Made redundent!!!

Pretty sure you can't be made redundant on maternity leave, but I'd let call Acas and get some advice x

Call Acas and pregnant then screwed xx

Hi! So sorry this is happening to you. I work in HR and have had training around this recently as a lot of new laws have been brought in for mums in the UK. If you are currently on maternity leave they legally cannot make you redundant, they have to have a job for you to come back to from maternity leave (even if it’s not the same job). Happy to chat more about this if you want to reach out xx

@Leah after taking 12 month mat leave, can I request an unpaid extension for another 12 months? Is there any laws related to this? I know there’s parental leave but I’m talking an added 12 months and still have the same employer to go back to

@Enne During the statutory 52 weeks of maternity leave, your employment rights are protected. This includes the right to return to your job, accrue holiday entitlement, and maintain continuity of service. If you extend your leave beyond this period with your employer’s agreement, these rights may not be fully protected. For instance, your right to return to the same job or a similar one may not be guaranteed, and you might not accrue holiday during the extended period. You would need to have this confirmed with your employer in writing as you wouldn’t be legally entitled to it.

@Enne so in short you can absolutely request an extra 12 months but I would recommend getting in writing from them that you will have a job to return to at the end of the period taken as that’s not a legal requirement!

@Leah are you sure? Everyone I spoke to said that’s not true xx

@Lara Acas were useless and pregnant and screwed…I can never get through!

@Rebecca you can be x

I’m not sure if they are allowed to make you redundant while on maternity leave. One of my friends was made redundant when she was on mat leave but the full company shut down and everyone lost their jobs. She remained on maternity leave and but was on SMP only even while she was employed so I think she continued to get that payment or something similar but just not a job to go back to. As for the other person, was a permanent role advertised? I think if they advertised the position and people had an opportunity to apply and interview for it then they would have been able to offer her it. They might have rebranded the role. Depending on what you do and the salary, if it’s not easy to find something similar with similar pay it might be worth seeking advice from a lawyer to see where you stand if you ACAS aren’t able to help x