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Can I be made redundant if I am pregnant or on maternity leave?

Yes, it is possible, however, your employer is not allowed to discriminate against you because you are pregnant or because of your maternity leave.

When a company makes a redundancy, it means that there’s no further need for the role you’re being paid for.  It shouldn’t matter whether the person is pregnant, on maternity leave, or not, it’s the role that is redundant not the person.  In fact it would be against the law for your employer to consider your pregnancy or maternity leave as a factor when assessing whether a job role is to be made redundant.

Whilst you are on maternity leave, you have additional rights which say that if you are selected for redundancy, your employer must offer you suitable alternative work before other employees who are not on maternity leave.

If your job finishes, for whatever reason, after 15 weeks before your baby is due, and you were still employed in that week, your employer will have to pay your statutory maternity pay. This means that they will have to pay your maternity pay, even though you no longer work for them.

If you think you’ve been treated unfairly at work by a redundancy while you’re pregnant or on maternity leave then contact us on 08082747557 to discuss possible legal representation.

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