Voluntary Redundancy During Pregnancy

kltoddie

I'm being made redundant. My line manager and I don't get on at all and I've suspected for some time that this would happen. Luckily where I work all redundancies are voluntary with a generous package, and there is also a lengthy redeployment process where they will give you another job at the end of some sort with salary protection, so I'll kind of be OK.

I'm pregnant (so totally unemployable for the next while, regardless of what the law says, so the money will have to be used to ride out that period and pay off debts), and I'm being pushed to exit the organisation (on voluntary redundancy terms) before I go off on ML. But by doing that, I'd miss out on all the things I'd get on ML (contractual maternity pay, a years worth of holidays, benefits, etc - a rather large amount of money indeed).

I think I'm being shafted here - that they are trying to exit me before I go on ML so that they don't have to pay my contractual entitlements during ML (though they will pay SMP).

What would happen if I brought my ML start date forward so that it was before the end of the redeployment period, i.e. surely I couldn't be both on ML and in the redeployment process at the same time? Would I be able to avail of all my SMP and contractual entitlements and then on return to work complete the rest of the redeployment period?

I want to go, as I think I am better out of this organisation, and if they paid me for everything I'd accrue / was contractually entitled to during ML as part of my leaving package, that'd be OK. But the current offer falls way short. I think they will negotiate though - so how do I get them to up their offer in a firm but nice way?

Don't want to mention "unfair dismissal", "sex discrimination", "lost earnings", "tribunal" etc or the shutters will go down. I've also had 2 threatened miscarriages so far in this pregnancy and I don't need the stress of that route

Have consulted a solicitor. He says I know more than him and that I don't need him - not v helpful. Union not v helpful either as I wasn't a member before this happened.

How do I negotiate the best outcome for myself, in a reasonable way?