Pregnant employees and some new parents have special protection in a redundancy situation.
By law (Employment Rights Act 1996), the employer must offer them a suitable alternative vacancy, if there is one.
The law applies to anyone with the legal status of employee who is either:
- pregnant
- taking maternity leave
- taking adoption leave
- taking shared parental leave
- taking neonatal care leave
The law does not apply to other types of leave, for example paternity leave.
Someone is not likely to be an employee if they're:
- an agency worker
- a casual worker
- on a zero-hours contract
The redundancy protected period
The 'redundancy protected period' is the length of time an employee has redundancy protection.
The length of the protected period depends on either:
- the type of leave an employee is taking
- when an employee tells their employer they are pregnant
Pregnancy and maternity leave
From 6 April 2024 the redundancy protected period for pregnant employees or those taking maternity leave was extended. Before this they were only protected while on maternity leave.
Employees have the extended protection if they:
- notify their employer of their pregnancy or start maternity leave after 6 April 2024
- were already on maternity leave on 6 April 2024
The redundancy protected period during pregnancy and maternity:
- starts when an employee tells their employer that they are pregnant
- ends 18 months from the exact date the baby is born
If an employee does not tell their employer the exact date, the protected period ends 18 months from the expected week of childbirth.
Example of the redundancy protected period in pregnancy
Ali's baby is born in October 2024. In January 2026 Ali is selected for redundancy. This is less than 18 months since the baby was born. Ali is still in the redundancy protected period. So if there are any suitable alternative vacancies, the employer must offer them to Ali as a priority.
If there's a stillbirth or miscarriage
The redundancy protected period starts when an employee tells their employer that they are pregnant.
If an employee has a miscarriage within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, the redundancy protected period ends 2 weeks from the end of the pregnancy.
If a child is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, the redundancy protected period ends 18 months from the date of the birth.
Adoption leave
From 6 April 2024 the redundancy protected period for someone taking adoption leave was extended. Before this they were only protected while on adoption leave.
The redundancy protected period starts on the day someone's adoption leave begins.
It ends 18 months from either:
- the date the adoption placement starts
- the date the child enters England, Scotland or Wales, if it's an overseas adoption
Shared parental leave
From 6 April 2024 the redundancy protected period for someone taking shared parental leave was extended. Before this they were only protected while on shared parental leave.
The redundancy protected period starts on the day a period of shared parental leave begins.
If an employee takes:
- less than 6 weeks leave – the protected period ends on the last day of the block of leave
- 6 weeks or more of continuous leave – the protected period ends 18 months from the date of the child's birth
If the employee takes discontinuous leave, the redundancy protected period finishes at the end of each period of shared parental leave.
An employee who has already taken adoption or maternity leave will have the redundancy protected period for that specific type of leave.
Neonatal care leave
From 6 April 2025, employees taking neonatal care leave are protected from redundancy.
If the employee has taken 6 consecutive weeks of neonatal leave they will have additional protection from redundancy.
This redundancy protected period is for:
- 18 months from birth for birth parents and intended parents in a surrogacy
- 18 months from the day the child is placed for adoption
- 18 months from the day the child enters Great Britain for overseas adoptions
Suitable alternative employment
If there are any suitable alternative vacancies, an employer must offer them to employees who have this redundancy protection.
Anyone who has this redundancy protection has priority over other employees. This applies even if other employees are also suitable.
If an employer does not follow the law, it might be automatically unfair dismissal. If the person is pregnant or on maternity leave, it could also be pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
There might not be enough suitable vacancies for everyone who has this redundancy protection. The employer will have to decide who is most suitable for the roles they have. This might include considering an employee's:
- skills
- job knowledge
- experience
The employer should explain in writing what criteria they will use to make their decision and why. This could be in a letter or email.
If an employee is not offered a suitable vacancy, their employer should meet with them to discuss the decision.
Contact the Acas helpline
If you have any questions about redundancy protection, you can contact the Acas helpline.