Made redundant at 28 weeks pregnant

Unfortunately it seems like they can 🥲 I have colleagues currently on maternity leave and one that has only just come back to work yesterday that are also being made redundant

They are still entitled to pay you SMP, if you have worked there more than 26 weeks (I’m sure it is) to a point in your pregnancy… i can’t remember it off the top of my head but there are laws in place that protect you and they still legally have to pay you your maternity leave xx

I guess they will give you a redudancy package maybe contact Acas

But also you should be on the priority for other suitable jobs in the company. I think there's a redundancy protection act that comes in play in April for pregnant people to get priority on available vacancies.

that’s what I thought so I really hope this is the case! I have been there longer than that so I should still be entitled to SMP I think, I just won’t have a job to go back to x

I’ve been there less than 2 years unfortunately so I don’t think I will get any redundancy pay

I was at risk of redundancy just before Christmas so know how stressful this is and I’m so sorry you are going through this.

Look up your companies HR policy and ask them specifically. My company offers enhanced pay for the first 6 months and if made redundant during that period, they paid it out in full at the start - so if I was made redundant, I would have had to start maternity about 8 weeks before my due date (ie before my notice period ended)to make sure I got the payments. If you are due for SMP only you should be fine as being employed at week 25 is the cutoff date for that. If you have reps ask them too, they might be negotiating for better severance etc.
Pregnant then screwed is a great resource for information and will make sure your rights are being protected etc. if there are any additional jobs being created or advertised in other departments, you should be offered an interview automatically if your CV fits the job spec so make sure to ask about that kind of thing too

thank you for the info! I’m only entitled to SMP and I’ve just had a look at pregnant then screwed and it looks like I’ll still be entitled to it. I just might have to start my leave early to make sure I don’t miss out on any payments - I also put in my years worth of holiday before my maternity leave starts as I can’t carry it over which I won’t be entitled to anymore so need to figure that out too.

Unfortunately as so many people are being let go at once (about half the company) they won’t have any alternative roles for me to move to so no way around it

Y es, you will still be entitled to your Statutory Maternity Pay for the remainder of your 39 week SMP period. Your employer has the option of paying this in a lump sum. Any occupational maternity pay will end when your employment ends unless you can negotiate it as part of your redundancy package.

I believe you can still claim the smp directly from the government? Check gov website

I would dispute it, could be doing it because your pregnant.. you don't know. I would check gov website to see what your entitled to

As you're at the start of your qualifying payment period for smp now and as long as you've met the requirements for SMP you can take leave any time from now and regardless of your employment with the company from today on out they will have to pay it. I believe in redundancy cases the gov will let you claim it from them if you're employer is refusing to claim it and pay it to you but they will be responsible for your first 6 weeks payments etc. I quit one day into my SMP period and the still had to pay the entire time.

Hey i was on this position in January luckily I was offered another role within the company but the new law doesn’t come into affect to protect us until April and as they have started the process now looks like youl be out of it!
You should be entitled to SMP regardless as you have been there long enough but sometimes their policy will state you can also claim enhanced ?

If you are past the 15th week qualifying period and being 28 weeks you will be you are entitled to SMP and whatever the company maternity policy is ?

Thanks for the info everyone! I’m so relieved to hear everyone say I’m still entitled to receiving SMP. My company don’t offer any enhanced packages so this is best case scenario for my situation! I won’t be able to dispute it as almost my whole team is being let go so it’s definitely not due to me being pregnant. But the fact I’ll still be paid SMP and can have time off with baby as I was planning to is a weight off, I’ll just worry about finding a new job towards the end of my leave 😅

You are actually supposed to be pretty much untouchable when you are pregnant so I would contact citizens advice and get some guidance ❤️

https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/redundancy-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/#:~:text=You%20can%20be%20made%20redundant,of%20your%20pregnancy%20or%20leave

They don’t have to pay occupational maternity but you are entitled to SMP. The link above has a lot of answers for redundancy in pregnancy. You’re past 15 weeks before your due date so they have to x

can I ask what the new law is?

yep that’s right and if the company refuse to pay the government will pay it xx

I thought that! My contract ends in July/August although I’m on maternity leave then and was really worried they wouldn’t pay me but legally they have to pay the remainder upfront or over the months left xx

Hi Kirsty, I’m so sorry to hear about this. Helene is correct, you must be offered a suitable alternative role. You do need to ask them for the scoring matrix and selection criteria, if it’s deemed you have been selected because you’re on Maternity then there are potential repercussions for your employer.

Good luck! This happened to me in November when I found out I was 9 weeks pregnant so I know how stressful it can be x

Hi ! Really sorry to hear about this, what a stressful thing!
I am in a vaguely similar position, although not a surprise redundancy - I am on a fixed term contract and knew that it would end and I wouldn't have a job after maternity leave. The one really positive thing that's come out of it for me (so I am sharing in case it could also be applicable to you) is that I can now officially curtail my maternity leave after 6 months and give 6 months of Shared Parental Leave to my partner, but I won't actually have to return to work after 6 months as I won't have a job! So I don't know if an arrangement like that might suit you, it's just worth considering/looking into! It does obviously have massive financial implications, as not all of the leave time is paid, and when one person doesn't have a job lined up to return to, it gets a bit scary. But just offering that as a potential silver lining, in case it's helpful! All the best <3

You might be able to dispute it - but if you're 28w that means you've worked past your qualifying week, and as long as you were working with the company before you got pregnant, then you're still entitled to SMP.

thank you, this is really interesting!! I’m not sure how this would work for me as my husband is the main earner and we will need his wage to cover mortgage/bills etc. but he works for a company with good perks including enhanced maternity/paternity leave so I wonder if there would be a way around this! Thanks x

Contact Pregnant then Screwed! They will be able to help you with all of the legal stuff and your entitlements for free x

https://pregnantthenscrewed.com