Redundancy while on maternity leave

[hotpotlover]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently on maternity leave, my baby was born on August 12th. I was informed by my employer on August 24th that my role is at risk of redundancy. The business will make quite a few people redundant, but I'm the only one in my department being made redundant. We're 4 people in my department. They used a selection criteria matrix. I suppose I've scored lower than the other people in my department on this matrix, but I still believe it was predetermined that I was going to be made redundant and that the company then worked their scoring around that.
The company wants to hold some meetings with me over the next couple of weeks to explain their decision.

I feel quite anxious about these meetings and scared. I had a very difficult delivery with forceps, where I lost approximately 2.2 litres of blood. I also had stitches which are still swollen and at the moment I'm taking antibiotics due to a urine infection I got from a catheter that was put in due to incontinence after birth.

Part of me says I should just accept my redundancy, part of me also says that I should at least show them some teeth.

I've tried to call some employment law firms, but haven't received a call back from any of them.

Does anyone know a good law firm that will actually get back to you?

Also, how good do you think my chances are against my company? Probably close to 0?

Thanks for any advice xx

Why are you so convinced that the company geared it's matrix around making you redundant, OP?

Have you asked if you can delay the meetings at all, if a little more time would make you more comfortable (which is understandable in the circumstances IMO!)

Are you in a union? They will help.

Sorry you’re going through this, especially so soon after a difficult birth. I’m not an expert but I was made redundant on mat leave myself. I didn’t seek legal advice as I had support from my union so can’t help there. But I would recommend speaking to ACAS for advice - there are a number of rules around redundancy for someone on maternity leave e.g. being offered an equivalent role so it would be helpful to get up to speed on that.

I seem to recall you're also entitled to have someone with you in consultation meetings. I can’t remember the exact details but that might help in the midst of sleep deprivation etc.

My employer was on pretty shaky ground discrimination-wise but they offered me a generous redundancy package so I chose that option. Good luck, it’s really tough.

@ChicCroissant: they couldn't afford to lose any of the other people as we are a very lean department. It would be impossible as there would be nobody to do the work. That's one of the reasons why I think it was predetermined that I was going to be made redundant and that the scoring was worked around that.

They said I should only get back to them when I'm ready to have those meetings, but that it has to be in the next four weeks

”they couldn't afford to lose any of the other people as we are a very lean department. It would be impossible as there would be nobody to do the work.”

If they are going from 4 roles down to 3 it shouldn’t make any difference who goes.

Is there anything about the criteria used which makes you think it was arranged around trying to get rid of you? Too much weight given to the wrong things, for example?

I thought if you were on maternity leave then you have to be offered a suitable role first and got priority over others up for redundancy

maternityaction.org.uk/advice/redundancy-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/

@dementedpixie

I thought if you were on maternity leave then you have to be offered a suitable role first and got priority over others up for redundancy

If there is a suitable alternative vacancy available, say in another department, OP must be offered it. It doesn’t mean she can’t be selected for redundancy in the first place. If there’s a simple role reduction and fair criteria applied, it’s perfectly possible for her to be made lawfully redundant.

[quote dementedpixie]maternityaction.org.uk/advice/redundancy-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/[/quote]
Yes exactly- alternative vacancies should be offered as set out in that guidance.

First, as for the scoring criteria, your scores and rationale for them as well as the cut of score (in a small group this usually means in effect the score of the next highest person above you. Also ask for info to be sent to you on any other vacancies as they arise.

Second, you are perfectly entitled to say you are not able to engage in consultation now and ask that this be delayed, I would say until your baby is at lest 12 weeks.

You won't be a significant extra cost to them at present as I assume you are either in statutory pay (which they can claim back) or occupation maternity pay which it would be unusual to try and claw back or stop paying in a redundancy situation.

@sosew:

Yes, I'm on statutory maternity pay.

Thanks, it's a good idea to delay meetings until baby is 12 weeks old, I might just do that

It's pretty standard for the matrix to be skewed so the 'correct' person is selected
Speak to ACAS
Get an employment solicitor They are very busy at the moment but should still call back
Say you are not well enough to attend at present and speak to your G P in case they ask for proof
Good luck with the fight x

[quote Fiona1987]@sosew:

Yes, I'm on statutory maternity pay.

Thanks, it's a good idea to delay meetings until baby is 12 weeks old, I might just do that [/quote]
Assuming you are the OP, can you answer my question about the criteria - what makes you think they were designed to remove you? And why you think they couldn't get rid of anyone else?

Personally I wouldn't wait, certainly not anything like as long as you are proposing. The quicker you challenge a decision the more likely it is they'll be able to reverse it. If you make them wait 12 weeks before they can explain their scoring to you, the world will move on and reversing anything will be difficult.

I'm assuming they are not trying to make you attend the office? I'd be pulling myself together for long enough for an hour video call at some point in the next couple of weeks if at all possible, or at least a phone call, and expecting you to participate to that degree isn't unreasonable of them.

@flowery:

I believe that it's quite common for companies to preselect the person they want to make redundant and then work their scoring around that. After all, categories like "taking responsibility, decision making and team work" are pretty vague categories and you can pretty much justify any mark for a person as long as the person hasn't done anything that's totally outrageous.

The reason why they couldn't make any other person redundant is because there wouldn't be anyone left to do the work. There's one other lady who does the identical job to me (export European sales) , but if she was made redundant there wouldn't be anyone left to do that job for an entire year as I'm on maternity leave. Then there's a guy who does domestic sales and logistics, but in logistics it's only him and the logistics manager. As we don't know what awaits us with Brexit and customs paperwork, they can't afford to have only person deal with that realm of work. Then there's another woman who is involved in domestic sales as well, but she is the only one in the company who does purchasing as well and is trained in that aspect of work.

We are a very lean department.

Another thing I don't understand is why do they need to make me redundant now and can't wait until next year to see if the company situation improves, they will still have to pay me my full maternity pay so wouldn't save any costs as this year I don't receive my normal salary anyway.

@flowery: the HR manager said we could do the meetings online. I just think they should wait after all that I've gone through during birth and they're not going to lose money if they give me time to heal.

"I believe that it's quite common for companies to preselect the person they want to make redundant and then work their scoring around that."

Indeed, but you need some basis for believing that's what's happened. What is it? Do you feel they are inappropriate criteria? Do you feel you have been scored unfairly? You need something more solid than a belief many organisations score around a predetermined desirable outcome, true as that may be.

"The reason why they couldn't make any other person redundant is because there wouldn't be anyone left to do the work"

If they only need one person to do the work, and currently there is only one person doing the work, why the need for redundancy at all. That's the avenue to pursue, you are quite right. If they have solid reasons for knowing for sure that they won't need the same number of posts by the time your maternity leave is finished, they could do it now, but if they don't have that, then why now? I get that they are going through a redundancy programme now elsewhere, so that seems to make sense. But in your department they could wait until you are due back. If they need to do it now, there is no reason a colleague couldn't be made redundant, and then be offered the opportunity to cover your maternity leave, ie extend their termination to when you come back.

[quote Fiona1987]@flowery: the HR manager said we could do the meetings online. I just think they should wait after all that I've gone through during birth and they're not going to lose money if they give me time to heal. [/quote]
By all means ask, but I'm not sure how that actually helps you.

I believe also they have to still pay you Smp for the full 39 weeks that you were entitled to. I would also recommend ringing acas for proper advice

[quote Fiona1987]@flowery:

I believe that it's quite common for companies to preselect the person they want to make redundant and then work their scoring around that. After all, categories like "taking responsibility, decision making and team work" are pretty vague categories and you can pretty much justify any mark for a person as long as the person hasn't done anything that's totally outrageous.

The reason why they couldn't make any other person redundant is because there wouldn't be anyone left to do the work. There's one other lady who does the identical job to me (export European sales) , but if she was made redundant there wouldn't be anyone left to do that job for an entire year as I'm on maternity leave. Then there's a guy who does domestic sales and logistics, but in logistics it's only him and the logistics manager. As we don't know what awaits us with Brexit and customs paperwork, they can't afford to have only person deal with that realm of work. Then there's another woman who is involved in domestic sales as well, but she is the only one in the company who does purchasing as well and is trained in that aspect of work.

We are a very lean department.

Another thing I don't understand is why do they need to make me redundant now and can't wait until next year to see if the company situation improves, they will still have to pay me my full maternity pay so wouldn't save any costs as this year I don't receive my normal salary anyway. [/quote]
This makes no sense at all. If they can’t make a person redundant because then there would be nobody to do the work, then there is no redundancy situation in the first place.

@Florencex I would have agreed with you until I started working in HR and then I realised that it often has little to do with their being less work. If the business needs to cut costs, then it will make redundancies with those remaining expected to do more with less.