Redundancy during maternity leave

It’s crucial to know your rights if you’re made redundant while on maternity leave. Being pregnant or on maternity leave doesn’t stop your employer from making you redundant. However, they must have a legitimate business reason. For example, the company might be downsizing or closing. Your employer can’t simply let you go because you’re pregnant, on maternity leave, or to avoid paying your Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). If they do, you may be able make a claim of unfair dismissal or pregnancy and maternity discrimination. If this is the case, you should seek legal advice straight away.

If you’re made redundant for legitimate reasons during your maternity leave, you may still be entitled to redundancy pay. If you’ve worked for your employer for two continuous years or more, you will be entitled to redundancy pay.

Whatever your circumstance, it’s a good idea to find out about your rights at the UK Government guidelines concerning redundancy pay. That way, you’ll know exactly where you stand and what your options are.

This depends on when you were made redundant. If your employment ends before the qualifying week for SMP (the 15th week before the week the baby is due), you won’t get Statutory Maternity Pay. If your employment ends during or after the qualifying week, but before the maternity leave starts, you’re still entitled to SMP for 39 weeks.

If your employment ends while you're receiving SMP, you will still be entitled to SMP for the remainder of the 39 weeks.

Facing redundancy is stressful at the best of times. It can be particularly challenging if you’ve got a new arrival on the way. But there are steps you can take to make sure your finances are in hand. An important first step is to make a budget – or update your existing one. Budgeting may not sound like much fun. But it’s a powerful way to make sure you’re on top of your spending. Check out some of our helpful tools:

• how to plan and stick to a budget offers time-saving budgeting tools to help you manage spending and find ways to save – from switching energy suppliers to reducing your mobile phone bill
• use our handy budget calculator at Barclays Budget Planner to help you plan out repayments on credit cards and other loans
• explore other ways to borrow for possible ways to get a loan 
• track your spending and set up alerts with your Barclays app – a convenient way to stay on top of your money and avoid unexpected surprises. If you don’t already have one, you’ll need a Barclays or Barclaycard account, a mobile number and be 16 or over to use the Barclays app. Terms and conditions will apply.

You can also get other useful advice about How to deal with redundancy. Finally, our Barclaycard team is always available by phone to provide support and plan for the future. You can visit our Coronavirus support page for more information.