Up against someone on maternity leave

lisyloo

Sc80 said:

Thanks for your comments.

There is a locum working the mat leave position at the moment so if they choose the person currently on mat leave I suppose the locum would carry on and I would go.

In terms of fighting for the position, I haven't been in the post very long (less than a year), but can show that I have made big improvements during that time. 

If you were the one choosing who to keep, what do you think would be big impact selling points which would encourage you to choose a particular candidate?

When I’ve been made redundant before there have been criteria which are usually quite woolly (which cynically one would say gives scope to do what they want).
they are things like productivity, teamwork etc.

there is no reason why they can’t make your colleague redundant they just have to make sure it’s done fairly. If they have records e.g. previous assessment ratings and can show it’s based on performance then there’s no issue.

In practice you could be the victim of discrimination which is somewhat ironic but it’s certainly not a given.

Andy_L

Sc80 said:

Thanks for your comments.

There is a locum working the mat leave position at the moment so if they choose the person currently on mat leave I suppose the locum would carry on and I would go.

In terms of fighting for the position, I haven't been in the post very long (less than a year), but can show that I have made big improvements during that time. 

If you were the one choosing who to keep, what do you think would be big impact selling points which would encourage you to choose a particular candidate?

Length of service. 

How long have you worked for the employer rather than just being in that post "less than a year"? With less than 2 years service, you have very few relevant employment rights which makes you easier to get rid off than her (unless she's also <2 years)

TheSpiddalKid

Someone on maternity leave, who is at risk of redundancy, has a right to be offered a suitable alternative role. (MAPL 1999, Reg.10)

This is different from the rights of other employees in the same situation where the legal responsibility to avoid redundancies by seeking to redeploy in a suitable alternative role (ERA 1996). This does mean an employee on maternity leave does have the right to be offered a role ahead of other colleagues as a redundancy avoidance measure. That being said there are many ways in which companies will seek to find ways of getting around this responsibility. 

JCS1

MalMonroe said:

Well I don't like the sound of that employer!  Getting rid of one worker and expecting the other one to step up and do both jobs? Hopefully the one left behind with a job will be getting double pay?

You could do worse than contact acas - https://www.acas.org.uk/contact

Employers cannot just do as they wish, there are certain rules they all have to follow.

And as for the person on maternity leave, she'll be treated the same as everyone else, I hope, if the employer is allowed to carry out such a Dickensian act. I imagine that the two of you will have the same opportunity to be interviewed and assessed in the normal manner.

BUT - you do need to check with acas to ensure that the employer is operating within Employment Law. If they are not, an Employment Tribunal can be considered. But acas can advise about that. (Employment Tribunals do not cost anything).

Don't let this employer get away with treating their staff like this, it's barbaric.

No employment tribunal possible as under two years service.

There is big difference between what is correct legally and morally.

TBagpuss

They cannot select your collogue for redundancy *because* she is on maternity leave, but they could select her if they have a fair selection process which doesn't use that as a factor in the decision.

IF they were to select her, then they have to prioritize her in terms of offering any suitable alternative role (so for example, if they were making 2 people from your department redundant but only had one alternative role to offer, they would have to offer it to her ahead of the other person.

However, if she has been there for longer than you, then it may be that they select you because she would be entitled to a higher level of redundancy pay, or they may select you out of fear that she might claim her maternity leave was a reason for her being chosen,.

That said, you should not assume that will happen - in the consultation process, make you case , highlight the improvements et c you have made to try to set out why it would b objectively better for the business to retain you .

Sc80

Thanks for the comments. I have just had the final details of the redundancy in (consultation started) and have started a separate thread for that, but just to clear one thing up, I have almost 19 years continuous service.