Contact during leave




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




If the absent employee’s role is under threat of redundancy, the employer must keep him or her fully informed and consulted just as if they were at work, and must update them with any suitable available vacancies that arise during the leave period. These employees have a specific statutory right to be offered a suitable available vacancy if their role becomes redundant during leave (see page 398, Chapter 11: Redundancy). 




Failing to keep employees on maternity leave as up-to-date as their in-work colleagues on promotion and job opportunities is likely to be maternity discrimination (Visa International Service Association v Paul [2004] IRLR 42).