Another employment law question - not me this time!

It doesn't seem right to me either. I think it sounds like they are so worried about being seen to be disciminating against the pregnant employee (or being blamed of doing so more importantly!) that they are ass covering and potentially putting themselves at risk of actually discrimating against your colleague. Do they understand that they can make a pregnant employee redundant without it automatically being discriminatory?

Ooops change pregnant employee to employee on maternity leave, I always forget that maternity leave employees tend not to be pregnant throughout the whole of mat leave ?!

Sorry, from the details given I would say the employers are right.

In a redundancy situation, an employee on maternity leave has the right to be offered suitable alternative employment in preference to any other employee. It is positive discrimination but sadly for your friend, that's the way it is ?

I'm a bit confused by the situation. If there needs to be a redundancy, the employer has to consider the group from which the selection will be made. This is the pool. If an individual is selected for redundancy the employer must try to avoid this by looking for suitable alternative employment. If the redundant individual is on maternity leave then they have to be offered suitable alternative employment in priority to others. If the leave has ended then the obligation no longer exists.

Are you saying that they are selecting your friend for redundancy because the other individual is on maternity leave or that they are both redundant and she is being offered the one post in priority over your friend?

SGL - there are currently 2 roles, these are merging and becoming one. At the moment, one of the people doing the role is on mat leave. Her mat leave ends on Thursday and she is then on holiday until the end of June. Selection for this role will be made on Friday 12th June. My friend has been told that as her colleague is currently on mat leave colleague automatically gets the role.

Or sorry did you maybe mean that both should go through the selection process highest scored keeps her job and the other will be offered suitable alternative employment anyway? Reading/posting on ipod and its even more of a pita to read who said what while posting ?

Oh god I'm confused now as well. shouldn't try to read things when I have face mask residue goo in my eyes ?

Mrs W. Off the top of my head I would say it could be argued that. Both roles are redundant the merged role is a suitable alternative employment. If your friend has already been told that the other girl will get it then it can't really be said that the selection is on Friday? If the decision is being made while she's on mat leave then she does get priorty. It might be a brave employer who risks not giving it to her. Your friend's only option would be to claim unfair dismissal and argue that they acted unreasonably in giving the mat leave/end of mat leave woman priority. Tricky.

Thanks. It is a tricky one for sure.

And thanks for your advice for me the other day. I am going to be appealing on the grounds of unfair selection process, (and possibly also sexual discrimination as my boss was aware that I'm trying for a baby. Well, was trying - with the redundancy that's all on hold.) Every piece of correspondence I have mailed my boss over the last few days has been ignored, and this includes me asking for a meeting in which to discuss what I need to hand over and to whom. The silence suggests that she's checking things with our legal team before answering.

If they say they have to give the othervone the job, why did they bother with the selection process? Or if she will be on holiday on decision day, is she still counted as still on mat leave, I thought you couldn't be on holiday and on mat leave at the same time? (brain explodes)

If they say they have to give the othervone the job, why did they bother with the selection process? Or if she will be on holiday on decision day, is she still counted as still on mat leave, I thought you couldn't be on holiday and on mat leave at the same time? (brain explodes)