Another pregnancy/redundancy Q

[8dpwoah]

Hi all, name changed for this as circumstances could be identifying but I'll try to be vague.

Just found out I am pregnant with DC2 but I know my employment will end through redundancy before my due date (it's a genuine redundancy situation due to full closure, nothing contentious). I will be in employment up til about week 33 of pregnancy.

I wanted to check my understanding of a couple of things:
As I will be a pregnancy redundancy not a maternity leave one, I won't be entitled to first dibs on a redeploy (I don't want to be pressured to take one tbh)

As I will be employed 15 weeks before due date, they will have to pay my SMP as well- likely to be a lump sum?

My salary won't change between now and then so the 90% bit will be my average weekly pay?

One other thing- I am WFH at the moment but when back at workplace I am in a reasonably risky role, both in terms of covid and in general. I am trying to work out the best time to declare pregnancy, I am leaning to saying before going back but don't want to harm any redundancy conversations or similar by saying too early or too late. Am I overthinking this?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, it's hard when it's too early to talk 'in real life'!

Yes they will pay SMP including 6 weeks at 90%. They can pay it in a lump sum for dates after your last day of employment.

Whether or not you have maternity protection will depend on your last day of employment and whether or not you have started your maternity leave. As babies do not normally arrive on a pre determined date a good employer would normally work on the basis you have protection and so offer you priority for alternative suitable roles. If this happens, get advice if you are planning to refuse as you could lose your redundancy.

If you are required to return to the workplace then you should tell them so they can do a risk assessment.

Thanks for your advice @Margaritatime i think you're right in terms of timing, when the talk starts dongling back I need to say then. I got put onto admin at about 20 weeks last time so I wonder if that might happen again but maybe stay WFH. I was hoping to get back into the workplace to see everyone before we close so will have to see what the employer wants on that one.

I'm planning on putting my due date as my mat leave start but my employment will end around week 32-33 so I see what you mean about they may feel obliged to offer me a redeploy to another site. I'd know I'd get contractual mat pay and protected salary if they did that so wouldn't be all bad news but I am hoping for a clean break (I am not getting any younger so this seemed a good time to try for DC2 rather than starting a new role and getting established again before TTC) so fingers crossed we will work something out to suit everyone.

To calculate your maternity pay, they take your last 2 pay cheques when you’re 25 weeks, add them together then halve them

So if you’re due any commission/bonuses/have any holiday to sell back etc, try and do it when you’re 25 weeks-ish and it will bump up the average

If this applies to you and you have some say in when they get paid, play around in the gov.uk mat pay calculator form, by changing the amounts in various pay slips

Be careful about assumptions on occupational mat pay. Unlike SMP you may find you are only contractually entitled to this up to your last day of employment.

I have definitely legitimately made employees redundant whilst on mat leave - full office closure. We set a last date for everyone e.g. 30 June and we only paid occupational mat pay to that date and then SMP from that date in a lump sum. However part of the rationale was the good occupational redundancy provision meant employees received a good package.

Oh yes I'm fully expecting and budgeting for SMP, it was only if I got redeployed I was thinking I'd then get my OMP as still employed 😊

Glad you knew this, as I have seen it trip people up.

You seem to be on top of this, good luck.