The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill received Royal Assent and the Act came into force in July this year. The new law provides special protection to pregnant women and employees who are returning from certain types of family leave in a redundancy situation. Sara Marshall (pictured), Head of Employment at Franklins Solicitors LLP, explains.
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THE NEW LEGISLATION provides greater protection to women who are on maternity leave or an employee who is on adoption or shared parental leave in a redundancy situation. In other words, before making a woman who is on maternity leave (or an employee on adoption or shared parental leave) redundant, an employer must offer a suitable alternative vacancy to them, where one is available.
The Act extends protection to:
- A pregnant employee who is in “a protected period of pregnancy”;
- An employee who has recently suffered a miscarriage;
- An employee returning from maternity leave;
- An employee returning from adoption leave;
- An employee returning from shared parental leave.
Employers are not required to take any immediate actions at the moment as the guidance regarding the implementation of the Act is still awaited. The guidance will provide further regulations and explain how the new legislation will work.
In the meantime, employers should be aware of the new Act but wait for the regulations before implementing the Act.
However, employers should consider the implications and update their policies to ensure they are compliant with the legislation and minimise the risk of potential discrimination claims on the grounds of pregnancy and/or maternity.
Employers will be required to implement processes to identify the timeframe of earlier periods of maternity leave in redundancy situations, adopt systems to identify alternative suitable vacancies across the organisation and creating a supportive environment for employees returning from family leave.
For more information or for a conversation if you are considering introducing a parental leave policy or updating your redundancy procedures in your organisation, contact Sara Marshall at sara.marshall@franklins-sols.co.uk
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