Redundancy
[ch 3: pages 41-42]It is automatically unfair to dismiss an employee or select them for redundancy because of pregnancy, childbirth, maternity or for taking or asking to take maternity leave (section 99, ERA 96).
Acas has set out an example:
A night-shift worker who is pregnant is certified by her GP as unable to work nights. Her employer cannot dismiss or select her for redundancy for this. Instead the employer must manage her by either finding her suitable daytime work or, if they cannot do this, putting her on leave with full pay and benefits.
Source: Acas, Managing Redundancy for pregnant employees and those on maternity leave
The protection from automatically unfair dismissal due to “childbirth” only applies if the redundancy dismissal ends the maternity leave. In other words, it does not protect women who are selected for redundancy for reasons related to childbirth once they have already returned to work, although less favourable treatment of these women could be sex discrimination under the EA 10.
It is also automatically unfair to dismiss an employee or select them for redundancy where the only or main reason is that they take or ask to take adoption leave, shared parental leave, unpaid parental leave, paternity leave or emergency time off for dependents, or that they make a statutory request to work flexibly, or take or ask to take (or refuse to take) KIT or SPLIT days (see Chapter 6).