can you be made redundant whilst on maternity leave?

can you be made redundant whilst on maternity leave?

Sorry if this gets confusing.


I come up for LSL in 2009, and want to combine this with my maternity leave, taking both on half pay for double the time.
This would give me 50weeks leave on half pay.

We have to take out Maternity Leave first, before any other leave (annual, LSL etc) so I am trying to figure out if I can take my maternicty leave before I qualify for LSL (this will NOT affect when I qualify for it), time it to finish after I qualify for LSL and then take that immediately following my mat leave?

So if I am eligable for LSL in June, and I have a baby in Feb, Mat leave on half pay would take me past my LSL date, and I would take it immediately.

What if they make me redundant while I am on mat leave - then I would not get my LSL and would have to find a job with a really young baby as I could not afford to be not working for more than a coupld of weeks.
Are they prevented from doing this by law?

Yes, I think they are prevented from doing this. I have only ever worked for the Government and I know they cant do it but it would definitely be worth checking with your HRM department before applying for your leave.

Wow, 50 weeks of half pay - lucky you!

Yep, it would be really good if it works out.
Apparently they can make you redundant, as long the maternity leave or pregnancy are not used as the reason.
But becuase I have in excess of 7 years service, they would have to pay my LSL out pro-rata anyway -- thanks for the link Astrid ;)

I think the time you are on maternity leave doesnt count towards your 10 yrs you have to be there to get the LSL..

but you would still be able to take your LSL prorata-ed, as you said.

like anything LEGALLY they cant, but believe me, if they want to they will. I was sacked when DD #3 was 6 days old they called me on the phone and told me I no longer had a job. Yep I did win an unfair dismissal case, but not for EO, as they sacked about 40 people at the same time - so after a year of court cases industrial relations blah blah I got 5 weeks wages in lieu of notice, and four weeks unfair dismissal. not much!!! about 10 grand, didnt make up for not having a job, and having to find one with a young baby. :wall:

Hi Karina, any paid leave such as maternity leave etc count toward your continuous service for LSL, its against the law ofr this not to. I don't know about unpaid leave.

I was made redundant whilst on maternity leave. Apparently it had nothing to do with me. However I was paid out everything I was due. I got my annual leave and my lsl paid out. I didn't have to work out the last 8 weeks, they just paid me for that as well. Financially, it was quite lucrative but it was awful having to look for a job and worrying about a small baby at the same time. I would never want to do it again.