders have decided that none of their jobs are to be cut, so all cuts are from 12.

At present, 4 team members are out on maternity leave and another 1 has just returned. My relative has been told that those 5 have 'protected' status.

Similarly, there are 2 people participating in graded returns from extended sick leave and they are 'protected'. It seems as if all 7 of those people are entitled to be offered a post if one is available - and there are 8 posts available after the cuts.

If the above is true, it seems as if the 4 cuts will come from the rump of the 5 who don't have any 'protected' status?

Does the above sound accurate? Or is there some mis-communication or misunderstanding?

Being on maternity leave does not protect the individual from redundancy. They can be made redundant provided they aren't being selected just because they are on maternity leave. Similarly the person who has returned from maternity leave cannot be made redundant just because she has recently been on maternity leave. So, for example, if absence is one of the selection criteria, her maternity leave should not be counted as absence. If those on maternity leave are selected for redundancy they must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy. That protection does not extend to the person who has recently returned from maternity leave.

So the big question is whether the 12 jobs are the same as the existing 16 jobs or different. If they are the same, those on or recently returned from maternity leave are not protected. If they are different, those on maternity leave are protected.

There is no protection for people who are on or returning from sick leave. However, the decision should not be based on their health.

I struggle with the idea that the leaders have decided that their jobs should remain. I would hope that someone more senior was involved in that decision. But, if they still need 4 teams, there will still be a need for 4 team leaders so those roles are not redundant.

However, if they are genuinely not considering 7 of the 12 staff for redundancy purely because they are on or returning from maternity leave or sick leave, those who are made redundant may have a claim for unfair dismissal.

What prh said. There is no legal requirement to automatically rule all those people out from redundancies.

If women on maternity leave (not the one who has already returned) have their jobs made redundant while they are on leave, and there is a suitable alternative vacancy available, they must be offered it. If these jobs are new, different jobs, then that would probably apply. However this would not apply in a simple headcount reduction - if there were 12 widget makers and the employer now only need 8, the women on maternity leave can be included in whatever selection criteria are applied, as long as their maternity leave is not a factor.

People who have recently been off sick have no special protection at all. However, if their absence relates to a disability, and attendance is being used as a criteria, adjustments should be made to the scoring/criteria so that they aren’t penalised.

Thank you both so much for this.

It was one of those announcements made by conference call where everyone but the person making the announcement was muted so there were no questions.

The later detail was given in the one-on-one 5 minute call from the individual team leaders to their members where most of the time was eaten-up by the timetable, when the last day of work would be etc..

It sounds like there's some mis-understanding and I'll pass along your comments to my family member who might now be able to put her shock aside and ask some clarifying questions.

I'm grateful to you both.

The redundancy should be put into writing by the employer
Are they offering voluntary redundancy, because some people may wish to take this
If in UK look on www.gov.uk. It shows the minimum statutory redundancy, but the company may offer more
If made redundant, confirm the contact for references
If made redundant, you can claim contributions based job seekers/universal credit for X months, before the redundancy money is taken into account. Apply the day after being made redundant

Just as an update - the family member raised some of the issues mentioned above and enquired whether there were verifiable sources for the advice.

All 4 leaders are retaining their positions but everybody else has been notified that they're "at risk" (not, as yet, in writing, because they're offering a VR). It seems that this encompasses those on Maternity Leave as these are the same positions (headcount reduction) rather than new positions.

There are still some irregularities around people who were seconded and whose 'position of origin' has been cut behind them.

It's not made my family member popular however it was good to pass along appropriate advice.