Redundancy during maternity leave: your rights and what to do
Receiving a redundancy notice while you are on maternity leave is one of the most stressful things that can happen in the months after having a baby. The law has long recognised that women are especially vulnerable to unfair treatment during this period, and it provides meaningful protections. In 2024, those protections were significantly strengthened. This article explains your current rights in plain terms, what employers are required to do, and the practical steps to take if you believe your employer has not followed the rules.
Understanding these rights matters even if you hope never to need them. Knowing where you stand makes it far easier to respond clearly and promptly if a redundancy situation does arise. It can also help you ask the right questions early, before a situation escalates.
The enhanced protection since April 2024
Since 6 April 2024, UK law has significantly extended the special protection that applies to pregnant employees and those on maternity leave. The key concept is the "protected period." This period now runs from the moment you formally notify your employer that you are pregnant, continues through the full duration of your maternity leave, and extends for 18 months from the date of your baby's birth.
During this protected period, your employer must offer you any suitable alternative vacancy ahead of any other employees who are also at risk of redundancy. This is not a minor procedural advantage. It means that if your employer has a role available that you could do, you must be considered for it before colleagues who are not in the protected category, even if those colleagues have been waiting longer or have more experience in a particular area. The obligation is proactive: your employer does not need to wait for you to ask.
Before April 2024, the enhanced priority to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy only applied during maternity leave itself, not during the pregnancy or in the months following the end of leave. The extension to an 18-month post-birth window was introduced by the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023, which came into force in April 2024. The change was made because data consistently showed that many women were being pushed out of employment in the months after returning from maternity leave, a period when they remained especially vulnerable.
It is important to understand that this protection does not mean you cannot be made redundant. If your role is genuinely disappearing and there is no suitable alternative vacancy anywhere in the organisation, a lawful redundancy can still take place. What the law prevents is being selected for redundancy, or denied the chance to transfer to another role, because of your pregnancy or maternity leave status.
The protection before 2024 and how the courts developed it
The pre-2024 rule, set out in regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999, gave employees on maternity leave the right to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy before other redundant employees. This applied during the leave period itself. Courts and employment tribunals interpreted this rule broadly over many years, making clear that the duty was strict and that any failure to comply was automatically unfair, regardless of whether the employer had acted in good faith.
Case law made clear that the obligation was not simply to give employees on maternity leave equal treatment with other at-risk employees. It was to give them preferential treatment: they had to be offered a suitable vacancy even if that meant other employees missed out. Tribunals repeatedly confirmed that procedural fairness in the selection process was not a sufficient defence if the regulation 10 duty had not been separately discharged.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal decision in Sefton Borough Council v Wainwright reinforced the principle that the right to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy is unconditional during the protected period: the vacancy must simply be offered, and the fact that another candidate scored higher through a competitive selection process does not override that obligation. The courts also established over time that failing to offer a suitable vacancy is itself an automatic unfair dismissal, separate from any complaint about the redundancy selection process.
The April 2024 changes built on this established body of case law by extending the window during which the priority applies, but the underlying principle, that women on maternity leave and related leave must be protected from having to compete equally with others for available roles, remained unchanged.
What a suitable alternative vacancy means
A suitable alternative vacancy is a role that is appropriate for you given your skills, experience, and the terms of your employment. The new role does not have to be identical to your existing position, but it should be broadly comparable in terms of the work involved, the pay, the location, and the status. A significant downgrade in pay or seniority would not normally be considered suitable unless you agree to accept it.
Your employer must offer you any suitable alternative vacancy on the same terms or better. If you accept the offer, your employment continues without a break. If the role is on different or inferior terms, those must be agreed. You are entitled to a statutory four-week trial period in the new role so that you can assess whether it works for you in practice.
The Court of Appeal case Capita Hartshead Ltd v MacKay is widely cited in this area and helps illustrate how the duty operates. In that case, the court confirmed that the obligation to offer a suitable alternative vacancy is not contingent on a competitive selection exercise. Your employer does not get to run a fair and open competition and then point to the process as justification for not offering you the role. If a suitable vacancy exists and you are in the protected period, you must be offered it. Other employees at risk of redundancy can only be considered for that role after you have had the opportunity to take it.
If you are not sure whether a vacancy your employer has not mentioned to you would have been suitable, it is worth raising the question in writing. Ask your employer to confirm whether any suitable alternative vacancies existed at the time of your redundancy, and to explain their reasoning if they concluded that none were available. This creates a written record that can be used if you later need to pursue a claim.
If no suitable alternative vacancy exists: your statutory redundancy rights
If your employer has carried out a genuine redundancy exercise, complied with the obligation to offer any suitable alternative vacancy, and you have either declined a suitable offer or no suitable vacancy was available, you may still be lawfully made redundant. In that case, your statutory redundancy rights apply in full.
You are entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you have been continuously employed for at least two years. Redundancy pay is calculated based on your age, your length of service, and your weekly pay. Crucially, the calculation must be based on your normal contractual weekly pay, not on the reduced rate of Statutory Maternity Pay you may have been receiving at the time of the redundancy. This is a common area of error by employers. Using your SMP rate rather than your full contractual wage to calculate redundancy pay would give you a significantly lower figure and would not be lawful.
You are also entitled to your full notice period, whether worked or paid in lieu. Again, notice pay must be calculated on the basis of your normal pay, not your maternity pay rate. If your notice period falls within the period when you were receiving SMP, you may be entitled to full pay for that notice period even if it is higher than SMP.
In addition to statutory redundancy pay, you are entitled to receive your P45 and any accrued holiday pay. If your employer provides enhanced redundancy terms above the statutory minimum, those should apply to you in the same way as to any other employee, unless your contract specifies different arrangements.
Unfair dismissal: being selected because of maternity leave
If the real reason you were selected for redundancy was your pregnancy or your maternity leave, rather than a genuine business need to reduce headcount, that selection is automatically unfair dismissal. There is no qualifying period of employment required to bring this type of claim. You do not need to have worked for your employer for two years, as you would for an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. The protection applies from day one.
Automatic unfair dismissal in this context also covers a wide range of situations beyond outright dismissal. Being placed at a disadvantage in the redundancy selection process because of your absence, being scored down because you were not present for a particular project or period, or being denied information about vacancies because you were on leave, can all form part of an unfair dismissal or discrimination claim.
Sex discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 can also arise in redundancy situations involving maternity leave. Unfavourable treatment connected to pregnancy or maternity is direct discrimination and does not require a comparator. You do not need to identify a similarly placed male colleague who was treated better. The treatment itself, if connected to your pregnancy or maternity status, is the discrimination.
Compensation for automatic unfair dismissal is uncapped where the dismissal is connected to pregnancy or maternity. A successful claimant may receive a basic award calculated in the same way as statutory redundancy pay, plus a compensatory award for financial loss, and in some cases an additional award if an employer refuses to comply with a reinstatement or re-engagement order.
What to do if you believe your rights have been breached
If you receive a redundancy notice while on maternity leave, or in the months immediately following your return, the first step is to put everything in writing. Request confirmation of the redundancy in writing if you have not received it already. Ask explicitly whether any suitable alternative vacancies exist or have been considered for you. Keep copies of all correspondence, including text messages and emails.
Before you can bring a claim at the Employment Tribunal, you are required by law to notify ACAS and begin early conciliation. You do this by contacting ACAS, which will assign a conciliator to try to help you and your employer reach a settlement without going to tribunal. The early conciliation process pauses the clock on your three-month time limit for the period during which conciliation is taking place. This is important: the three-month time limit from the act complained of is strict, and tribunals have very limited discretion to extend it.
If conciliation does not resolve the matter, ACAS issues a certificate that allows you to proceed to the Employment Tribunal. At this stage, legal advice is strongly recommended. Many solicitors offer a free initial consultation. Citizens Advice can provide initial guidance and help you understand whether your situation gives rise to a claim. If you are a union member, contact your union representative as early as possible: many unions provide free legal representation for employment tribunal claims.
Do not sign a settlement agreement without taking independent legal advice. Your employer is required by law to pay a contribution towards your legal fees if they ask you to sign a settlement agreement, because the agreement is only legally binding if you have received independent advice. A solicitor reviewing a settlement agreement can tell you whether the offer is reasonable given the strength of your potential claim.
Practical steps when you receive a redundancy notice
Receiving a redundancy notice during maternity leave can feel overwhelming, particularly when you are already adjusting to life with a new baby. Breaking the process into clear steps can help.
The first step is to request everything in writing: the reason for redundancy, the selection criteria used, and confirmation of any suitable alternative vacancies that were or were not available. If your employer consulted you by phone or verbally, follow up with an email confirming what was discussed.
Ask specifically and in writing whether your employer has identified any suitable alternative vacancies anywhere in the organisation. If your employer says no vacancies exist, ask for this to be confirmed in writing along with their reasoning. If you are aware of roles that have been advertised or filled during your leave period, raise those specifically.
Before accepting any offer or signing any document, get independent legal advice. This applies to both settlement agreements and to offers of suitable alternative employment. A solicitor or Citizens Advice can help you assess whether the terms being offered are fair and whether you might have a stronger claim if you did not accept. Many employment solicitors work on a no-win no-fee basis for discrimination and unfair dismissal claims, which means the cost barrier to accessing advice is lower than it might seem.
Keep a diary of events, noting dates, who said what, and the circumstances of each communication. This contemporaneous record can be valuable if a claim proceeds to tribunal, where the sequence and timing of events often matters.
Maternity pay and redundancy: your SMP continues
One of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of redundancy during maternity leave is what happens to your Statutory Maternity Pay. Many women assume that losing their job also means losing their SMP. In most cases, this is not correct.
SMP is funded by HMRC. Your employer pays it on HMRC's behalf and reclaims most or all of the amount through payroll. Even after your employment ends, your employer remains legally required to pay your remaining weeks of SMP. The obligation to pay SMP does not end with your employment contract.
The exception arises if you are made redundant before your maternity pay period has started. If redundancy happens before the eleventh week before your expected week of childbirth, SMP may not apply, and you would need to claim Maternity Allowance from the government instead. However, if your maternity pay period has already started and you are made redundant during it, the remaining SMP must still be paid by your former employer.
If your employer offers enhanced contractual maternity pay above the statutory minimum, the position depends on your contract. Some enhanced schemes are conditional on remaining employed, while others continue regardless. Check your contract carefully and, if it is unclear, get advice before accepting any settlement that might include a waiver of those payments.
Accrued holiday pay is separate from SMP. If your employment ends during maternity leave, any annual leave you have built up but not taken must be paid out. The rate for holiday pay should also be based on your normal contractual earnings, not the maternity pay rate.
Frequently asked questions
Can my employer make me redundant while I am on maternity leave?
Technically yes, but only if the role itself is genuinely redundant. The law gives you enhanced protection: during a "protected period" running from when you told your employer you were pregnant through to 18 months after the birth, you must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy before other at-risk employees. Selecting you for redundancy because of your pregnancy or maternity leave is automatically unfair dismissal.
What is a suitable alternative vacancy in a redundancy situation?
A suitable alternative vacancy is a role that is appropriate given your skills, experience, and circumstances. Your employer must offer it to you ahead of other at-risk employees during your protected period, even if other candidates are more qualified. If you decline an unsuitable offer, your redundancy pay is not affected. If you unreasonably decline a genuinely suitable offer, you may lose your redundancy entitlement.
Does my statutory maternity pay continue if I am made redundant?
Yes. In most cases, statutory maternity pay continues even after your employment ends, because it is paid by your employer but funded and enforced by HMRC. Your employer is still legally required to pay your remaining SMP. Enhanced contractual maternity pay arrangements may differ, so check your contract.
How long do I have to bring a claim if my rights were breached?
For an Employment Tribunal claim, the time limit is three months minus one day from the act complained of. This is a strict deadline. Before lodging a claim, you must first notify ACAS to begin early conciliation, which can pause the clock. Do not wait: get advice from a solicitor, your union, or Citizens Advice as soon as possible.
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