Redundancy & Maternity: 10 Point Checklist of Good Practice for Employers
Managing redundancies is complicated enough- but when the law relating to pregnancy and maternity is added, very careful navigation is required.
Hopefully this 10 point checklist will be of help:
1. Establish whether you have a genuine redundancy situation – seek advice
2. Consult with employee reps/ Trade union reps and employees including those on maternity leave or off due to maternity related illness
3. Identify relevant employees likely to be affected and draw up criteria for selecting employees which are objective, transparent and capable of accurately measuring performance
4. Choose who is to apply the criteria -ensure they familiarise themselves with the type of work, expertise, qualifications, skill sets of employees
5. Ensure absent employees are being considered and that a woman on maternity leave will not be put at a disadvantage by the criteria
6. Start the consultation with affected employees informing them of the criteria and show them their scoring so they can provide feedback/comments
7. Ensure women on maternity leave are consulted with and are feeling fully involved. Ensure a record is kept of events and discussions
8. Suitable alternative employment needs to be carefully considered- a woman on maternity leave should be given preference over other workers so ensure you are aware of their qualifications, skills etc. Ensure she is kept up to date with developments in the workplace
9. Appeal process- ensure this is a transparent and fair process. A senior manager should oversee any related appeal or grievances
10. Try to think broadly about potential remedies for an employee who is on maternity leave/pregnant as this could limit chances of a complaint ending up in the tribunal and may also limit the employer’s financial exposure.
Posted on 10/07/2020 by Ortolan
