Follow us

The Government has published a consultation until 5 April 2019 on proposals to extend the current period of protection for women on maternity leave during which they are given priority over any suitable alternative vacancies should their role be made redundant. (An employer's failure to offer any such available vacancies renders the consequent redundancy dismissal automatically unfair.)

The main proposal is to extend this right of priority over vacancies to apply from the point at which the employee notifies her employer of her pregnancy in writing, through to six months after a new mother returns to work. The consultation seeks views on how this should work where an employee takes some other form of leave immediately after her maternity leave (such as annual leave or a career break) and also whether the protection should be extended to those returning from adoption leave, shared parental leave and longer periods of parental leave.


Article tags

Key contacts

Samantha Brown photo

Samantha Brown

Managing Partner of EPI (West), London

Samantha Brown
Steve Bell photo

Steve Bell

Managing Partner - Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety (Australia, Asia), Melbourne

Steve Bell
Emma Rohsler photo

Emma Rohsler

Regional Head of Practice (EMEA) - Employment Pensions and Incentives, Paris

Emma Rohsler
Andrew Taggart photo

Andrew Taggart

Partner, London

Andrew Taggart
Fatim Jumabhoy photo

Fatim Jumabhoy

Managing Partner, Singapore, Singapore

Fatim Jumabhoy
Barbara Roth photo

Barbara Roth

Partner, New York

Barbara Roth