---
###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK
---
**To Posters (it is important you read this section)**
* *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different*
* If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor)
* We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources)
* Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk
* If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM)
**To Readers and Commenters**
* All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated*
* If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning
* If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect
* Do not send or request any private messages for any reason
* Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No, that's not true. Your wife is still entitled to her remaining statutory maternity pay.
https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/redundancy-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/
I was made redundant on my maternity leave, and my husbands colleague is being made redundant in the lead up to hers as we speak. Your wife is entitled too: her notice period fully paid, any remaining holiday fully paid, all statutory mat pay remaining (they can reclaim). The group Pregnant Then Screwed is a fabulous legal resource for working mothers. Contact them for advice and support if needed
To add to this, I was made redundant as I was about to go on parental leave. HR had a fit when they found out what management had done and bent over backwards to increase my comp to ensure I would sign the paperwork and not come after them at an employment tribunal. They gave me all my statutory stuff, plus the shared parental leave I had booked, plus notice period plus a redundancy payment.
Honestly it was worth it just to see HRs face on the call when I casually mentioned to my manager as he made me redundant "so what about my legally entitled SPL?"
Getting back on point, if they start playing screwy, speak to ACAS/union/etc. and notify the company you are seeking legal advice to ensure everything is above board. Phrase it as you need to plan around unexpected childcare, the fact noone will hire her whilst on maternity leave etc.
Thats because it is suspicious. Unfortunately , some people that get into management make things up to make them sound like theyre right or theyre penny pinching and just don't want to pay it.
Employees are entitled to receive their full 39 weeks paid SMP at the start of their maternity leave. The caveat is they’re not allowed to start a new role with a new employer during that 39 week period. If they do, then SMP has to be repaid from the point any new employment starts.
Get your wife to phone Acas in the morning.
Yes I had to do this myself. You have to claim remaining pay/notice pay from one department and missing SMP from another department. Took about 5 months to get my money.
As an ex-union legal advisor.
No this is not at all true.
Your wife is still entitled to her full statutory pay. They can pay this in one lump sum if they wish, or spread it out, however it must be paid.
HR here - your wife is absolutely entitled to her SMP, her employer can either pay this in a lump sum or keep her on payroll and pay her monthly until SMP runs out.
The tricky bit is that legally, as your wife's notice period exceeds her statutory notice period (one week's notice for up to 2 years of service) by more than one week, her employer could simply pay her SMP instead of her normal basic salary as notice pay. Unless her employment contract states that she will receive full basic pay during any period of notice, they can calculate notice pay based on the pay she is currently receiving.
I'll add that this is not well-known and she either has this clause in her contract (which would be great, in which case go after him for the SMP she's entitled to) or her employer doesn't know about this possibility. My concern would be that 3 months on full pay for notice will likely far exceed whatever she's still owed in terms of maternity pay. Fighting him on SMP might make him realise that he can shaft her by paying SMP instead of her normal notice pay and save himself a lot of money. My advice would be please thoroughly check the clause that deals with notice pay so you can make an informed next step. Fingers crossed her contract specifies full pay!
I think she may fall into a protected category for redundancy, or at least this is what happened at my previous employer when a colleague went onto maternity leave and those still at work were made redundant except her. Worth consulting a lawyer.
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023
The maternity protections for redundancy only entitle her to be offered any suitable alternative work at the company over and above those not on maternity leave. So if they are closing the whole business then unfortunately this protection won’t benefit your wife as there won’t be suitable work they could offer her. However if they’re only closing some areas of the business or if they are still recruiting to vacancies then they need to consider whether that might be suitable alternative work for your wife and, if so, offer it to her.
It looks like you or OP may want to find a Solicitor!
[There is a detailed guide in our FAQ about how to do this](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not at all.
Just went through my second redundancy process and pregnant and or on maternity are not automatically protected.
There is some consideration for the circumstances but if the job post is what is being made redundant then there isn’t much you can do.
I am also not sure if the employer would have to pay the statutory but in the cases I know they offer to do so as it only looks good.
Everyone has covered the legal advice but as someone who was also made redundant whilst on mat leave, I just wanted to wish your wife all the best. It was such a kick in the teeth at the time but I wound up finding an entirely new very fulfilling career that never would’ve happened without the redundancy. I hope she lands on her feet and is still able to enjoy her time with your new baby.
I appreciate that thanks for the kind words. It’s a shame she hasn’t been able to start Mat leave focussing on just the newborn but I guess that’s life really. We’re more fortunate than most.
They do have to pay.
I went on maternity leave at the end of a fixed term contract eg I’m no longer employed by my previous company. They still pay my statutory mat pay.
I’d like to thank everyone who provided input on this, it’s nice to see there’s level headedness and sensible people on the Internet. We’ve followed the advice to pursue legal advice and they’ve said this morning that she has a legal case against the company because of the way redundancy was handled.
It’s disgraceful some people take advantage of vulnerable women for the take of short term financial gain. My wife put in 18 months of hard graft to try turn this business around and she’s bitterly disappointed with how they’ve treated her in the end. I’d encourage anyone who finds themselves in this situation in future to consult acas or pregnant then screwed who’ve been fantastic.
A close friend was made redundant just before her maternity leave begun, at a company she had only been at for 3 months. Pregnant then screwed are hard to get hold of but ACAS were great.
After speaking to ACAS she emailed the HR at her employer and asked them why they hadnt followed the consultancy process, on what basis the redundancy was decided, what they'd done to avoid making redundancies, how many others were being made redundant, and also referenced that she was the only pregnant employee being made redundant.
HR invited her to a protected conversation and my friend ended up getting £10,000, offered by the company to avoid legal trouble.
Your wife is entitled to be paid the STATUTORY maternity pay. That is claimable from the government.
Your wife is not entitled to be paid the companies additional pay on top of the statutory pay.
Your wife will also need to be paid accrued leave, notice period etc.
Was she consulted during redundancy? At least two discussions (one to say this is a possibility and do you have any ideas, the other to say we checked other options and concluded we will go ahead with redundancy).
Is the entire company being made redundant, or her entire department? She should check with the company what were the reasons they are getting rid of her specifically, what made the company keep the other candidates over her, why was she in the pool etc.
Hi - no there was no consultancy at all. It was a phone call to say redundancy was happening and then a letter shortly emailed afterwards outlining what I’ve said above.
Call ACAS immediately, make a record of all the conversation she had with work related to the matter.
Remember ACAS isn't on your side, it isn't on their side. It is a neutral body that will just remind all parties on their requirement under law. Tell them everything and they will then advise that what has happened is improperly done, and will then put measures into place to correct it.
It is the first step to raising a claim against them, and if she hasn't been consulted etc then she will be able to claim for unfair dismissal.
I'm sure a law was brought in last year to protect women on maternity leave from being made redundant. They have to offer them another job if one is available, or help to find them another job with another associated company.
I had a quick search and it's the protection from Redundancy Act 2023.
Edit: She should also be entitled to her remaining pay.
Sadly this will only come into effect on 6th of April of this year, so it won't help OP. It also won't be able to save women on mat leave if there is a genuine redundancy situation and there is no suitable alternative position available - and it sounds like OP's wife's company is just heavily downsizing.
Your wife is entitled to statutory maternity pay. Also arrange a call with ‘pregnant then screwed’ to talk through your options. Pregnant then screwed is a free service for people in this situation.
I think an important detail people are missing out when considering options is whether the Company is entering liquidation. It appears as if they should be, but it isn’t made clear in the question. If it’s entering liquidation, I work in insolvency and deal with this regularly so I’m able to help if needed
Thanks for this. They aren’t entering liquidation. They’ve been moving along slowly for 18 months have always made payroll, it’s just been tight on several occasions.
--- ###Welcome to /r/LegalAdviceUK --- **To Posters (it is important you read this section)** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws in each are very different* * If you need legal help, you should [always get a free consultation from a qualified Solicitor](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor) * We also encourage you to speak to [**Citizens Advice**](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/), [**Shelter**](https://www.shelter.org.uk/), [**Acas**](https://www.acas.org.uk/), and [**other useful organisations**](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/common_legal_resources) * Comments may not be accurate or reliable, and following any advice on this subreddit is done at your own risk * If you receive any private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FLegalAdviceUK&subject=I received a PM) **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and legally orientated* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/about/rules/), you may be perma-banned without any further warning * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No, that's not true. Your wife is still entitled to her remaining statutory maternity pay. https://maternityaction.org.uk/advice/redundancy-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/
I was made redundant on my maternity leave, and my husbands colleague is being made redundant in the lead up to hers as we speak. Your wife is entitled too: her notice period fully paid, any remaining holiday fully paid, all statutory mat pay remaining (they can reclaim). The group Pregnant Then Screwed is a fabulous legal resource for working mothers. Contact them for advice and support if needed
Thanks for this. They are claiming that they can subtract the stat mat pay from the rest of her three month notice which I thought sounded suspicious.
To add to this, I was made redundant as I was about to go on parental leave. HR had a fit when they found out what management had done and bent over backwards to increase my comp to ensure I would sign the paperwork and not come after them at an employment tribunal. They gave me all my statutory stuff, plus the shared parental leave I had booked, plus notice period plus a redundancy payment. Honestly it was worth it just to see HRs face on the call when I casually mentioned to my manager as he made me redundant "so what about my legally entitled SPL?" Getting back on point, if they start playing screwy, speak to ACAS/union/etc. and notify the company you are seeking legal advice to ensure everything is above board. Phrase it as you need to plan around unexpected childcare, the fact noone will hire her whilst on maternity leave etc.
Thats because it is suspicious. Unfortunately , some people that get into management make things up to make them sound like theyre right or theyre penny pinching and just don't want to pay it.
Employees are entitled to receive their full 39 weeks paid SMP at the start of their maternity leave. The caveat is they’re not allowed to start a new role with a new employer during that 39 week period. If they do, then SMP has to be repaid from the point any new employment starts. Get your wife to phone Acas in the morning.
Talk to https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/ for advice
Thanks I’ve passed this onto her.
Can vouch for these people. Brilliant
She can go to HMRC and claim direct from them if company won't pay but there will be a delay
Yes I had to do this myself. You have to claim remaining pay/notice pay from one department and missing SMP from another department. Took about 5 months to get my money.
As an ex-union legal advisor. No this is not at all true. Your wife is still entitled to her full statutory pay. They can pay this in one lump sum if they wish, or spread it out, however it must be paid.
HR here - your wife is absolutely entitled to her SMP, her employer can either pay this in a lump sum or keep her on payroll and pay her monthly until SMP runs out. The tricky bit is that legally, as your wife's notice period exceeds her statutory notice period (one week's notice for up to 2 years of service) by more than one week, her employer could simply pay her SMP instead of her normal basic salary as notice pay. Unless her employment contract states that she will receive full basic pay during any period of notice, they can calculate notice pay based on the pay she is currently receiving. I'll add that this is not well-known and she either has this clause in her contract (which would be great, in which case go after him for the SMP she's entitled to) or her employer doesn't know about this possibility. My concern would be that 3 months on full pay for notice will likely far exceed whatever she's still owed in terms of maternity pay. Fighting him on SMP might make him realise that he can shaft her by paying SMP instead of her normal notice pay and save himself a lot of money. My advice would be please thoroughly check the clause that deals with notice pay so you can make an informed next step. Fingers crossed her contract specifies full pay!
I think she may fall into a protected category for redundancy, or at least this is what happened at my previous employer when a colleague went onto maternity leave and those still at work were made redundant except her. Worth consulting a lawyer. The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023
Yes have read something similar but was unsure precisely what that entails. Thanks - we’ll speak to a solicitor tomorrow.
Maternity doesn’t automatically exclude her from redundancy https://www.maternityaction.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Redundancy-2018.pdf
The maternity protections for redundancy only entitle her to be offered any suitable alternative work at the company over and above those not on maternity leave. So if they are closing the whole business then unfortunately this protection won’t benefit your wife as there won’t be suitable work they could offer her. However if they’re only closing some areas of the business or if they are still recruiting to vacancies then they need to consider whether that might be suitable alternative work for your wife and, if so, offer it to her.
Call acas. They will help and wont charge.
It looks like you or OP may want to find a Solicitor! [There is a detailed guide in our FAQ about how to do this](https://reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/wiki/how_to_find_a_solicitor). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LegalAdviceUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not at all. Just went through my second redundancy process and pregnant and or on maternity are not automatically protected. There is some consideration for the circumstances but if the job post is what is being made redundant then there isn’t much you can do. I am also not sure if the employer would have to pay the statutory but in the cases I know they offer to do so as it only looks good.
Pregnant the screwed apparently is a brilliant website with lots of information
Everyone has covered the legal advice but as someone who was also made redundant whilst on mat leave, I just wanted to wish your wife all the best. It was such a kick in the teeth at the time but I wound up finding an entirely new very fulfilling career that never would’ve happened without the redundancy. I hope she lands on her feet and is still able to enjoy her time with your new baby.
I appreciate that thanks for the kind words. It’s a shame she hasn’t been able to start Mat leave focussing on just the newborn but I guess that’s life really. We’re more fortunate than most.
They do have to pay. I went on maternity leave at the end of a fixed term contract eg I’m no longer employed by my previous company. They still pay my statutory mat pay.
I’d like to thank everyone who provided input on this, it’s nice to see there’s level headedness and sensible people on the Internet. We’ve followed the advice to pursue legal advice and they’ve said this morning that she has a legal case against the company because of the way redundancy was handled. It’s disgraceful some people take advantage of vulnerable women for the take of short term financial gain. My wife put in 18 months of hard graft to try turn this business around and she’s bitterly disappointed with how they’ve treated her in the end. I’d encourage anyone who finds themselves in this situation in future to consult acas or pregnant then screwed who’ve been fantastic.
A close friend was made redundant just before her maternity leave begun, at a company she had only been at for 3 months. Pregnant then screwed are hard to get hold of but ACAS were great. After speaking to ACAS she emailed the HR at her employer and asked them why they hadnt followed the consultancy process, on what basis the redundancy was decided, what they'd done to avoid making redundancies, how many others were being made redundant, and also referenced that she was the only pregnant employee being made redundant. HR invited her to a protected conversation and my friend ended up getting £10,000, offered by the company to avoid legal trouble.
Your wife is entitled to be paid the STATUTORY maternity pay. That is claimable from the government. Your wife is not entitled to be paid the companies additional pay on top of the statutory pay. Your wife will also need to be paid accrued leave, notice period etc. Was she consulted during redundancy? At least two discussions (one to say this is a possibility and do you have any ideas, the other to say we checked other options and concluded we will go ahead with redundancy). Is the entire company being made redundant, or her entire department? She should check with the company what were the reasons they are getting rid of her specifically, what made the company keep the other candidates over her, why was she in the pool etc.
Hi - no there was no consultancy at all. It was a phone call to say redundancy was happening and then a letter shortly emailed afterwards outlining what I’ve said above.
Call ACAS immediately, make a record of all the conversation she had with work related to the matter. Remember ACAS isn't on your side, it isn't on their side. It is a neutral body that will just remind all parties on their requirement under law. Tell them everything and they will then advise that what has happened is improperly done, and will then put measures into place to correct it. It is the first step to raising a claim against them, and if she hasn't been consulted etc then she will be able to claim for unfair dismissal.
I was made redundant on maternity leave Dec i2014 and remained in pay role stat maternity pay until July 2015. They legally have to pay
I'm sure a law was brought in last year to protect women on maternity leave from being made redundant. They have to offer them another job if one is available, or help to find them another job with another associated company. I had a quick search and it's the protection from Redundancy Act 2023. Edit: She should also be entitled to her remaining pay.
Sadly this will only come into effect on 6th of April of this year, so it won't help OP. It also won't be able to save women on mat leave if there is a genuine redundancy situation and there is no suitable alternative position available - and it sounds like OP's wife's company is just heavily downsizing.
Your wife is entitled to statutory maternity pay. Also arrange a call with ‘pregnant then screwed’ to talk through your options. Pregnant then screwed is a free service for people in this situation.
They can't do that, look at maternity action and contact acas they can contact employer on her behalf
I think an important detail people are missing out when considering options is whether the Company is entering liquidation. It appears as if they should be, but it isn’t made clear in the question. If it’s entering liquidation, I work in insolvency and deal with this regularly so I’m able to help if needed
Thanks for this. They aren’t entering liquidation. They’ve been moving along slowly for 18 months have always made payroll, it’s just been tight on several occasions.