Baby on board….

What are the things an employer needs to know about making an employee on maternity leave redundant….?

• Firstly, it’s possible. There’s a common misconception you can’t dismiss someone simply because they’re on maternity leave. This is untrue; it is perfectly lawful to dismiss someone whilst on maternity leave. It just needs to be considered very carefully.

• It is unlawful to select an employee on maternity leave redundancy simply because they will already be absent for a prolonged period and vice versa (i.e. not selecting someone because they are already absent).

• Be careful not to use selection criteria, such as attendance records or sales figures, that might be distorted by an employee’s absence on maternity leave.

• Be careful that any consultation process accommodates a pregnant employee’s absence from the office – offer remote meetings, or meetings at a neutral location or even their home.

• Any redundancy payments are based on their original pay and not any reduced level of maternity pay.

• Be careful of overcompensating – even a national law firm got in wrong by overcompensating how a pregnant employee was dealt with in a redundancy situation. The other employees successfully sued their employer on the basis she had been given unlawfully preferential treatment.

• In a rare example of lawful positive discrimination, employees on maternity leave who are ‘at risk’ of redundancy must be given first refusal on any suitable alternative roles – even ahead of other ‘at risk’ employees.

Careful advice is always needed when dealing with employees on maternity to avoid expensive and time-consuming legal challenges.

For more information about how Pannone can support your business through HR Plus – a fixed fee employment law and HR support service – email stephen.mutch@pannonecorporate.com or click here