Looking for maternity leave advice please

Hi, you would only be entitled to the one the government gives you. You wouldn’t get anything from the employer x

@Charlotte Ok that’s good to know, thank you so much x

Though dismissing you while pregnant could also open them up to a potential discrimination claim. Was the warning for something serious/dismissal worthy?

@Alexandra No it can’t unfortunately. If she is within her probation period and has been there less than 2 years she has no employee rights. They can use any excuse and by handing out warnings it is their way of preventing a law suit. You can let someone go with no reason at all anytime in the first 2 years.

@Charlotte not technically if the reason for dismissal makes it an ‘automatic unfair dismal’. That’s why I asked what the warning is for - if it’s for her say, taking time off for pregnancy, asking for flexible hours, union activities etc. that’s an automatic unfair and the 2 years doesn’t apply. Always good to know options just in case!

@Charlotte sorry forgot to ask am I still entitled to this even if with a partner and they work?

I was still in my probation period when my last employer dismissed me 2 months before I was due my first baby. I think as long as I'd done 36 weeks service (regardless of probation or not) by the 15th week before I was due I was entitled to maternity pay. HMRC also told me that as long as I was employed by the company on the first day of the 15th week before the due date (regardless of whether they dismissed you the next day or month etc.) then the company was liable for the maternity pay so might be worth looking into. Feel free if you want to discuss ☺️

It would depend on their wages

@Rebecca That’s interesting. I have a HR department and our rules are 2 years service . I suppose every contract is different

@Alexandra It's illegal for companies to deny time off for prenatal appointments. According to government regulations, if a company were to use this as a reason for dismissal, it would be deemed unfair. However, employers can sometimes mask their true motives with minor reasons, like an employee being two minutes late to work on three separate occasions, which technically violates contracted hours and terms of employment. Even though it sounds absurd, such minor infractions can be grounds for dismissal. As an owner of two large companies with a dedicated HR department, this is true, however, employers aren’t always required to provide a reason for dismissal, placing the employee to prove that they were unfairly terminated.

I get that employers lie but automatic unfair dismissal is a literal thing and OP should know their rights for any eventuality. As advised by Gov: Automatically unfair reasons for dismissal Even if you’ve acted reasonably, some reasons for dismissal are classed automatically unfair. These are to do with the following areas: • pregnancy, including all reasons relating to maternity • family, including parental leave, paternity leave (birth and adoption), adoption leave or time off for dependants • acting as an employee representative • acting as a trade union representative • acting as an occupational pension scheme trustee • joining or not joining a trade union • being a part-time or fixed-term employee • pay and working hours, including the Working Time Regulations, annual leave and the National Minimum Wage • reporting certain types of wrongdoing - this is known as whistleblowing

Hi- I work in hr. Just a bit confused by your message. You stated you started with the company last September? So how are you now on 3 months probation? Surely your probation has now passed? Happy to advice you x

@Leila I was given a written warning and told I would have a 3 month probation I’m assuming to make sure I keep up with all the things we spoke about. It’s all very convenient all these little points have now been raised to me now I’m pregnant 😡

From an hr perspective you can’t be put onto another probation when you have passed probation- does that make sense? That’s not even a thing nor is a correct process. If you have a first written warning and will Be on your file unless you went through an appeal process with them. Depending on what your warning is for they need to follow process. You wouldn’t face another disciplinary unless you did something of the same context of your first warning. Hope that makes sense. If you feel this is involved in anyway with your pregnancy that’s completely different. But they simply can’t just get rid of you and can’t put you onto a probation. You appear to be over a year with the company so should get company mat pay aswell x

@Leila is right, if you passed your probation they can’t put you back on probation, they can put you on a performance improvement plan which needs to have clear goals outlined for you to follow and be able to evidence. The 2-year service rule applies in all cases with the exception of unfair dismissal because of a protected characteristic (such as being pregnant). If you can prove that, that is 😕

@Amy thank you for coming back to me.

I really hope you can get this resolved and hopefully you are given more support. Also, make sure that they carry out a maternity risk assessment to assess what you are capable of doing. That will help to set expectations and boundaries. ☺️

@Amy will do thank you x