You can be made redundant while on maternity leave or sick leave, but your employer has to follow much stricter rules. If they don't, you could have a very strong claim.
This is one of the areas where people have the most leverage and know the least about it. If you're pregnant, on maternity leave, or off sick with a disability, read this carefully.
What are my rights if I'm on maternity leave?
If you're on maternity leave and your job is genuinely being made redundant, your employer has a specific legal obligation that doesn't apply to anyone else.
They must offer you any suitable alternative vacancy first. Not interview you for it. Not consider you alongside other candidates. Offer it to you, ahead of everyone else. This comes from regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999.
If there's a suitable role and they gave it to someone else, or they didn't tell you about it, that's a problem for them.
The protection period is longer than most people realise. A 2024 amendment to Regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999 expanded priority redeployment rights significantly. The protection now starts from the point the employer is notified of the pregnancy and lasts until 18 months after the expected week of childbirth. That means even if you've already returned from maternity leave, you may still be in the protected window and entitled to be offered any suitable alternative vacancy ahead of other employees. If your employer made you redundant during this 18-month period without offering you a suitable alternative role, that strengthens your position considerably.
On top of that, if the real reason for your redundancy is connected to your pregnancy or maternity leave, it's automatically unfair dismissal under ERA 1996, s.99. That means:
- No qualifying service needed. You don't need 2 years' service to bring the claim.
- No compensation cap. Unlike ordinary unfair dismissal, there's no upper limit on what a tribunal can award.
- It's also discrimination. Pregnancy-related dismissal is sex discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, which gives you a separate claim with uncapped compensation.
Employers know all this. Which is why, if you're in this situation, they will often offer significantly more to settle.
What are my rights if I'm off sick?
Being off sick doesn't make you immune from redundancy. If the redundancy is genuine, your employer can include you in the process even if you're not at work.
But there are important protections depending on why you're off sick.
If your illness counts as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (a physical or mental condition that has a substantial and long-term effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities), your employer must:
- Not use your sickness absence as a selection criterion, or give it disproportionate weight
- Make reasonable adjustments to the process (for example, holding meetings at times or in formats that work for you)
- Consider whether alternative roles could work with reasonable adjustments
If they scored you down because of disability-related absence, that's likely disability discrimination. And like pregnancy discrimination, compensation is uncapped.
If your illness isn't a disability, you still have the same consultation and process rights as everyone else. Your employer can't skip proper consultation just because you're off sick. They need to make reasonable efforts to include you in the process, which might mean phone calls, video meetings, or written correspondence.
How can I tell if the redundancy is really about my pregnancy or health?
Ask yourself:
- Was the timing suspicious? Did the redundancy come shortly after you announced your pregnancy or went off sick?
- Were other people in similar roles kept on?
- Did the selection criteria seem designed to score you badly?
- Has your employer's attitude towards you changed since your pregnancy or illness?
- Were you excluded from discussions or kept out of the loop?
None of these things prove anything on their own. But a pattern starts to build a picture. Tribunals look at the overall circumstances, not just one factor.
What should I do?
Act quickly if you think pregnancy is a factor. If you believe your redundancy is connected to pregnancy or maternity, you should get legal advice as soon as possible. Tribunal time limits are strict: you normally have to start ACAS early conciliation within 3 months less one day of your dismissal date.
Keep everything. Emails, letters, meeting notes, text messages. Anything that shows the timeline and how you were treated compared to others.
Don't assume you have no claim. A lot of people on maternity leave or sick leave accept redundancy because they feel vulnerable. But in reality, you're in a stronger legal position than most other employees.
Remember your employer pays for legal advice. A settlement agreement isn't valid unless you've had independent advice from a solicitor (ERA 1996, s.203). Your employer pays for this. Use it.
This article is general guidance about redundancy rights in England, Scotland and Wales (not Northern Ireland). It's not legal advice and shouldn't be treated as a substitute for advice from a qualified employment solicitor. If you believe your redundancy is connected to pregnancy, maternity, or disability, seek advice from a solicitor as soon as possible.