From 6 April 2024, protection from redundancy afforded to employees on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave will be extended to employees who are pregnant or returning from such leave.

Currently, employees on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave have special rights in a redundancy situation.  Under regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999 parents on these types of leave must be offered first refusal of any suitable alternative employment available in a redundancy situation.  This gives such employees priority access to redeployment opportunities over other redundant employees.

Draft regulations have now been laid before Parliament designed to bring the Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 into operation.  The new Act will extend the period of special protection from redundancy to employees who are pregnant or returning from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.  

New protection rights

From 6 April 2024, the period will be extended as follows:  

1. Pregnant employees

Start: from the date the employee notifies the employer they are pregnant 

End:  18 months from the child’s expected week of childbirth. The protected period can cover 18 months from the exact date of birth, if the employee gives the employer notice of this date prior to the end of maternity leave.

In circumstances where the employee miscarries before the 24th week, the special protection period will end two weeks after the end of the pregnancy.  It is worth noting that pregnancies ending after 24 weeks are classed as stillbirths and the employee would be entitled to statutory maternity leave and the protections afforded above.

2. Adoption

Start: the beginning of adoption leave

End:  18 months from placement for adoption

3. Shared parental leave 

Start:  beginning of shared parental leave

End:  the protected period will cover 18 months from birth, provided that the parent has taken a period of at least six consecutive weeks of shared parental leave. This protection will not apply if the employee has taken adoption or maternity leave (as they will be covered under those protections instead)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It should be noted that the protection is not a ban on making employees redundant during the protection period. Employees with priority status can still be selected for redundancy, but they are afforded special rights when it comes to the allocation of alternative roles.

What happens if an employer gets it wrong?

If an employer fails to comply with the “priority” requirements, this could enable an employee to bring a claim for automatic unfair dismissal.  An automatic unfair dismissal claim does not require two years’ qualifying service (unlike an ordinary unfair dismissal claim).  Depending on the facts, employees may also have a claim for discrimination.  It is therefore key for employers to understand the new rules and how to apply them.