Pregnant and facing redundancy - will I get SMP? Ask the expert

Hello I have been working for my employer for six months. I am six weeks pregnant, my company is considering making redundancies. I would like to know please, whether I will qualify for statuory maternity pay if I am made redundant. Thank you.…

Claiming redundancy from an insolvent company: Ask the expert

I worked for a company from Feb 2005-Oct 2009 for 18 and a half hours a week to qualify for family tax credit, with 10 days holiday a year and I never got paid for bank holidays. My working days were Tuesday 5 and a half hours, Weds and Thurs, full days at 7 hours each. The company officially went bust in March 2010 and the two other staff members also long term, are claiming redundancy. I am in the process of re-sending paperwork to claim from the insolvency for unpaid salary that I am still owed over the whole period due to miss calculations from my employer. Am I also able to claim back holiday money as I now find that legally I should have been entitled to more days off plus the bank hols although part-time? I started on £6.00 salary that went up to £7.00 a year later then to £8.00 in July 2009. I would really appreciate it if you could advice me as to what I should do next with regards my entitlements. Many thanks.…

Being made redundant whilst on maternity leave: Ask the expert

I am on maternity leave and am about to be made redundant (it is definite as the company will be closing). I was due to return to work at the start of my 17th week, but as this coincides with when the redundancies will be officially announced, I am able to withdraw my offer to return and receive the full 39 weeks of statutory maternity pay (SMP). In the redundancy proposal letter it states 'The notice period will be calculated as the period from 13th July to 31st July plus your statutory minimum notice period'. After contacting my boss about whether I would receive SMP, he emailed me saying 'If you were to choose to carry on with maternity leave and you were to be made redundant you would get maternity pay up to 31 July, the date on which you would be made redundant. At this point you would have used 19 weeks of maternity leave. Therefore, on redundancy, you would be entitled to your statutory notice period of two weeks normal salary, plus a lump sum of SMP equal to (39 weeks less 19 weeks = 20 weeks x £124.85 = £2,497), plus the redundancy pay of 10 weeks times normal salary, plus whatever you choose to do on the options.If you chose this route you would lose out on full salary for the period from 12 July to 31 July as you would be getting SMP instead'.
 
Is this correct? I thought that as 13-31 July was a notice period, I would be payed for that in addition to the statutory two weeks. However, I know nothing about redundancy and so need help. They want my decision in two days' time. Thanks.

Role change following maternity return: Ask the expert

I am currently on Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML).  I have been informed that the project that I manage will undergo a restructure and have been invited to be part of the consultation process.  I have attended two consultation meetings and put business reasons forward as to why I do not think my role should be split in two.  There are also personal reasons why I wouldn't want this it is effectively a demotion as half of my responsibility will be removed and I will receive a 5k pay cut.  The person who is likely to get the other half of my job and receive a pay increase is someone that I manage who does not have the same level experience or qualifications as me. So in summary, they will be demoting me in both status and pay to give it someone else.  Their justification for this is that they think my responsibilities are too much for one person.  I struggle with this because before I went on maternity leave, at no point during my supervision meetings and appraisals did my boss have a problem with my performance against my job description - in fact my appraisal states that I exceed expectations and my job description and was given a 3k performance related increment.  My temporary replacement (who was male) has left after six months of undertaking my role and he had suggested to my boss that the role be split.  I feel as though this has come about because I am on maternity leave.  Had I not have been on maternity leave, and continued to do a good job, I don't think my role would be being split.

Does this amount to sex discrimination? It is my understanding that as I am on maternity leave, I have extra protection. If there are suitable alternative jobs in the new structure, I ought to be offered them before they consider the rest of the team.  I thought my employer would give me choice of the two positions given that they are my job split in two but my employer has asked me to apply along with everyone else.  Are they breaching maternity regulations here?
 
Finally, I have been searching for a definition of a suitable alternative but can't come up with anything concrete.  Is a demotion (not being an overall project manager anymore) in status and a 5k reduction a suitable alternative? I fear if I refuse either half of my current role, they will say that I am therefore at risk of redundancy.  Would this be an unfair redundancy given that my job (as is was before the restructure) is still there to be done and there is no evidence to suggest that I am not capable of doing it? I would appreciate any guidance on this - I am sad that whilst I am trying to enjoy my time with my baby, It is being invaded with worry about this.

Single mum with no work experience - how can I get a job? Ask the expert

I am a young and single mum in private housing. My child has started nursery on a half day basis, Monday to Friday - I'm unable to get childcare any other time. I really want to get back into work, with a steady and reliable income. I have no work experience.…