Under current legislation, maternity leave, shared parental leave and adoption leave are all considered as protected in redundancy situations. Anyone currently taking this type of leave has the right to be provided with a suitable alternative role (if available) before any redundancy takes place. This gives employees special protection also known as priority status in a redundancy situation.
As of 6 April 2024, the legislation extends this status to pregnant employees and employees who have recently returned from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
If you think you are eligible for this new protection, then here is a brief guide to the protection available to you:
Pregnancy
This redundancy protection begins from the moment you notify your employer that you are pregnant and ends on the date your maternity leave starts. If the pregnancy ends and you are not entitled to maternity leave (pregnancies that end before 24 weeks), the protection continues for two weeks after the end of the pregnancy.
Maternity Leave
This protection continues until 18 months from your child’s date of birth. If you fail to notify your employer of your child’s birthdate, then this protection ends 18 months from the expected week of the child’s birth date.
Adoption Leave
If you are an employee taking adoption leave, you are protected until 18 months after the child’s placement or the date they enter Great Britain, in the case of overseas adoptions.
Shared Parental Leave
You will be protected from the date your leave begins and if this leave is less than six weeks then protection ends when the leave ends. Should the shared parental leave be more than six weeks, then protection extends to 18 months from the start of the child’s date of birth or placement or the date they enter Great Britain.
If you have any further questions related to these changes or if you have any other workplace-related employment questions, please do not hesitate to contact our employment solicitors at Howell Jones.
