Redundancy for pregnant women – This is 4th of 9 amendments made by the 2025 Employment Rights Bill
Protection against redundancy for pregnant women
The Employment Rights Bill has received a list of recent amendments. From zero hour contracts to confidentiality clauses, many aspects of employment and payment conditions are expected to change. Employers need to fully understand the regulatory changes to their obligations to members of staff, and as to not breach employment law.
The new Employment Rights bill has included improved protections for new mothers and pregnant women against redundancy dismissals. These protections apply for the full pregnancy period, including time spent on Maternity Leave and a return-to-work period post-pregnancy. A dismissal during this period because of a pregnancy is automatically unfair, and these women should be prioritised over other employees at risk of redundancy.
The Government’s aim is to improve the job security of pregnant women and guard against discrimination. Future applications of the Employment Rights Bill will include an additional layer of protection – it will be unlawful to dismiss pregnant women or mother’s still within the six-month return-to-work period.
What are the current rules around pregnancy and redundancy?
Pregnancy employees were last offered special protections surrounding redundancy in the Employment Rights Act 1996. The same protections also apply to those on maternity leave, adoption leave, parental leave and neonatal care. The protection went as far as, if an employee is still in their redundancy protection period, then other candidates should be selected for redundancy first, or that these employees should be prioritised for alternative vacancies.
And as of 6th April 2024, the redundancy protection was extended. The period begins from the moment the pregnant party notify their employees of their pregnancy, to 18 months from the days their baby is born. If an employer does not follow procedure of considering the employee for alternative vacancy, or discussed their decision with the employee, then this is automatically unfair dismissal. It could also be classed as maternity discrimination.
What will be the new rules for pregnancy redundancy under the Employment Rights Bill?
The Employment Rights Bill will introduce new regulations which will orchestrate the permitted dismissals for pregnant women. The regulations, known as the enhanced dismissal protection policy, will deliver the circumstances in which it would be fair to dismiss a new mother or pregnant woman. This will include evidence requirements and notice period.
The redundancy protection period will also be extended out to a wider set of circumstances, including adoption and shared parental leave. Lost births and miscarriages will also gain extended protections.
What are the extended redundancy protection rules?
Redundancy protection does not mean that it is impossible for the protected employee to be made redundant. If the business sis going through a restructure, I slacking sustainable finances or has run out of suitable work, then a redundancy can be proposed with reasonable evidence and notice. However protection means this employee should be prioritised, alternative colleagues should be considered for redundancy. Or, considering the employees skills and experience, they must be offered any suitable vacancies.
What should employers do to be prepared for correct redundancy procedures?
Update your Knowledge
Employers need to update their knowledge of redundancy regulations. The official government information is available, and as is guidance from HR outsourcing services such as Sentient.
Identify employees
Understand which of your employees has redundancy priority protection. Keep track of the start dates and end dates of their protection.
Manager Training
Ensure managers understand their obligations, as well as how to properly approach pregnancy and maternity requests. Increase their awareness of the rules and laws so they understand why people are gaining priority treatment. HR and health and safety training is available at Sentient.
Early Notification
Make sure as the employer you are keeping in contact with your employees and understanding their situation all throughout the pregnancy period. Template for correctly crafted emails and letters and documents should be scripted ahead of time as to not breach any employee rights.
Guidelines and Vacancies
Because protected employees must be prioritised for roles, employers need to be strict and clear on the skills required for roles, and understand the skills of their employees. Guidelines should be in place to assess the suitability of applicants.
Learn more about Employment Law
There are 9 key areas of Employment Law that have been affected by the 2025 Employment Rights Bill.
Each of these areas are critical and will need to be addressed by employers. Employers need to understand their obligations and be careful not to unduly act in any way which could be observed as discriminatory. Employers will need to update their documentation and contracts that directly relate to the changes
To read more about your lawful obligations, Romero Insurance have refined and condensed the Government’s published information into a helpful whitepaper document. The Employment Law Whitepaper by Romero Insurance layout what employers and business leaders need to know about employment law.
Let us review your Employment Risk and Documentation
Contact us to take the HR health check. A HR health check will review your processes and documentation, and provide tailored guidance. The Health Check is conducted by our partners at Sentient, who are a HR outsourcing service and health and safety experts.
Our partners at Sentient will come back to you within 5 working days with a detailed overview of how you can improve your HR function and support your team. This free health check will grade your current practices with a traffic light system, showing the robustness of your HR procedures. Sentient is available for any business of any size who want to update their policies and procedures in time for Employment Law regulation changes