Pregnancy, Maternity Leave and Redundancy

Recently two government ministers have been quoted in the press as suggesting that women are bearing the brunt of recent redundancies. Each year 7% of working mothers-to-be are forced out of their jobs because they are unfairly dismissed, made redundant or made to leave their jobs due to discrimination because of their pregnancy according to statistics from the Equal Opportunities Commission. Furthermore, 45% of mothers-to-be or new mothers say they’ve experienced unfair treatment such as missing out on promotion or being stopped from going on training courses. Pregnancy and Redundancy Selection for redundancy cannot be for any reason connected with pregnancy or maternity leave, eg time taken off for pregnancy-related illness. However, you can still be selected for redundancy for other reasons whilst you are pregnant. If you feel that you have been selected because of your pregnancy, contact Ashley Hunt or Vaishali Thakerar now on 0116 212 1000 for a free initial discussion. Pregnancy and Work If you are pregnant you need to tell your employer before your 15th week. You do not need to tell your employer before then. Your employer should carry out a risk assessment to identify any health risks and below are some useful do’s and don’ts for working whilst pregnant: • Do walk around regularly as your circulation can be sluggish; • Do bend your knees when lifting or, preferably, get someone else to lift for you; • Do ensure that your chair is at the right height for you and use a footstool if you need one; • Do follow health and safety guidelines on use of chemicals such as paint or solvents or hair dyes and use gloves if you do have to handle chemicals. You have the right to be moved to a less risky job or suspended on full pay if you can’t be moved to a safer job; • Don’t slump, good posture will help ease any aches and pains; • Don’t skimp on breaks; • Don’t ignore symptoms of any illness, it’s best to get checked out by your GP. You should be allowed paid time off to attend ante-natal appointments. You may have to let your employer see your ante-natal appointments card as they do have the right to see it to confirm appointment times. Your employer should ensure you are not treated unfairly – this includes treatment by colleagues or clients. If you encounter problems at work because you are expecting a baby, keep a diary and call Ashley Hunt or Vaishali Thakerar on 0116 212 1000 now for a free initial discussion. Maternity Leave You can take up to 52 week’s maternity leave. You must take at least 2 weeks of compulsory maternity leave after the baby is born. On Maternity leave: • you keep your normal employment rights and benefits (apart from salary) for ordinary maternity leave; some benefits can be suspended during additional maternity leave; • you still accrue holiday entitlement as per your employment contract; • your employer is entitled to make reasonable contact with you; • you are entitled to Keeping in Touch days. Keeping In Touch days You can do up to 10 days’ work without losing maternity pay or bringing maternity leave to an end. Your employer is not obliged to offer Keeping in Touch days and cannot demand you go into work. You need to agree any Keeping in Touch days with your employer and you don’t have to do your usual job. Redundancy and Maternity Leave You can be selected as a candidate for redundancy whilst on maternity leave, but the reason for your selection cannot be related to your maternity leave. If redundancies are being made whilst you are on maternity leave, you have the right to be offered any suitable alternative position in preference to other employees who are also candidates for redundancy. Returning from Maternity Leave You are entitled to return to the same job on the same terms and conditions of employment or a suitable job on terms and conditions at least as good as your job before your maternity leave if you cannot have your job back. You do have the right to request flexible working. This could be a change to your working hours, a change to the time you work or to work from home. Employers do not have to agree to your request for flexible working if there is a sound business reason for not doing so. If do you encounter problems returning to work call Ashley Hunt or Vaishali Thakerar on 0116 212 1000 for a free initial consultation.