pregnant and concerned about redundancy

[pecanpie]

Lost the client I spend most of my time working on yesterday. Not sure when this will be effective from, but knowing the client, they won't be making any effort to pay us for any work for the remainder of the contract.

I am 11 weeks pregnant and my boss already knows about it as I have suffered from miscarriages previously and am therefore exceptionally anxious and am going for regular early scans etc.

Without this client, I will lose about 50% of my day to day work, which my boss has previously pointed out is lighter than my peers. I have had limited opportunities since my return to work based on the fact that I am part time (3.5 days a week). It took 11 months before suggestions were made as to additional clients I could work on and a further 3 months before I was actually given another client. None of the accounts I have been given are of great importance to the business as they don't make us much money.

If I am made redundant, do I have any rights for appeal? Would it help my case because there are a few occasions of inappropriate comments or actions from my boss (such as suggesting that once I've had a second baby it will be too much for me to return to work)?

If you are made redundant, you will be able to appeal it, yes.

However if you have lost the client you do most of your work for, it sounds as though there would potentially be a very solid business reason for your redundancy, so an appeal may have to be more about process used rather than the actual decision itself.

Comments like the one you describe are of course completely inappropriate, and in context could help point towards a pattern of sex discrimination, but if a reasonable redundancy procedure is followed and there is a solid business reason for your redundancy, inappropriate comments aren't going to be anything like convincing enough to a tribunal that you would not have been made redundant if you weren't pregnant.

Is is just you working on this client?

thanks flowerybeanbag. boss is a woman btw...
I do have colleagues who work with me on the cclient, but they work on another piece of business substantial enough to keep them in employment. I am the only person working part time and the issue is that despite the fact that I pick up emails and phonecalls on my days off, there are few clients which can have a part time worker, despite the fact that I would have a team of at least 2 people working for me who should be able to manage most things in the time I am out of the office. I guess I'd better just wait and see... I wouldn't be absolutely averse to working a full fourth day if it kept me in a job

try to come up with alternative strategies like the extra day if you are happy with that. As Flowery says, if good business case, then pregnancy doesn't make any difference, despite the inappropriate comments. They should listen to alternatives you put forward so suggest you do: I have known several employers change their minds about redundancy if there is an alternative offered to them. Technically atm there is no right to appeal a redundancy dismissal but any employer would be advised to offer it and it could be unfair (ie unfair dismissal) if an appeal isn't offered.

Thanks Tiger. My biggest worry is that if I am made redundant, I won't be able to find alternative employment and i need to work to help pay the bills! I'm on a long notice contract wich means that I will be very visibly pregnant by the time that I would leave. I have a friend who was made redundant during pregnancy and because of her stage of pregnancy the company was liable to pay her maternity pay. At what stage would this be the case?

Thanks both for your advice.

Once you get past 25 weeks pregnant your employer will have to pay SMP (assuming you are entitled to it) regardless of whether your employment then ends.