Hello mums, I'm typing late at night. I was bullied out of my job whilst on maternity leave last year and sought advice from the fabulous Florence / Bellevue law and Jo Martin. It was a very stressful time and I even cried down the phone to Jo one day. I got hives during my ordeal. It happens a lot I think to women as companies move on without you. I did want to say however, that only after 6 months back at work I'm in a much better company, doing great work and having a laugh, whilst my old company Is doing really badly - ha ha ha! There's Karma for you! Oh, and I did my house up with all the money. Thanks Florence and Jo Martin. Xxxx

Just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who posted- I'll make sure I get some proper legal advice with one of the recomended lawyers. Luckily my company have fair policies in general (this is part of a bigger restructure), but obviously I need to maximise things as its an unexpected change of events. I really appreciated that people care enough to read my post, & leave relevant replies.

I would second Sue at www.sw19lawyers.co.uk who posted above - she and her partner Belinda (unfortunately) have lots of experience of this kind of thing. I know a few people who have used Sue and Belinda and have nothing but good things to say about them.

MVCC

Very sorry to read about this situation, I am an independent HR Consultant and my thoughts are that unfortunately you can be made redundant whilst on maternity leave but you should be paid your normal salary not maternity pay rate. But as previous people have mentioned there is a cap of the statutory maternity pay. If you want to discuss or would like me to check any documents, happy to do so. Claireepowell@hotmail.co.uk or 07748677757.

I second Jo. I referred a friend to her and she was brilliant. Best of luck.

I had this exact same situation and the best thing I did was speak to Jo Martin who is a local mum and employment lawyer.

She's not only lovely but very practical and gave great advice.

http://www.smab.co.uk/people/employees/ ... artin.aspx

My son, Petros Elia, is Secretary General of the union, United Voices of the World. He deals with this all the time and is incredibly effective!

If you would like to, you can contact him on: 07775 697 605

Best wishes

Sorry to hear this. You're entitled to all your SMP, even if you're dismissed during maternity leave. Redundancy pay is calculated on the basis as if you'd not been on maternity leave. But there could be all sorts of other issues here as well: what about if you were chosen for redundancy because you were off on mat leave or ignored in the consultation as you weren't around? There could be unfair dismissal or maternity discrimination. Any bonus paid while you've been off? I see these sorts of issues all the time and we specialise in helping mums with employment problems at work. Give me a call for a chat: susan.fairbairn@sw19lawyers.co.uk 020 8971 0412

Contact James Baker at Teacher Stern -- he's an employment specialist.

https://www.teacherstern.com/profiles_d ... oyeeID=101

Good luck!

I was also made redundant whilst on maternity leave recently. In terms of entitlement, you should receive your full maternity package you would have received had you not been made redundant e.g. if it is 3 months full+6 months stat then you should receive that. The redundancy package is then separate and depends on length of service. I would definitely consult an employment lawyer (I have a great one if you need a contact), I'm a lawyer myself although not in employment but it really needs a specialist. Whilst mine was part of a restructure there were a few issues and my lawyer negotiated a good package for me. Happy to answer any questions on message.

This happened to me too, on 2013 just before I was due to go back to work! I feel your pain!
Unfortunately it is not illegal for them to do this, but they have to tread very carefully. Most organisations will only do it as part of bigger group of redundancies because they can't discriminate against a woman on maternity leave.
Anyway, back to your question. I believe (from my experience & having consulted lawyers at the time) that if you are still in the SMP period when it happens they have to pay out your entire SMP, even if it is due to run past the date you leave. So that's a good thing. As for redundancy terms, ie the one week's salary for every year of service or whatever your company offers, that should be based on your full pre maternity pay. Not the enhanced terms or SMP.
Pm me if you have any other qs and I'll try to do my best to help!

The redundancy payment should be calculated on the basis of your usual pay, not maternity pay. The previous poster is correct to say that anyone in this situation should take advice, though. For example, you might be entitled to substantially greater compensation if you were selected for redundancy because you were on maternity leave, or not properly consulted or considered for alternative roles due to your absence.

wow they have some brass neck. Personally I would definitely have a suitably qualified employment lawyer look it over. They will often perform a 'look see' for free. I am a lawyer but not employment so could not advise and I caution you against relying on advice from here. There may be a significant win for you here which should be quantified by an expert.

I know of no decent employment lawyer but I could probably point you in the right direction if you pm me.

http://www.maternityaction.org.uk/siteb ... ndancy.pdf

Page 2 of the pdf has a box showing the redundancy calculator, and says should be your normal weekly pay. Be warned there is a weekly pay max for statutory redundancy pay, you need to check your employment contract, and (if they have one) the company's maternity policy.

A call to ACAS might confirm this too (and answer any other questions) on 0300 123 1100 (8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 9am-1pm Saturday).

best of luck

Does anyone happen to know if you're entitled to full pay or just your normal maternity pay if you're given notice of redundancy while on maternity leave? (I've searched on line but I can't find a definite answer).
Many thanks in advance.