Threat of company insolvency/redundancy during pregnancy

[Employmenthelp]

Hi,

I would really appreciate I some advice. My situation is as follows:

• I am currently employed 4 days a week by a small company. I have worked there for 3 1/2 years.
• I am pregnant, approximately 14 weeks (due date July) but have not yet advised my employer of this information.
• The financial situation of the company I work for has been somewhat precarious over the past 12 months but I have always been reassured by my employer that they would always honour my 3 months notice should they need to make me redundant.
• I received an informal email from the company owner this week voicing concerns about only just being able to pay February's costs and concerns over paying March costs unless we are able to invoice more projects before then. It was stated that this was not intended to scare but just make me (and two others aware). More concerningly it stated that all the contingencies had been spent specifically pointing out that there was no allowance for redundancy payments anymore (which is new news to me).
• I did respond to the email and don't intend to until I am totally clear on the right course of action.

So, not an ideal situation to be in when pregnant. My questions are as follows:

• When should I advise my employer that I am pregnant. I am concerned if I tell them now due to the size of the company this may determine what they decide to do with the future of company? But I am now wondering if it might be better to consider telling them sooner?
• From what I can understand I would be entitled to Stat mat pay (which is all I would get) if I am working on the 15th week before my Ddate, and have been employed for 26 weeks up to that point. Which would mean I need to still be receiving a salary in March
• If they decided to go out of business before then, what are my options? I am concerned that I would not be massively employable but still have financial commitments that I need to make

Thank you for any initial thoughts, much appreciated.

[Sangie595]

Re: Threat of company insolvency/redundancy during pregnancy

Hi,

I would really appreciate I some advice. My situation is as follows:

• I am currently employed 4 days a week by a small company. I have worked there for 3 1/2 years.
• I am pregnant, approximately 14 weeks (due date July) but have not yet advised my employer of this information.
• The financial situation of the company I work for has been somewhat precarious over the past 12 months but I have always been reassured by my employer that they would always honour my 3 months notice should they need to make me redundant.
• I received an informal email from the company owner this week voicing concerns about only just being able to pay February's costs and concerns over paying March costs unless we are able to invoice more projects before then. It was stated that this was not intended to scare but just make me (and two others aware). More concerningly it stated that all the contingencies had been spent specifically pointing out that there was no allowance for redundancy payments anymore (which is new news to me).
• I did respond to the email and don't intend to until I am totally clear on the right course of action.

So, not an ideal situation to be in when pregnant. My questions are as follows:

• When should I advise my employer that I am pregnant. I am concerned if I tell them now due to the size of the company this may determine what they decide to do with the future of company? But I am now wondering if it might be better to consider telling them sooner?
• From what I can understand I would be entitled to Stat mat pay (which is all I would get) if I am working on the 15th week before my Ddate, and have been employed for 26 weeks up to that point. Which would mean I need to still be receiving a salary in March
• If they decided to go out of business before then, what are my options? I am concerned that I would not be massively employable but still have financial commitments that I need to make

Thank you for any initial thoughts, much appreciated.

At this stage, I seriously doubt that your pregnancy will have any impact on decisions they make. They are either already insolvent, or as close to that as makes no difference. In fact, relooking at your post, since they have, at the very least, redundancy commitments that they know they cannot pay, they are insolvent. Trying to trade yourself out of insolvency is a very risky business and seldom pays off.

Since they clearly have no money, then you have no options - any due payments would have to be picked up by the redundancy payments scheme at the statutory level (there are payment caps) providing you qualify. To qualify your employers would have to go into administration - which in itself costs money! If they simply stopped trading then the RPS cannot step in, and it would be left to you too attempt to recover monies owed. An expensive process that isn't ever going anywhere if they have no money!

Obviously, you must inform the employer by the end of the 15th week before your due date anyway. And until you do inform them then you have no entitlement to time off for appointments or for a risk assessment. If those things matter to you right now, then you must tell them. Otherwise then I think you decide to do what is comfortable for you, because what is going to happen is going to happen, whatever you decide. They currently cannot cover costs in a few weeks anyway, and the redundancy contingency is gone. Whether you tell them or not isn't going to change any of that.

One observation though. If this is a small workforce, then the costs of your maternity leave may well drive them under anyway. It doesn't sound like it would now take much to do that. If you didn't tell them, it is possible that the people you work with might feel that you are to blame, or have contributory blame, for increasing the pressure on the budgets. Of course it isn't your fault. But people aren't always rational about these things. How would you feel about it if that got in the way of future relationships? If that matters to you, then I think that an " I know the timing sucks for us both, but...." conversation needs to be had. Because if they survive until your maternity leave, it is going to be on a knife edge anyway whether they will survive without you, and hiring cover would be an additional expense. But that is only an observation, not advice. What you do with it depends on what matters to you. At this stage that is the only thing you can consider - what matters to you.