The person has come back from maternity leave, but I get to work till November. Hi, I am currently pregnant and on a fixed-term contract for the NHS. Hope you can help. If the reason for not renewing her contract is related to her pregnancy or maternity leave and the job still exists it would be unfair. A woman who is dismissed while pregnant must be given written reasons for her dismissal. This means that if there is a group of people, only some of whom are being made redundant, someone else must be selected instead of the woman on maternity leave. With your permission, we'd also like to set optional Google analytics cookies to help us improve our service, however, we won't set optional cookies unless you enable them. In addition, it would seem to me to be an unfair discrimination (based on pregnancy) to exclude an employee from accruing annual leave whilst on maternity leave. I am hoping all goes well next week. The person is still on her maternity leave, but I do not know what is going to happen to my contract and if I qualify for SMP. My performance has been good and I am sure they would not end my contract had I not become pregnant. Editor: You are entitled to SMP and this cannot be withdrawn because your contract finished after the qualifying period. As the Harvard Business Review pointed out, "getting the leave you want is a matter of understanding your company’s policy and then appropriately advocating for your needs.". I am pregnant and due in March 2014 and my work have just told me that they will not be renewing my contract due to a staffing 'restructure' as my boss is also going on maternity leave. can’t refuse maternity leave or change the amount of leave employees want to take if notice is late. And make sure to include that you plan to come back to work after your leave is finished to assure them you are dedicated to your job. Is it legal to make redundancies remotely? My company says if they decide to end my contract they will not give me maternity leave or SMP. Please send further details via the Advice & Support/Q & A page box as then we have your email in case our experts need further information. It is automatically unfair to dismiss a woman because she is pregnant or intends to take maternity leave even if this means that she is unable to work for the majority of the contract, whether because of maternity leave or because of health and safety reasons. Thanks. “It is worth checking whether you could be classed as an ‘employee’. What are my rights regarding SMP and how can I be sure that they will actually change the staffing structure once I'm gone? I am agency worker with no end date contract. If you are self-employed there is limited protection for you in these circumstances as you, owever, if your contract with this client states that you are obliged to provide the work personally and cannot sub contract the work, It is worth checking whether you could be classed as an, have been held by the Courts and Tribunals. What rights do I have…??? The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave" to describe separate family leave available to either parent to care for small children. If the job still exists, and your contract is not renewed because of your pregnancy or maternity leave, the dismissal will be discriminatory and automatically unfair. © 2019 Peninsula Business Services Limited. Would this be allowed? This type of cookie collects information in a way that does not directly identify anyone. Required fields are marked *, Until Covid-19 hit,  only a fraction of the workforce worked from home full time. Get a free callback from one of our experts. With regards to the NHS, how strict are the policies regarding 12 months continuous service? If you are self-employed there is limited protection for you in these circumstances as you are effectively your own boss. I have done over 2 years' continuous service by the time I go on maternity leave, but my contract will end before the point I return to work. They have said I should receive normal SMP, but this is yet to be confirmed. Your emp... Download the top 5 tips to getting the perfect sporting policy for your business. I have emailed HR regarding the extension of my contract. Please could you tell me if they can end my contract in this situation? You can also opt-out of having your anonymised browsing activity within websites recorded by analytics cookies. If there is no longer a need for you to do the work, for example because the project has ended, you are redundant, and if you have 2 year’s continuous service with the employer you will be entitled to a redundancy payment.