Redundancy: Alternative Employment Changes for those Returning from Maternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Leave

Redundancy programmes are incredibly stressful for all affected employees, particularly those employees who are away from the office on maternity leave and fear that that being ‘out of sight’ may also mean that they are ‘out of mind’ during redundancy consultations.

Priority Treatment in respect of Alternative Employment Opportunities

There are various legal protections in place that are designed to prevent unfair treatment in these circumstances and ensure that pregnant employees or those on maternity leave are not discriminated against. Most employers will be aware that it is unlawful to select an employee for redundancy because they are pregnant or on maternity leave but, since this April, pregnant employees and those returning from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave have also been given the right to priority treatment in respect of alternative employment opportunities in a redundancy scenario. 

Essentially, this means that, if a redundancy situation arises, these employees are now prioritised for suitable alternative job vacancies, even over other employees who are more qualified or more experienced. The ‘protected period’ starts from the time the employer is notified of the pregnancy and extends for 18 months after the expected week of childbirth or the date of adoption or shared parental leave.

Redundancy Document Templates

A suite of documents is available to support employers with all aspects of the redundancy process.  Existing redundancy documents (the Redundancy Policy, the Redundancy Procedure and Checklist and the Guidance Notes on Alternative Roles for Redundant Employees) have all been enhanced and clarified to give more detail in respect of the obligations on employers in this regard.