Company Matters

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QUESTION I am the human resources manager of a medium-sized company. A senior employee has been on maternity leave and we have allocated her role to other staff. Given the fall-off in business, we no longer need this person. I understand that an employee cannot be made redundant while on maternity leave. Can she be given redundancy notice when she returns to work?ANSWER Under the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004, any purported termination (or notice of termination) of an employee’s job while on protective leave is void.Protective leave means maternity leave, additional maternity leave, leave to which a father is entitled where the mother has died, or leave granted on health and safety grounds.Once an employee on maternity leave gives four weeks’ written notice of her intention to return to work, then, under the acts, she has a general right to return to work - or, where this is not reasonably practicable, to a suitable alternative position. If this employee’s position is to be made redundant, this may only be done on her return to work from maternity leave.However, you must remember that, in selecting any employee for redundancy, it is the position and not the person that is redundant.
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