Maternity employment rights

Hi all, This is a long one but after some advice regarding maternity employment rights/laws. The company I work for was sold to another company when I was around 32 weeks pregnant (at this time I was using holiday entitlement on the official take over day). I had already put in the forms for maternity leave at 20 weeks ish with the view to start maternity at 38 weeks however ended up taking it at 37 weeks. My role before I left was as a team leader, however the new company aren’t honouring this role and saying that I need to take a demotion back into a senior role (I have worked hard for the team leader role and feel miffed that I would be taking a step down). I will also no longer be on a salary wage but hourly instead (which should apparently match the salary). On top of this, my maternity package is based on the old company (6 weeks 90% pay, 6 weeks 50% pay plus SMP and then 35 weeks at SMP and I have to return for 6 months). The new company is 9 weeks full pay, 12 weeks 50% and the rest at SMP. They are also taking away fuel allowance at £6 per day as this wasn’t contracted, it was offered as a good will gesture by the old company when they moved premises to keep staff. I travel 100 miles as a round trip and can’t justify the fuel costs without the allowance (this was very hard to manage prior to being pregnant). The old premises was a round trip of 20 miles so a big difference. I would just like some clarification before I speak with the new company (I will refuse to sign a new contract with them at the moment). 1. Can they take my job role away? 2. Can they change me from salaried to hourly pay? 3. Whose maternity package should I fall under, the old company or the new company? 4. Do I have grounds to refuse to return for the 6 months? 5. Do I have grounds to refuse to return with regards to the fuel allowance? I feel like I’m being done over but not sure what questions I should be asking or what answers I’m looking for. Thanks for reading

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You will end up (maybe!) getting mixed messages from different people on here. Your best bet is to call ACAS/ and or citizens advice Both are free services. They can advise better of your rights. Hoping this helps.

employers cannot change your job role when you return from maternity leave without a valid reason, as maternity employment law typically protects your right to return to your original position or one that is similar in terms of pay, duties, and conditions. However, the specifics depend on how long you’ve been on leave and local employment laws. General Rules: 1. Return After Ordinary Maternity Leave (typically up to 26 weeks): • If you return from ordinary maternity leave, you are usually entitled to return to the same job that you left, on the same terms and conditions. Your employer cannot change your role unless there is a valid business reason, like restructuring or redundancy, but even in these cases, they must follow legal procedures and offer suitable alternatives. 2. Return After Additional Maternity Leave (beyond the first 26 weeks): • If you take additional maternity leave (e.g., in the UK, up to 52 weeks), you still have the right to return to your old role

If your employer changes your role upon your return without following these rules, it could be considered maternity discrimination or unfair treatment, which may give you grounds for a legal claim.

Contact ACAS

Does your company have a Union Rep ? If yes seek their advice. But just from experience when a new company takes over a company they can make changes to their contracts etc … I believe as this happened to me but obviously the circumstances may be different so ensure on how it all works … obviously you being pregnant I’m not sure how that changes things

I transferred by TUPE when I was around 20 weeks pregnant and it was to a very well known security company from a independent…. Such a ball ache but you have to stay firm! I sent a fair few strongly worded emails one being just before baby was born as they tried messing with my mat pay 😂 You are covered by the TUPE rules if this is something your company done, not sure if a sale of company will always be a TUPE but if it is then they have to accommodate for your current role unless they offer a better package… they also have to uphold all your previous employers policies and Mat pay packages.

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