Redundancy while pregnant or on maternity leave: your rights and your settlement agreement
Being made redundant while pregnant or on maternity leave is not unlawful in itself, but extra protections apply, and getting the settlement agreement right depends on understanding them.
Can you be made redundant while on maternity leave?
Yes, but only if the redundancy is genuine and you are given a priority right to any suitable alternative vacancy. Under regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999, that priority runs from when you tell your employer about the pregnancy until 18 months after the birth. Dismissal because of the pregnancy or the leave is automatically unfair (Employment Rights Act 1996, s.99) and is also pregnancy and maternity discrimination (Equality Act 2010, s.18).
Am I in the protected period?
Enter the date you told your employer about the pregnancy and your baby's due date or actual date of birth. This works out your reg 10 MAPLE priority window under UK law; it does not send your dates anywhere.
Suitable alternative vacancy priority (reg 10)
Within the protected period, if there is a suitable alternative vacancy, you must be offered it, not merely told about it or invited to apply and compete with other candidates. A vacancy is "suitable" when the work is suitable for you and the terms and conditions, including location, pay and status, are not substantially less favourable than your current role. Since 6 April 2024, this priority applies to any qualifying maternity leave that started, or any pregnancy you notified your employer of, on or after that date, extended by the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 regulations (SI 2024/264). Before then, the priority applied only during the maternity leave itself.
Consultation during leave and Keeping in Touch days
A genuine redundancy consultation must still happen while you are on leave; your employer cannot skip it because you are away. You are entitled to be consulted in the way that works for someone on leave, which in practice usually means written correspondence and calls rather than assuming you will attend the office. Keeping in Touch (KIT) days, up to 10 during ordinary and additional maternity leave combined, can be used for consultation meetings without ending your leave or your right to statutory maternity pay for that week, but you cannot be required to attend them.
Notice and SMP through your notice period
Your statutory or contractual notice period (whichever is longer) still applies to a redundancy dismissal that takes effect during maternity leave. Statutory Maternity Pay continues to be paid by your employer for the rest of your 39-week SMP period even after your employment ends, provided you remain entitled to it; it does not stop simply because your notice period ends the employment relationship. Redundancy pay and notice pay are separate from, and paid on top of, any SMP still owed.
Enhanced maternity pay clawback
Some employers offer contractual enhanced maternity pay above SMP, on condition that you return to work for a set period afterwards; leaving early, including through redundancy, can trigger a clause requiring you to repay some or all of the enhancement. Public-sector schemes publish their own rules: see the NHS Agenda for Change terms and conditions handbook and the Civil Service Management Code for the maternity provisions each scheme sets out. A genuine redundancy is not the same as choosing to resign, and a settlement agreement is the natural place to agree, in writing, that any clawback clause is waived rather than assumed away.
Redundancy after maternity leave
The reg 10 priority right does not end the day you return to work: it continues until 18 months after the birth. If you are made redundant after coming back, within that window, you still have priority for suitable alternative vacancies and the same protection against your leave being a reason for selection. After the 18-month window closes, the ordinary redundancy and unfair-dismissal rules apply, but if the real reason for your selection was still connected to the pregnancy or the leave, a maternity discrimination claim can remain available with no cap on compensation and no minimum length of service required.
What a settlement agreement should contain in this situation
Split every item into what you are owed regardless of any negotiation, and what is genuinely up for discussion. Never sign an agreement that treats a negotiable item as if it "must" be limited to a particular figure.
Owed anyway
- Statutory redundancy pay, if you qualify.
- Statutory or contractual notice pay.
- Accrued but untaken holiday pay.
- Any remaining Statutory Maternity Pay for the rest of your 39-week period.
Negotiable
- An ex-gratia sum reflecting the strength of an automatically-unfair-dismissal or discrimination claim.
- Whether enhanced maternity pay is retained rather than clawed back.
- The wording of your reference.
- Confidentiality and non-derogatory terms.
When the offer is too low
A redundancy that is really about the pregnancy or the leave is both automatically unfair dismissal and pregnancy or maternity discrimination. Discrimination compensation has no statutory cap, unlike the compensatory award for an ordinary unfair dismissal claim, and there is no minimum length of service to bring either an automatically-unfair-dismissal claim under this ground or a discrimination claim. Together, that combination is real leverage in a negotiation, and it is a reason to have any offer checked before you sign rather than assume it is final.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make someone redundant on maternity leave?
Yes, a role can still be made redundant while someone is on maternity leave: the genuine redundancy itself is lawful. What changes is the process. Within the protected period, that employee must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy ahead of colleagues, and if the real reason for selecting them is the pregnancy or the leave, the dismissal is automatically unfair and discriminatory.
What counts as redundancy during pregnancy?
Redundancy during pregnancy is any genuine redundancy, such as a role disappearing or headcount being cut, that happens to affect an employee who is pregnant, on maternity leave, or has recently returned from it. The employer must still show a real business reason and follow a fair process; using the pregnancy or leave as a factor in who is selected, even alongside a genuine business reason, makes the dismissal automatically unfair.
What is maternity protection redundancy?
Maternity protection redundancy refers to the extra legal safeguards that apply when someone at risk of redundancy is pregnant or on (or has recently returned from) maternity leave: priority for suitable alternative vacancies, protection from selection because of the pregnancy or leave, and, for dismissal, automatically unfair status. These sit alongside, not instead of, the ordinary redundancy process.
What are my rights if I am made redundant after maternity leave?
If the 18-month protected period has not yet ended, you still have priority for suitable alternative vacancies and the same protection against selection because of your maternity leave. Once the protected period has ended, the ordinary redundancy and unfair-dismissal rules apply, though a discrimination claim can still be available if the leave was in fact a reason for your selection.
Disclaimer
This guide provides general information only and is not legal, tax or benefits advice. Your position depends on the specific facts of your case. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a qualified adviser. Law as at 26 August 2026; this page is due for review by the earlier of 6 April 2027 and the commencement date of any relevant Employment Rights Act 2025 provision.
Related guides
Get your redundancy offer reviewed free
Before you sign a settlement agreement while pregnant or on maternity leave, let an SRA-regulated solicitor check it reflects your protections. Free to you, your employer pays our fees.