Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 was introduced in July 2023. It gave a power for regulations to extend the current right for employees in a redundancy situation on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave to have the right to be offered suitable alternative vacancies in preference to others, so that it would also apply during pregnancy and for an additional protected period.
The new rules apply where the relevant leave ends after 6 April 2024 and where shared parental leave starts after 6 April 2024. It will also apply when an employee notifies their employer that they are pregnant on or after 6 April 2024. If an employee suffers a miscarriage and they have notified the employer of the pregnancy, they will also be afforded this protection until 2 weeks after the pregnancy (for pregnancies ending before 24 weeks).
The extension will mean the right to be offered suitable alternative vacancies in redundancy proceedings in preference to other non-protected groups will be a protection afforded to pregnant women (including those who miscarry) and new parents who have recently returned from maternity or adoption leave, as well as for those that have taken 6 or more consecutive weeks of shared parental leave.
Please see the table below summarising who will be protected how long they will be protected for:
Who is protected? | How long is the protected period? |
| Pregnant employee who takes maternity leave | Start when the employer is notified of the pregnancy (whether orally or in writing) End: 18 months from child’s estimated week of childbirth, or, provided the employer is informed, the child’s date of birth |
| Employee who has suffered a miscarriage | Start: when the employer is notified of the pregnancy End: 2 weeks after the end of the pregnancy, for pregnancies ending before 24 weeks Pregnancies ending after 24 weeks are classed as a stillbirth; the employee entitled to maternity leave |
| Employee taking adoption leave | Start: beginning of adoption leave End: 18 months from date of placement for adoption |
| Employee taking shared parental leave (only) | Start: beginning of shared parental leave End: if less than 6 weeks’ SPL taken, at end of SPL If more than 6 weeks’ continuous SPL taken, 18 months from date of child’s birth |
For further guidance or assistance, perhaps by updating your internal policies to ensure they are up to date with this guidance, please get in touch as we would be more than happy to help.