Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill received Royal Assent on 24 May 2023

The new law provides special protection to pregnant women and employees that are returning from certain types of family leave in a redundancy situation. The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill received Royal Assent on 24 May 2023 and became the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023. The Act came into force on 24 July 2023.

What protection will employees be given?

The law provides greater protection to women that are on maternity leave or an employee that is on adoption or shared parental leave in a redundancy situation. In other words, before making a woman who is on maternity leave (or an employee on adoption or shared parental leave) redundant, an employer must offer a suitable alternative vacancy to them, where one is available.

Who will be protected?

The Act extends protection to:

• A pregnant employee who is in “a protected period of pregnancy”;
• An employee who has recently suffered a miscarriage;
• Employees returning from maternity leave;
• Employees returning Adoption leave; and
• Employees returning from Shared parental leave.

Expectant mothers could be provided with a period of up to 24 months protection on the basis that they:

• Inform their Employer of their pregnancy at the 3-month stage and
• Take the full 12 months of maternity leave; and

This works out as follows:

1. Six months’ protection during pregnancy, plus
2. Twelve months’ protection during maternity leave, plus
3. Six months’ protection on their return to work.

What does it mean for Employers?

Employers are not required to take any immediate actions at the moment as the Guidance regarding the implementation of the Act is still awaited. The Guidance will provide further regulation explain how the new legislation will work. In the meantime, employers should be aware of the new Act but wait for the Regulations before implementing the Act.

In the meantime, Employers should consider the implications and update their policies to ensure they are compliant with the legislation and minimize the risk of potential discrimination claims on the grounds of pregnancy and/or maternity. Employers will be required to implement processes to identify the timeframe of earlier periods of maternity leave in redundancy situations, adopt systems to identify alternative suitable vacancies across the organisation and creating a supportive environment for employees returning from family leave.

If you require any employment advice, please contact our Employment Law team on 01604 828282 / 01908 660966 or email info@franklins-sols.co.uk