Redundancy whilst on maternity leave
 

Hello everybody

We just found out that my wife will be made redundant when she comes back from her maternity leave next year. Nobody in her company can or wants to tell her if she will get her simulator, retraining, etc. before she is laid off though.
So she might end up without a job and without being current, which sounds like discrimination to me. Does anybody know anything about applicable laws or has any advise? Bulpa was more than useless in this issue.

We would appreciate any advise!!

Thanks

Dominique

Firstly, I am not a solicitor...

However I would suggest that you speak to an employment solicitor immediately even if it costs you an hour. There are very specific regulations regarding redundancy and being given notice etc. The employer also needs to have an impartial 'rating' of all other potential candidates for redundancy and be able to show how they arrived at that result. Being pregnant is not as far as I know a legal reason.

Book an appointment with an employment lawyer and get the facts... Good luck :ok:

If UK law ....
 

During your maternity leave : Directgov - Parents

Try this link or go to www.direct.gov.uk may get answers for free .. good luck

Hello everybody

Thanks a lot for the answers.
Unfortunately we don't believe the dismissal was unfair - it is based on seniority and she is just part of the group of people loosing their job. The big question is about her loosing her job without being current (sorry I don't know the exact phrase for that - I got always confused when she's speaking about SOPs, simulator, license, etc.)

I don't really know much about this but I would be surprised if the company had any obligation to renew her rating/ simulator time. If the redundancy is legal then really can't see them spending the money for a sim session when they will get no return from it. Sorry.

Hi Daniel,

I would talk again to BALPA, it's what she pays 1% of her salary for. If the company council aren't any use then go to 'big balpa' HQ and formally ask for legal advice. 'Big BALPA' have legal teams who should be able to get you an answer.

'Had a similar situation, although minus the pregnancy!
Got laid off unfairly, so the boss can employ his mates, no redundancy payments, no recurrent training so left well and truly in the sh1t.
Company just stuck 2 fingers up against the law and got away with it. Employment law truly sucks as it is complicated, time consuming, expensive and inefficient. Employers know this and take full advantage of it.
If your wife is with a UK company she may have a chance but overseas...forget it!

I guess unless your contract says that you will be given a rating and kept current then there is nothing you can do.

you can call the ACAS helpline for free impartial advice

Talk to an employment solicitor and get out her contract to see if they have any obligation to keep her rating current for any period after redundancy.

Good luck.

Not a subject I know anything about but I've seen or heard some reference somewhere to an employer's obligation to seek to "mitigate the effects" of redundancy and to avoid "detriment". Might be worth looking into.

Being laid off in 'Seniority' Order
 

Having heard a little about this sort of thing, the rules have changed recently due to 'age discrimination', which has made it harder to get rid of people in seniority order.

In general terms;
The bigger the number - the younger you are
The smaller the number - the older you are

You most certainly have to get your better half to go and speak to Balpa because if she is in a company operating with seniority, then most likely it will be working with Balpa, and she will be paying them.
Previously a company making redundancies would be likely to help out the people it is laying off by making sure they are in check, however, times are hard and money is short!
Be aware that there must be a redundancy package, and this currency check could be something that is negotiable.

Do you mind me asking who the airline is?

My understanding of the law pertaining to maternity, is that she is entitled to return to the post under the terms and condutions at the time she went off. That might be an angle?

As for severance, the absolute minimum is a week's pay for every year worked, subject to a minimum period of service. Not much.

CG

Negotiate, my foot.
Laid off is laid off...IF your number comes up, tough luck.
Imagine you work for a bank.
If the bank lays you off, do they send you on training beforehand?
Of course not.
Get real.

An employer cannot just use 'seniority' as a criterion for redundancy - many other factors in a selection matrix must be used to ensure fairness.
If this is the case, then the situation potentially is 'unfair dismissal' (Based on English law).

Also, many employers try to manipulate or 'tailor to fit' their selection process to ensure certain staff are retained.

Check your home insurance policy to see if it includes legal assistance. If so, it will almost certainly include employment disputes. Redundancies are a potential minefield but ultimately, have to be implemented correctly.

BTW, unless certain discriminations have occurred, generally, one has to be employed for 1 year to claim unfair dismissal.

If lieu of notice is given - say 3 months, then all of the redundant persons terms and conditions are still in place for that period even after they have left the company. For example, company cars can still be retained for the duration of the notice period.

passy

@CharlieGolf

The absolute minimum is not one wek's salary per year but pnds 240 per year of service ( from memory this being an arbitrary figure figure set by some previous government )

CharlieGolf is actually correct.

If someone who has been made redundant earned £200pw for example, that is the amount they will receive for every years service. There is a maximum of £380.00pw which was recently raised by this government (providing they are over 22 and under 41 where age will determine an increase or decrease in a percentage of those figures). One also must have completed two years of service to qualify for redundancy payments.

Of course if one earns more than £380pw, unfortunately, that will still be the maximum they will receive with a cut off at 20 years of service.