ACAS guide to Redundancy & Pregnancy/Maternity
17 August 2012
In partnership with the Equality & Human Rights Commission, ACAS (the government-funded employment conciliation service) has produced a guide to “Managing Redundancy for pregnant employees or those on maternity leave”.
This guide deals with questions such as: How should I treat pregnant employees or those on maternity leave when considering redundancies? How much priority do I need to give them? How should I conduct a redundancy consultation with an employee on maternity leave?
The guide also contains a helpful “myth-busting” section which addresses common misconceptions such as that a woman on maternity leave cannot be made redundant. It is worth noting that if a woman on maternity leave is made redundant her Statutory Maternity Pay (although not necessarily any contractual maternity pay) is still payable along with her redundancy pay.
One other interesting point to highlight is that an employee on maternity leave does not need to formally apply for suitable alternative roles with their employer; if they exist, they should be offered.
To read the ACAS guide please click here.
If you have any questions in relation to redundancy and pregnant workers or those on maternity leave then please contact our team who have experience of dealing with these matters as well as pregnancy and maternity discrimination claims.
