Tweet
We are desperate for some guidance on the best course of action we need to take, and would really appreciate some help.
The following is the list of events:
She currently had an agreement with her employer to start her Maternity on 4th October.
Extract from her Maternity Acknowledgement Letter:
"If you need to change the date on which your maternity leave starts you must, if at all possible, notify us at least 28 days before your proposed new start date or 28 days before 4 October 2024 (your original start date), whichever is sooner.
If you are absent from work for a pregnancy-related reason (other than to attend scheduled antenatal appointments) after the start of the fourth week before your expected week of childbirth (EWC), your OML will automatically commence on the day following that absence. You must tell us in writing as soon as possible that you are absent from work because of your pregnancy.
If your baby is born before the date on which you have chosen to start maternity leave, then your OML will start on the day following the birth. If this happens you need to write to us to let us know as soon as you can. We will then confirm the revised date on which your maternity leave entitlement will end."
S is trying to find a way to protect her rights to access her maternity time.
She has certainly endured some stress from this process, so if we look at calculating 4 weeks before the EDD ("Leave will also start: automatically if you’re off work for a pregnancy-related illness in the 4 weeks before the week (Sunday to Saturday) that your baby is due") that would put it at 14th September 2024... the day after the employment termination.
She also could have some sort of possible option to change her start date for Maternity, as per the text on your website "If you want to change the date you start your maternity leave, you must give your employer notice of the new date at least 28 days before the new date or the old date, whichever is the earliest. If there is a good reason why that is not possible, tell your employer as soon as you reasonably can."
We understand she could change this Maternity Start Date to any date from 11 weeks before the due date (essentially anytime now onwards), but due to the Termination Date in this Settlement Agreement, if she chose to try to start her Maternity before the Termination date of 13th September, she would now not be able to serve the 28 Days.
The other aspect of this, is it was publicised on Slack the day before the announcement about the redundancies was made that a colleague of S, employed originally as "QA Engineer - Level 3", the same position as S , had been given an alternative role moving the colleague out of the redundancy pool. This was not a role that anyone else affected by the redundancy programme was given an opportunity to apply for. I think the company's decision not to make this role available to those impacted by the redundancy situation could render her dismissal unfair under UK employment law and, as S is pregnant and due to take maternity leave shortly, inferences could be drawn that our client was not offered this alternative role or even the opportunity to apply for this role for a discriminatory reason and that therefore her dismissal is unfair and discriminatory on pregnancy and maternity grounds. This redundancy came as a complete shock to her and has significantly impacted on her physical and emotional wellbeing which in turn impacts on the wellbeing of her unborn child.
So far via this Settlement Agreement, she has been offered 3 months' pay.
Her Maternity leave was to be 22 weeks' full pay + 17 weeks' statutory maternity pay.
The following is the list of events:
- S was served a notice to terminate her job on 13th August 2024 (along with a Settlement Agreement)
- At that point she was placed on Gardening Leave for 1 month (notice period for termination)
- Termination would be effective from 13th September 2024
She currently had an agreement with her employer to start her Maternity on 4th October.
Extract from her Maternity Acknowledgement Letter:
"If you need to change the date on which your maternity leave starts you must, if at all possible, notify us at least 28 days before your proposed new start date or 28 days before 4 October 2024 (your original start date), whichever is sooner.
If you are absent from work for a pregnancy-related reason (other than to attend scheduled antenatal appointments) after the start of the fourth week before your expected week of childbirth (EWC), your OML will automatically commence on the day following that absence. You must tell us in writing as soon as possible that you are absent from work because of your pregnancy.
If your baby is born before the date on which you have chosen to start maternity leave, then your OML will start on the day following the birth. If this happens you need to write to us to let us know as soon as you can. We will then confirm the revised date on which your maternity leave entitlement will end."
S is trying to find a way to protect her rights to access her maternity time.
She has certainly endured some stress from this process, so if we look at calculating 4 weeks before the EDD ("Leave will also start: automatically if you’re off work for a pregnancy-related illness in the 4 weeks before the week (Sunday to Saturday) that your baby is due") that would put it at 14th September 2024... the day after the employment termination.
She also could have some sort of possible option to change her start date for Maternity, as per the text on your website "If you want to change the date you start your maternity leave, you must give your employer notice of the new date at least 28 days before the new date or the old date, whichever is the earliest. If there is a good reason why that is not possible, tell your employer as soon as you reasonably can."
We understand she could change this Maternity Start Date to any date from 11 weeks before the due date (essentially anytime now onwards), but due to the Termination Date in this Settlement Agreement, if she chose to try to start her Maternity before the Termination date of 13th September, she would now not be able to serve the 28 Days.
The other aspect of this, is it was publicised on Slack the day before the announcement about the redundancies was made that a colleague of S, employed originally as "QA Engineer - Level 3", the same position as S , had been given an alternative role moving the colleague out of the redundancy pool. This was not a role that anyone else affected by the redundancy programme was given an opportunity to apply for. I think the company's decision not to make this role available to those impacted by the redundancy situation could render her dismissal unfair under UK employment law and, as S is pregnant and due to take maternity leave shortly, inferences could be drawn that our client was not offered this alternative role or even the opportunity to apply for this role for a discriminatory reason and that therefore her dismissal is unfair and discriminatory on pregnancy and maternity grounds. This redundancy came as a complete shock to her and has significantly impacted on her physical and emotional wellbeing which in turn impacts on the wellbeing of her unborn child.
So far via this Settlement Agreement, she has been offered 3 months' pay.
Her Maternity leave was to be 22 weeks' full pay + 17 weeks' statutory maternity pay.
- What should she be seeking to settle this now? how to calculate those sums?
- Is it worth doing something to try to preserve her Maternity rights? If it is to change the start date for maternity, before the Termination date, what constitutes a good reason ("if at all possible")?
- Would starting Maternity make this termination notice null and void? or just make them rethink it?
Comment