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Original poster

Made redundent when pregnant

18 replies

jofeb04 · 15/01/2005 11:24

Hiya
I was made redundent from my previous employer when i was expecting.
I never knew it was even happening, as i was off sick with the pregnancy.
It was a relativley large company, about 150ppl working there, so they should have had all the meetings etc, but i was not advised about this at all. I know there were other ppl who were also made redundent.
I recieved a letter by post, and rang my boss, who obviously knew what i wanted.
He didnt send me a letter stating the facts about why i was made redundent.
what should i do now. It happened in October 2003

OP posts:

Twiglett · 15/01/2005 11:27

unfortunately I don't think you can do anything .. I am almost certain any negotiation has to be done within 3 months of the redundancy ..

but call CAB to be sure

sorry jofeb

Original poster

jofeb04 · 15/01/2005 15:16

Cheers Twigglett, thx for the info, thats what i thought anyway

OP posts:

morningpaper · 15/01/2005 15:30

Jofe: Why do you want to pursue it now? (out of interest)

I was made redundant during mat. leave - but glad of it.

Original poster

jofeb04 · 15/01/2005 16:04

Hiya morning paper,
its more to do with wondering, it wasnt just a job to me, it would have ended up bein my career, and they have also rang me offering my old job back (i told them where to stick it lmao)

OP posts:

MrsBigD · 15/01/2005 16:26

I always thought one couldn't be made redundant during pregnancy/maternity? Ah well one lives and learns

morningpaper · 15/01/2005 17:08

Sounds as if they are being reasonable - offering you your old job back and ringing you about it seems like they are genuinely trying to do the right thing. Was there something about the way they did it that p*ssed you off?

Original poster

jofeb04 · 15/01/2005 21:35

The reason i am so pissed off with them was as i had extream morning sickness which almost required hospitilaistion, i wasint in work. However, my boss and more senior colleagues all agreed that morning sickness is just that,in the morning

OP posts:

MrsBigD · 16/01/2005 09:20

oh I hate employers like that! Goes to show they didn't have kids though. I suffered from 'morning sickness' 24/7 as well so know how you must have felt.

It probably would have taken you to chucked up all over the bosses desk for them to 'believe' you... argh... gotta hate people sometimes

Uwila · 16/01/2005 21:26

Agree with Twiglet that it is a bit late for legal action. although, at the time, I think you would have had grounds (disclaimer: I am ain no way qualified to give legal advice!).

MrsBIGD, you can not be made redundant BECAUSE you are pregnant. But you can be made redundant for other reasons when you are pregnant. But, if you have made it to your qualifying week, then I think they are roped in for the mat leave benefits (not 100% sure about this).

I feel for you, though. I am pregnant now and the company has announced big redundancies. I've been rather nevrvous for a while. But, so far I seem to have survived the storm. And if I make it to mid February then I make my qualifying week... yippee, almost there.

I must add though, now that you have told them to stuff it, I'm not sure how agreeable they will be to giving you a professional and fair evaluation of why you were laid off. But, it's probably worth writing them a formal letter and asking for the reasons.

Evesmama · 16/01/2005 21:52

do something straight away as you only normally have 3 months to make any complaint/claim against them

runtus · 17/01/2005 09:43

As far as I know, you can be made redundant whilst on Maternity leave or off sick due to pregnancy, they are simply required to try and find you employment anyhwere else within the company. As they have called and offfered you your job back, they have more than covered their arses I think.........any feelings over the validity of your 'morning sickness'are beside the pointm, so long as this did not come into the redundancy hearings.

Having said that, even though they didn't notify you properly - I think you are outside of the timeframe for making a complaint I'm afraid.

Uwila · 17/01/2005 16:21

no they can't. if you tale the 26 weeks of maternity leave, they must give you back the very job youleft. But, if you milk the system and take extended maternity leave, then they must offer you a comparable job. After that is up, you must return to work, or resign. But, under NO circumstances can you be made redundant BECAUSE you are pregnant. That is sexual discrimination and if you could prove it, you could surely take their sorry butts to court and laugh all the way to the bank.

However, I don't think that;s the case here. I think she was made redundant for other (and possibly valid) reasons while she was pregnant, as she said that she was not the only one to be made redundant.

whimsy · 17/01/2005 16:44

Agree you should have done something at the time, don't blame you for telling them to stick it
I was made redundant while pregnant, had a week off sick then when i had my holidays came back to a letter Boss had said to me in front of colleagues "silly girl, fancy getting yourself into that situation" I'd been married and trying to conceive for 5years FFS.
I was the only one being made redundant and to add insult to injury my job was given to a MAN . I took them to a tribunal and won a payout which was good really as I had no intention of going back to work after I'd had the baby

Uwila · 17/01/2005 17:22

Good for you, Whimsy. Attitudes in work place towards men and women will only be fair when women can't be penalised for pregnancy (or men can get pregnant, but I don't see that happening).

Women like you who stand up and hold the jerks accountable are doing us all a favour.

nightowl · 18/01/2005 11:49

well i was made redundant whilst on mat leave. they gave my job to the effing office junior who i trained! just been to see about this and they are lying their arses off about why they re-employed her and not me. it stinks...and the more women that take action the better...this is something thats very raw with me right now and i better shut up before i start a major rant about them. thats what you get for 8 years service. nice.

biglips · 18/01/2005 11:58

i was made redundant when i was 7 months preg (good timing eh!) as i work in a motor insurance and it gone under water so everyone had been made redundant, so whilst im on maternity leave until april 05 they cannot make me redundant by law (coz i already gave my mat leave dates before i was made redundant)

Uwila · 18/01/2005 12:25

I think you should rant if you wish. In fact,I think they should be named and shamed (but that is of course up to you).

nightowl · 18/01/2005 12:36

uwila...ive decided that after my case is complete (later this year) i will name and shame them in the paper just as my collegue did! any company that does this should be ashamed of themselves...not only does it cause financial difficulty but emotional too....i had nightmares about it for a long time..i would dream all my friends turned against me and wake up crying. i became very depressed, and losing my job had a lot to do with it. im determined that one way or another they wont get away with it...no woman should have to put up with this kind of treatment just because she wants a family.

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