Being made redundant with a baby

[Corporatepreggolady]

Hello everyone.

I think I need to engage a solicitor on this, but also wanted to post here for thoughts.

• I have worked for a huge multinational for 10 months.
• this was a newly created role, and they hired me directly off maternity leave.
• I am now being made redundant. Or rather, the role is, and my three colleagues in the US will do the work that four of us previously did.
• My daughter is 18 months and three weeks old, putting me just outside of maternity protection. My employer knows the exact age of my child, and I have evidence suggesting they have planned my redundancy as far back as June.
• It's a redundancy pool of one - nobody else.
• There have been sketchy comments in team meetings about "extended working hours" and "an on call model" coming up.
• There have also been sketchy comments such as "you're brave to do this job with a baby", which I can document.

So, it's all very weird. Thoughts? Straight to a solicitor?

Did you resign from your previous role and not return to work following maternity leave or were you unemployed on taking up the role? What outcome are you seeking, another role in the company or a pay off?

Resigned from another company to take this job, ending my mat leave when I took it. I don't know what I'm seeking, really. But I feel I have been v badly treated

I don't think maternity protection stands if it isn't the company you took mat leave with

You have only been there 10 months so your employment rights to redundancy and maternity protection are limited.

I'm sorry but after only 10 months your employment rights are very limited. I'd focus on looking for another job instead.

sorry to hear this.

feeling badly treated doesn’t mean you’ve been discriminated against however.

by all means take some advice though

Okay thank you all. It's shit. I'm very scared for my future

Sorry but ten months in you have no rights, maternity has nothing to do with it. Have they offered you a severance?

After 10 months I'd be surprised if they did.

We had a round of redundancies at work and the ones that went had been there under 2 years, so got nothing.

They have offered me 1.5 months' extra pay.

As everyone else has said, my understanding is that if you move companies you loose the maternity protection - that only applies if you are still with the company with which you took your maternity leave.

You’ve only been there 10 months so I think 1.5 months pay in those circumstances is a good deal.

Focus your energies on getting another job.

Perhaps your previous employer wasn’t best pleased when you didn’t return after maternity leave. On the plus side you must be employable so I expect you will get a new role fairly quickly. Possibly there is the opportunity to increase your pay off, but it sounds like they were trying out a reorganisation that didn’t work. I would focus on getting a new role, perhaps your employer could help with some career coaching or time off for applications / interviews.

Weird they did this presumably knowing you were coming off mat leave…

were you performing in role? Were there performance issues? Or did you want flexible working?

if all was well and you are on good terms are there internal roles / transfers you could apply for???

as crap as it is… it’s happening.
I’d def talk to a lawyer and see if you can negotiate more money as a settlement and maybe reference wording but whatever happens it’s clear the role is gone.

To the people saying you have no rights because you have been in the job only for 10 months: the OP has the right not be discriminated against because she is a woman/a parent of a young child from day one in the job...

OP I would ask them in writing to provide you with the selection criteria for redundancy and the rational for making your post redundant.

If you feel that want to get rid of you because they automatically assume you are unable to do a job that requires extended hours and being on call out of hours based on the fact that you are the parent of a young child, then that would be discriminatory.

Get some advice from ACAS and/or Citizen Advice to see if you have a case. If anything, you showing your employer clearly that you are playing hard ball means you might get a better settlement if they want you out.