Mat Leave Redundancy - Questions!

[rosietheriveter]

Here's hoping that someone out there will be able to answer my questions.

The background: I'm currently at risk of redundancy. Everyone else who was at risk has been told they're being made redundant. Work are thinking about what to do with me so have held off for a few weeks, but are planning training and support as if I'm being made redundant. So I'm assuming that I will be made redundant once they've considered when (they keep asking if I'd prefer to be made redundant when everyone else is, or when I'm due to return to work, about 4 months later).

I've had a training course approved which is a 5 day course. Apparently this will come out of my keeping in touch days. I've also been offered an initial meeting to discuss my support package and training on how to update my CV.

As I understand it each day I go to a training session/have a meeting takes a day off my 10 keeping in touch days. Is that right? Are there any changes to this rule since I'm being made redundant? It seems a bit silly for my re-training/support to be limited to 10 days when my colleagues have no such restriction.

Also, when discussing possible suitable alternative roles today the HR lady asked if I would be prepared to return to work early (I had planned on taking a full year). Is that acceptable? I said I would have to think about it but now feel under pressure to go back early if a suitable job comes up.

I'm feeling a bit stressed after the call today. Any advice will be gratefully received!

You have the right to any available vacancies as an employee on maternity leave and at risk of redundany. If you have a look at the archives 'Regulation 10' is discussed quite often and is the one that protects you.

This right gives you priority for vacancies as against anyone else at risk (unless they are also on maternity leave). You don't have to be the best candidate, just suitable.

They cannot put conditions on your being offered positions and the HR woman shouldn't really have asked whether you would be prepared to come back early. If a job is suitable for you, you should be offered it, even if that means that they have to get a temp in for a few months or whatever. However, in the real world, there are sometimes issues. It may not be strictly legal but if, for example, the role they are thinking of is a five month role implementing the new structure, you can see why it wouldn't make sense to offer it to someone who was still going to be on maternity leave to the tail end of the project. As I said, that's not what the law would say, but there are sometimes situations like that where I have sympathy with HR for asking.

If I were you I would hedge your bets. I'd say something non-committal like "well, I guess I might consider it, but I'd have to know what role I was being offered". You can then decide not to once you have a job! The strictly legal way to approach it would be to say something like "well, I don't think you're meant to take that into consideration", but sometimes it's best to grease the wheels!

In terms of the keeping in touch days, yes any day you are paid must come out of the 10 days you are allowed, otherwise you lose your SMP for the whole week of any week you do paid work over and above the 10 days.

If you've got a 5 day course in one week you could opt to forfeit your SMP for that week, get paid for the course and still have 10 days to use for odd days.

I don't think there's anything wrong in asking you whether you'd consider coming back early as long as it's made clear there is absolutely no pressure to do so, so it depends how she handled it really.

If as in Ribena's example, there was a temp role literally for a few months that would be finished before you were coming back, obviously you wouldn't actually physically be able to do that role without coming back early. Legal or not, in those circumstances personally I'd have no problem discussing it in an open and frank manner with you, pointing out the legalities but also talking about the logistics. But then I'm good at that kind of thing and would feel comfortable having that conversation with someone without risking making a hash of it. Not all HR people are the same...!

If there was a job that extended or might extend past the time you were due back, that's different, and the length of your mat leave shouldn't make any difference.

I think you should handle it how Ribena said, hedge your bets a bit to see what jobs are available.

I totally agree with Flowery by the way. Good managers and HR people can get away with asking much more frank questions that sometimes dance around the edge of what's strictly best legally to get to the practicalities!

Thanks Flowery & Ribena. I called back today to talk about the training I've been offered and to ask if I could be paid for the 5 day course rather than have it taken out of my KIT days. She's going to check out the legal implications.

My SMP runs out on 1st May and the course is in July so it would be while I'm not being paid anything, but she wants to be sure it wouldn't effect my legal status (i.e. the extra protection I get from redundancy for being on mat leave/length of service/etc). If it doesn't then that's fine, I won't be taking 10 days before 1st May.

I was non-commital about the coming back early thing. The more I think about it the more I think I would end up being a disgruntled employee, something they and I don't want. But I'll keep schtum until a suitable alternative has been found.

I agree that good managers and HR can get away with asking more frank questions, but IMO this whole thing isn't being handled very well so I'm taking everything to heart.