Maternity Leave Redundancy

[mumzsey1978]

Hello

Thanks in advance...

I'm on maternity leave and I would just like to do some homework before my employer talks to me.

How does a redundancy procedure work when it involves contracts changing with external companies and you are on Maternity Leave? There were 8 roles but now there are 5 as a result of a new contract agreement with my employer where they're cost-cutting.

Are the 5 roles in the new contract effectively new roles because it's a new contract with the external company? The old contract would have expired. In that case do those 5 roles have to be open to application?

Which situation do companies get people to re-apply for their own jobs?

Knowing the answer really does determine where I stand.

If you think I should be asking any other questions then I'd be grateful if you let me know!!

I'm afraid I don't really understand what you mean by changing contracts with external companies...

As an employee on maternity leave, you get priority for any suitable alternative vacancies (i.e. redeployment).

If there are 8 posts becoming 5 and all the roles are changing (ie. they are being re-scoped, duties changing, etc) then many people would argue that this is a redeployment situation and you get slotted in first.

If it's simply a headcount reduction and the remaining roles stay pretty much the same, the situation is a little less clear. However, most people would say that you could be selected for redundancy still (provided not selected on grounds of your pregnancy/maternity), but have priority for any other vacancies available.

Does that help?