Redundancy during Maternity Leave (sorry longish)

[astronaut]

I wonder if anyone with experience in HR and/or employment law could give me some advice please.

Have been on maternity leave for 6 months from my job at a medical research institute, and have just been informed that my post is at risk of redundancy due to unsuccessful funding applications for our team.

Although the funding situation will affect several individuals within the team, at present I am the only person whose job has been put at risk. The HR adviser said that the others are being supported by short-term funding and "HR were beginning to make arrangements to meet with these staff to resolve their positions"

Was given the following options:

Accept voluntary redundancy with severance payment. A figure was quoted at the meeting, but this figure was subsequently reduced by 40% as the HR adviser claimed she made a mistake and calculated the first figure using my full-time equivalent salary and not my part-time salary (I worked full-time for 18 years and then 3 days per week for the past 2 years following birth of DS).

Redeployment to a more junior grade with (ultimately) a lower salary and no guarantee of preservation of my part-time status. This is because a post at my current grade is unlikely to become available during the redundancy consultation period.

I asked about rights due to redundancy during maternity leave, and HR adviser said there was no difference to the redundancy process whether on maternity leave or not.

Would be grateful for any comments.

Yes LeninGrad, there are 2 others that do the same thing, however they are full-time.

I asked for the issues discussed at the meeting to be put to me in writing, and have just received the letter.

I'm in a union, and have received support from staff representatives. Advised that union will not provide professional representation unless a tribunal situation arises.

The best outcome for me would be the severance payment offered initially with enhancement for accrued annual leave, notice period pay and and compensation for closure of our pension scheme (all staff have been guaranteed a compensation payment over the next 5 years, which I will lose due to redundancy)

Search the archives on mumsnet because I'm sure this has been discussed before. From memory of old threads, I think a person on maternoty leave has more rights to keep their job than those not e.g. if there 3 similar staff, 2 to be made redundant and 1 keeps the only remaining job - then the person on maternity leave would have the right to keep the job. I think a person on maternity leave cannot be made to compete for a job.

Not sure if this matches your situation, or indeed if I have remembered the details correctly. Not sure how being part-time would fit in, e.g. if they have one whole time equivalent job remaining and so want to keep a person who is already fulltime can they make the parttime person onmaternity leave redndant - or should they keep the maternity leave person and offer the other half to the other people etc.

As I said not sure I have remembered correctly so would be worth checking the archives and hopefully flowerybeanbag or someone else who knows about this sort of thing will be along soon to help.

if the funding situation affects everyone, it doesn't seem fair that you are the only one put at risk. If there is short-term funding available, there would need to be a reason why this funding only applies to your colleagues and not to you.

You do have extra rights when at risk of redundancy during your maternity leave, your HR adviser is wrong. Basically if there is a suitable role available, you can't be made to compete for it, or be in a selection process for it, it must be offered directly to you in preference to others.

There's not enough information in your OP to identify whether this would apply, but I would be raising serious questions about why you are the only person at risk, and why this particular funding keeping your colleagues in a job isn't applying to you. Your maternity leave can't be all or part of the reason for your redundancy otherwise that would be automatically sex discrimination. Similarly you can't be made redundant purely because you are part time. See here about protection for part time workers.

Having said that, if redundancy selection or other treatment can be objectively justified, that's fine. So for example, an employer putting all of a group of 5 employees doing a job at risk, one of whom is part time and deciding they need 3 full timers in a new structure, effectively making one full timer and one part timer at risk, might be objectively justifiable even though it means the part timer is automatically redundant.

However it's difficult to see how they could objectively justify only putting the part timer at risk of redundancy if the funding issues are the same for all. They should put you all at risk and then work out what hours they need or can afford and take it from there.

Thank you for your responses tellnoone, flowerybeanbag and LeninGrad.

I believe that the reason why I have been put at risk of redundancy ahead of my colleagues in a similar situation is to have a completion date on my post ahead of the next funding application. Proving this will be another matter.

Thanks for confirming that I do have extra rights when at risk of redundancy during maternity leave. As mentioned, the HR adviser stated this wasn't the case and then conveniently left this out of the written transcript I requested of the meeting.

With regards to redeployment, just wondered if I have any rights to agree criteria for a suitable alternative role. HR adviser said that, as a post at my grade is unlikely to become available, I would have to consider redeployment to a lower grade post (a job I did 10 years ago) with reduction in salary, which wouldn't cover my current childcare costs.

bump

Thanks Leningrad, appreciate your advice and support.

The redundancy pay offer was contractual, so guess I have nothing to lose by pursuing assertively with representation.

So far, have had advice from another Staff Side rep and her opinion is that, as this is a non-standard redundancy situation, we should now seek advice from the Regional rep.

Looks like the nice relaxed maternity leave I had in mind is heading out of the window.

Thanks for your quick reply Leningrad.

I have put together a letter to send to the HR adviser to ask the questions about who else in my team has been notified of being at risk, and to challenge her denial of additional protection for women made redundant during maternity leave.

I'm also implementing the company grievance procedure against my line manager, for remarks made by him regarding my pregnancies and his subsequent treatment of me. I believe this has contributed to the decision to target me for redundancy ahead of my colleagues.