Reapplying for my own job whilst on mat leave?

[nobodylikesacockwomble]

I'm currently on mat leave, due back to work in December. I work in a team of around 15 people within a large company. I have had a phone call from my boss this week to let me know they are cutting some jobs from our team, so will be making 5 people redundant. They have asked for volunteers for redundancy but if they don't get enough people will be going through a consultation period with people having to reapply for the remaining positions. I have declined the voluntary redundancy and have been told that I will need to be interviewed for my job with everyone else. I've looked at the legislation and am of the understanding that I have a right to return to work to the same position as when I left, and if a position is available I should automatically be offered this without having to apply/interview? Does anyone know if this is correct? My job role has not been made redundant so should I therefore be given one of the positions? I know this is a terrible time for everyone involved, but I have 2 young children and can't afford to lose my job coming up to Christmas. Can anyone advise me on this?
Thanks xx

Yes, you should be offered one of the roles automatically. Speak to acas

No not necessarily. If your own position is redundant while you are on maternity leave, and there is a suitable alternative vacancy available, you must be offered it. In a pure headcount reduction that isn’t the case, so if there are currently 10 widget makers and they are reducing to 5, for example. You can’t be penalised or selected because of your maternity leave, but they don’t have to exclude you from the process completely. If the process goes through and results in your redundancy, but there is another vacancy somewhere else suitable for you, you should be offered it.

Or, if it’s a restructuring and there are new jobs instead of the old ones, you should be offered one if there is one suitable.

Call ACAS!

Usually your advice is spot on flowery but in this case, it is true that the because (using your example) there are 5 widget makers remaining and the OP has the right to return to her original role that she should be offered one of these roles. If all 10 widget makers were being deleted from the structure but there was a SAE, then she'd have to be offered that without an application.

Well we can agree to differ on that. I remain confident that my advice is certainly spot on still.

Flowery's advice is correct. If they are reducing the number of widget makers the OP can be made redundant provided the selection criteria are fair and she is not selected because she is on maternity leave. She must be offered any suitable vacancy, if there is one, even if others are more suited to the vacancy.

The right to return to your original role basically means they cannot give the OP's job to her maternity cover or anyone else, even if they are better at the job than the OP. It does NOT prevent the OP being selected for redundancy in a headcount reduction situation. The relevant legislation is clear that you lose the right to return to your original role in any redundancy situation.

The relevant legislation is clear that you lose the right to return to your original role in any redundancy situation

Only where all the widget makers are going, which does not apply here.

Only where all the widget makers are going, which does not apply here

You really should stop talking rubbish. The legislation excludes the right in ANY redundancy situation. It does not attempt to distinguish between a situation where some widget makers are going and one where all are going.

The right to return to your original job after maternity leave (Employment Rights Act 1996 sections 71 and 73) is subject to section 74, which gives the employer the right to make you redundant or dismiss you during maternity leave. There is nothing in section 74 or the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations that limits the employer's right to make you redundant to cases where all widget makers are being made redundant and it is difficult to see how the legislation could be worded to achieve that end. Any such attempt would be full of loopholes.

There are absolutely no legislative or case law restrictions on the circumstances in which the job of an employee on maternity leave can be made redundant. Normal unfair dismissal rules therefore apply in terms of whether it is a genuine redundancy situation and whether the selection was fair. It could be a headcount reduction, cost saving, office closure, restructuring, whatever.

Specific protection in the decision whether to make the role redundant comes only from the Equality Act, which ensures that maternity leave cannot be a factor in the decision.

Once the decision to make the role redundant has been made, then specific protection from the Maternity and Parental Leave Regs kicks in, which provide that if an employee's role is made redundant while she is on maternity leave, and there is a suitable available vacancy, the employee is entitled to be offered alternative employment.

ie she gets special treatment if she is made redundant, she doesn't get protected from being made redundant in the first place.

Key words are vacancy and alternative employment. The employees existing role is neither a vacancy nor alternative employment.

There is nothing about specific protection from redundancy in a headcount reduction scenario or anything like that.

x-posts writing the same thing!

It's not writing the same thing. Yours isn't unnecessary rude and obnoxious flowery!

Do you know when the interviews are to be held? Could they be scheduled for after your mat leave?

My understanding is that if you are on mat leave and your role is made redundant, if there is a remaining role or vacancy that is a suitable alternative, you should be automatically allocated a role before others. However it's been a while since I went through this so things might have changed.