my friend is 18 weeks pregnant & just been made redundant is there anything she can do with employment law?

Question

Can her employers do this / is there any law to stop them?

Answer 1

Plain & simple ! There is no law against being made redundant !
If however they start another person to do the exact ( & i mean exact ) same job as your friend within 6 month`s of your friend leaving , Then she has a good chance of winning a case for unfair dismissal ( she would have a good case to suspect she was made redundant due to her being pregnant )
but the way thing`s stand now there is nothing you can do !
Contact your local C.A.B for further advice ,

Answer 2

I always thought that she couldn't be made redundant or fired, because there are mother protection laws for pregnant women. The employer has to make sure that the pregnant woman is safe in her work environment. The best thing is to talk to a nion representative (if she in a union) or talk to a Citizen Advisor or lawyer.
I have always been scepticle when pregnant women were made redundant.
Good luck to her and tell her not to take any sh*t :)

Answer 3

I've been there but I was 6 months pregnant. For legal reasons I can't tell you which company it was but I can say that I sued on a no win no fee basis with a local solicitor when I explained my case and won.

Basically they can not make her redundant and then employ some one else to do her job. If they do that you've got them bang to rights.

Saw that someone mentioned Job seekers allowance. Told me I wasn't entitled because I was pregnant, and I quote " and no-one will employ you while pregnant". Insisted at high level to get it BUT she'll have to watch that they don't force her off it onto maternity pay at about 24weeks pregnant. Because then they'll expect her to have the baby and be back to work immediately afterwards because she'll have had maternity payments beforehand and she has to be available to work to get JSA. If you don't get any joy with the front line people insist on an appointment with either an EO(exec officer) or an HEO(higher exec officer).

Before she claims anything benefits wise or make any rash decisions go and see the local CAB, they can advise on not only the redundancy but also what she's entitled to (there's a £500 grant for nipper for starters). I would suggest that if someone else, maybe you(?) could go with for these interviews etc-I was VERY emotional and vulnerable and my hubby couldn't be there.

Answer 4

I was made redundant when I was pregnant. Your friend can only catch them out on this if they plan on employing someone else for the same position. My whole department was being made redundant and the finance department's duties taken over by head office so there was no actual job left to take therefore I didn't have a leg to stand on. She cannot be made redundant only on the grounds of being pregnant however.

Get your friend onto your local citizens advice bureau as they will advise where she stands and if there is anything she can do.

wish her luck!

Answer 5

Has she been made redundant because there are cut backs and she is no longer needed or because she is pregnant and she is the only one being made redundant? Better to research the position of the company and do some detective work before accusing.

Answer 6

as your partner is working you wont qualify for benefits, if he wasnt you would. Your rent I dont know where you live but it seems rather high for just you and a partner unless your down london way!? The council will only use the average rent prices in your area as a figure to work out if you can get a rebate, There really isnt anything you can do except perhaps try to move to a lower rented place as tax credits wont bum you up that much (not as much as people think if one parent works only perhaps a couple of hundred a month 300 at most). Could you not apply for tempory jobs in the mean time? move back in with parents for the short term? or see if your landlord is happy to give you grace in your situation for a couple of months perhaps. Good luck! had a friend in the same position and it wasnt pleasant but they did come out on top in the end after landlord agreed to reduce the rent for a couple of months

Answer 7

I am not sure what you mean by redundant, but if she was fired because she was pregnant she could sue them. The only thing is that it is so hard to prove that pregnancy is the reason employers doing anything to employees, they can always give another reason.

Answer 8

I'm sure everyone else is right about very little she can do about the redundancy.
But if she is able to get another job, even a temporary part-time job, that will take her up so she has worked for 26 weeks of her pregnancy (so another 8 weeks or so) she will still be able to claim maternity benefit, and she will be able to get 90% of what she was earning at her old job. The local job centre can tell her more.

Answer 9

If you are made redundant it means that your job is no longer required ,they cannot replace you with someone else because effectively there is no job any more.You are usually compensated for this depending on how long you have been employed by them ,if this is the case it has nothing to do with the pregnancy.But if your Friend is replaced and she believes she has been discriminated against because of her pregnancy she should seek advice from the citizens advice bureau.You can get details of your local offices online.

Answer 10

If they can prove that the lay off was due to her pregnancy and not because her work was slacking, or they were doing job cuts, then yes, she has several legal rights. I would keep tabs on the job to see if they hire someone to do her job again really soon. Hopefully she had friends where she worked at and they will keep eye out for her.

Good luck to your friend.

For stupid Americans like me who thought redundant only had one term: chiefly British : no longer needed for a job and hence laid off.... from the Merriam Webster Dictionary.