Contact during leave

During maternity, adoption or shared parental leave, an employer is entitled to take reasonable steps to keep in touch with the absent employee.

If the absent employee’s role is at risk of redundancy, the employer must keep them fully informed and consulted just as if they were at work, and update them with any suitable available vacancies. These employees have a specific statutory right to be offered a suitable available vacancy if their role is redundant during the leave period (see page 433, Chapter 11: Redundancy).

Failing to keep employees on maternity leave as up-to-date as their colleagues in the workplace regarding promotion and job opportunities because they are on leave is likely to be maternity discrimination (Visa International Service Association v Paul [2004] IRLR 42). There will only be maternity discrimination if a significant reason why the employer failed to keep in contact with the woman was because she was on maternity leave (South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust v Jackson [2018] UKEAT/0090/18/BA). See Chapter 7, page 228: Maternity discrimination).