Suspended whilst pregnant, maternity leave arrangements, deduction of pay, any help?

[Dolly77]

Hi could anyone please advise on an employment issue. I am an official union steward but I am at a loss as to what I can do. A friend of mine is a registered nurse who works in a nursing home. Flexible working is frowned upon by managers but she they have always accommodated her , until the manager left! The working relationships began to break down and my friend was suspended for allegedly not disposing of residents medication correctly. Although the suspension was never confirmed by a letter, only pay slips to show it was suspension pay, a disciplinary hearing eventually took place chaired by an independent HR consultant who found there was no case to answer and no disciplinary sanction was issued. Prior to the hearing whilst still suspended my friend gave her maternity form to the acting manager. She didn't receive any acknowledgement of this so didn't receive the company maternity policy which contain the forms to be completed and returned indicating date of intended maternity leave to commence. Despite regular contact via email regarding the forms, none were issued to her. The HR consultants letter regarding the outcome of the hearing made recommendations that her employer contact her to arrange a reconciliation meeting ASAP. As the acting manager did not feel it was her responsibility to arrange this, it did not happen. An email was sent to the acting manager from my friends union rep who queried annual leave entitlements and again asked about maternity leave. The hearing was concluded on 7th August and her end of August wages were paid as annual leave. When she queried this, they said that since 7th August she had been on unauthorised absence! After the birth of her baby in September, her end of sept wages was just 53 hours of remaining annual leave.
I believe that they didn't issue the maternity forms as they believed she would be sacked at the disciplinary hearing and have completely mismanaged things since then. Is it possible she has a claim for unlawful deduction of wages and potentially maternity discrimination? I would appreciate any advice on this or to help me understand if she does not have a claim, why that would be the case.

[mariefab]

Re: Suspended whilst pregnant, maternity leave arrangements, deduction of pay, any he

Does the employer admit or deny that they received her MATB1?

[Dolly77]

Re: Suspended whilst pregnant, maternity leave arrangements, deduction of pay, any he

They eventually admitted that they have it. The acting manager sent a letter stating that the mat form was 'being dealt with by the HR department', my friends husband actually took it to the home and asked the acting manager to sign to say she had received it which she did.

[bluebottle]

Re: Suspended whilst pregnant, maternity leave arrangements, deduction of pay, any he

This acting manager needs pointing in the direction of the nearest JCP office. Why on earth hasn't the employer taken disciplinary action against them? On the matter of the messing about with wages, if it is something that falls solely with in the scope of Employment Law, then it should be dealt with under Employment Law. However, independent HR consultants tend not be familiar with areas of the law, other than Employment Law, and overlook other areas of the law which may apply. Saying someone was on "unauthorised absence", knowing they were on suspension with pay, in order to justify withholding of pay, is coming perilously close to, if not, amounting to Fraudulent Misrepresentation, which is a criminal offence.

Although my background is in Criminal Law, I have found from experience that where employment matters are concerned, the bigger picture needs to be looked at in its widest sense in order to determine which is the appropriate law, as Employment Law has a narrow scope.

[mariefab]

Re: Suspended whilst pregnant, maternity leave arrangements, deduction of pay, any he

She is likely to have a claim. Please could you answer the following questions so that we can start to get a clearer picture of all the potential issues.

1. Haven't they paid her at all since September?

2. Although her employer didn't send her the maternity forms; did she (or her union rep) inform her employer of the date that she wished her maternity leave to commence?
If so, can she prove this and what was the date?

3. When was she suspended?
Was it on full pay?

4. You say that the hearing was 'concluded' on 7th August.
Does this mean that it took place on that date?

5. Was she informed of the outcome:
(a) At the hearing on the 7th August
(b) When she received the HR consultants letter
If (b) on what date did she receive the letter?

6. Did this letter specify that the reconciliation should take place before she returned to work?

7. Did the employer also write to her (or phone or email) after the hearing about the outcome?
If so, what did they say?

8. Does she have copies of the emails sent to her employer over this period?
If not, can she get them?

9. How long has she worked for this employer?

10. Was she working from the 17th to the 25th weeks of her pregnancy?

11. Does she earn at least £109 per week?

12. Is her employer aware of the baby's birth?

11. Has her employer sent her a SMP1 form, telling her why they are not paying SMP?