Remortgage - Fixed or Tracker?

Beano.ie

leni wrote: »

I start Maternity in May and will most probably be made redundent during maternity leave.

You cannot be made redundant during maternity leave, that would be unfair dismissal.

silverfoxuk

Beano.ie wrote: »

You cannot be made redundant during maternity leave, that would be unfair dismissal.

Not quite right.

An employer carrying out a redundancy exercise does need to be particularly careful when dealing with employees who are on maternity leave, as such employees are afforded special protection under employment law.

There are two key potential claims to be aware of: As you say, one is unfair dismissal, the other is pregnancy and maternity discrimination. It is automatically unfair for an employer to select a woman for redundancy just due to her pregnancy, childbirth or any other maternity-related reasons. A dismissal on these grounds is an act of unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. The lady would be able to take out a tribunal claim for compensation.

However, this does not mean that an employer can never dismiss employees on maternity leave. Provided that there is a genuine redundancy situation (for example what if a Company closes a whole factory/unit down in a UK town, and relocates prduction overseas?) and the employer carries out a fair procedure, the employer is entitled to include employees in the selection pool irrespective of the fact that they are on maternity leave.

However, ladies on mat leave have an additional protection to help them avoid redundancy whilst on mat leave. To ensure a fair redundancy the employer needs to take reasonable steps to identify suitable alternative employment for employees who would otherwise be dismissed by reason of redundancy. This includes vacancies within the same organisation, with its successor, or with any associated organisation eg a subsidiary. Any good company will probably be identifying such positions to workers under threat of redundancy anyway.

“Suitable alternative employment” in this context means work that is suitable in relation to the lady and appropriate for her to do, taking into account her level of seniority and skills and experience, and one in which her terms and conditions of employment will not be substantially less favourable than those of her original position. A failure to offer a suitable alternative position where one is available would be likely to make an otherwise fair dismissal unfair, again the lady can take out a tribunal claim for compensation.

In the case of an employee on maternity leave, the employer's obligations go a bit further than just 'identifying' vacancies for workers under threat of redundancy. If at any time during an employee's maternity leave her position becomes redundant, the employer is obliged (under the Maternity and Parental Leave etc Regulations 1999), to offer her any suitable alternative vacancy that exists. This means that any available job must be offered to an employee on maternity leave in preference to another employee who is not on maternity leave but whose job is also redundant. This is the case even if the other employee is better qualified for the position. The law says that any failure to offer an available suitable vacancy to an employee on maternity leave will make the employee's dismissal by reason of redundancy automatically unfair. Again the lady can take out a tribunal claim on the grounds that there were other vacancies the employer had that she should have been offered before being made redundant - she can claim compensation.

So it is legally a tricky area for the employer, but it is possible to make a women who is on maternity leave redundant farly and legally, it depends on the circumstances and how the employer undertakes the redundancy process. Often employers have avoided trying (to make an employee on mat leave redundant) because it's a bit tricky and things can easily go wrong.

I'm not a lawyer but I work in HR and have had a fair amount of redundancy related work of late (sadly).

One suggestion if you are looking for legal advice on a redundancy situation is to check your home insurance - if you have legal expenses included, it often includes free emloyment law advice which can be very helpful.