Maternity Rights for FTCs

[she84uk]

Hi All,

I hope I'm posting this correctly and apologies if not, I'm new to this and all forums, however have been advised by a colleague to try and get some advice on here.

I've been working as a PT (30 hours) delivery postwoman with driving since October 2013 and have had my FTC extended regularly. The last time it was extended by 3 months which ends at the end of July. I have since become pregnant and am concerned about how this will effect the chances of my contract being extended again. I know they can not discriminate against my pregnancy however, I am worried that they will choose not to extend my contract on the basis that I can not carry out the same post work that I previously did.

I was off sick with nausea due to my pregnancy to which my manager informed me that his manager was not happy about it and was "looking to get rid of" me, and he advised me to seek advice from HR. I called HR who informed me that they can not provide me with any advice and that they have a helpline my manager can call who can, in turn pass the information on to me. Since then, I have had my absence meeting in which my manager has stated that absence due to my pregnancy will not be held against me, which has set my mind at ease slightly but knowing his manager no longer wishes for me to continue employment there still has me stressed.

I was originally told that I would replace a delivery postwoman covering maternity leave at a caller's office, which meant they would gain that postwoman back at the DO but this seems to have been forgotten (and brushed off when I queried it) and I'm thinking it may be so that come July, they can inform me that they can not provide me with alternate work and therefore are not renewing my contract further.

These, along with a few more issues, have made me realize how unprofessional and unsupportive Royal Mail are towards pregnant employees and I am following this up with the Union but would appreciate any advice or feedback from fellow posties who may have had any similar experiences or know of anyone that has.

Sorry the post is so long and thank you in advance

[clashcityrocker]

I found this:

Generally speaking, a temporary or fixed term contract has no special status in law, and if you are an employee (paid directly by the company you perform services for rather than paid by an Agency), you will have all the rights of a permanent employee. In fact, it is unlawful to treat fixed term workers less favourably than permanent workers.

If you are on a fixed term contract which is not renewed, it is still a dismissal under law, and has the potential to be an unfair dismissal, depending on the circumstances.

Rights during pregnancy
You have all the rights that any employee has, and cannot be treated any less favourably because you are on a fixed term or temporary contact.
If your contract ends and is not renewed, you need to look at the reasons why (and even more so if it’s ended earlier than the current end date…). If there is no longer a need for you to do the work, for example because the project has ended, you are redundant, and if you have 2 year’s continuous service with the employer you will be entitled to a redundancy payment. If the job still exists, and your contract is not renewed because of your pregnancy or maternity leave, the dismissal will be discriminatory and automatically unfair. A woman who is dismissed while pregnant must be given written reasons for her dismissal.
It is automatically unfair to dismiss a woman because she is pregnant or intends to take maternity leave even if this means that she is unable to work for the majority of the contract, whether because of maternity leave or because of health and safety reasons.

Maternity Pay

You will qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay as long as you meet the continuous service and pay requirements: You need to have been working for this same employer for 26 weeks leading up to the 15th week before the baby is due (If you started work for the company before you were pregnant, and continue until you at least reach the 15th week before the week the baby is due you will meet this requirement.)

If you meet this length of service criteria, then as your contract is due to end after the 15th week before the week the baby is due, you will be entitled to SMP.
Maternity Leave

Fixed term or temporary employees are entitled to maternity leave in the same way as permanent employees. Any reason for non-renewal connected to pregnancy or maternity leave is unfair. If your job still exists, your employer must have a fair reason for the dismissal.

If your job no longer exists, perhaps because the project you were working on has come to an end, there is a redundancy situation. Even if you have not worked for your employer for long enough to qualify for a redundancy payment, you are afforded special protection as a woman on maternity leave. You MUST be offered any suitable alternative vacancy which exists. This means that if there is a group of people, only some of whom are being made redundant, someone else must be selected instead of the woman on maternity leave.

Good luck with this! If you need further advice, I suggest ACAS as a next port of call.

[rehabron]

Will you be able to produce the MAT B1 form to RM before your present fixed term contract expires in July so that RM has no other justifiable reason other than your pregnancy for refusing to extend your contract.
Failing to extend your contract for the reason that you are pregnant and unable to fulfil your current duties would leave RM wide open for a claim under the sex discrimination act 1975.
RM has a " duty of care" obligation to you that you be given a modified duty with less strenuous activity during your term of pregnancy and you need to take this matter up with your union rep to investigate what is available to you.
If you look up on the CWU site under maternity rights there is a fact sheet which will assist you.

[Straight4ward]

BTW - Congratulations!

You'll find information concerning your basic rights here
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/w ... ity_rights" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and the union will be able to give you support and information relating to dealing with RM.

[bustedflush]

It's always good to have a benchmark in cases like this. IF there are a few more FTC's in your office, and some were employed AFTER you and yours was ended and you were aware some who arrived after you were renewed or continued longer than you, then you would have an easily recognizable bona fide case. Even amongst FTC's there is a seniority in place (apparently) so I suggest you gauge where you are in relation if appropriate.
Just beware that some managers are sly b*ggers and will be aware of what I mentioned above and may dress any decisions up to look like something else altogether. What I can say for sure is stick to your CWU rep like glue.

[she84uk]

Thank you all for your responses, I'm currently in the process of providing the CWU with all relevant information so that they are fully aware of the situation.

I have my first antenatal appointment tomorrow, which is where I will query when I can obtain the MAT B1 form but as far as I'm aware, it's usually at 20/21 weeks (although I could be wrong) and I'm currently in my 14th week of pregnancy so should be able to provide it to RM well before the end of my current contract.

[rehabron]

Thank you all for your responses, I'm currently in the process of providing the CWU with all relevant information so that they are fully aware of the situation.

I have my first antenatal appointment tomorrow, which is where I will query when I can obtain the MAT B1 form but as far as I'm aware, it's usually at 20/21 weeks (although I could be wrong) and I'm currently in my 14th week of pregnancy so should be able to provide it to RM well before the end of my current contract.

PERFECT

[she84uk]

Hi Everyone,

I'm re-posting on this forum rather than exposing my situation on a new one.

My office is currently undergoing a revision and I have been told that I will have to reduce my hours and change work location as my contract will no longer be renewed. My query is that if I refuse to accept a downgrade of hours or change of location, does anyone know where that leaves me?... I'm currently on a 30 hour FTC ending on 31/10/14 and will have been with RM for 1 year at that point, but I've been told that I will need to change location and go down to either 24 hours or less (there are 3 other employees that are due to choose their contracts before me) which is probably why I've not been sent a renewal contract. The question is, what if I can't travel to the areas they wish to relocate me too and if I just don't want to drop down hours?

Can they just refuse to continue my employment bearing in mind that I will be on maternity leave before my current contract ends?

Sorry if the above doesn't make sense, I'm confused and fairly unclear on the situation myself but hoping someone can shed a little light. I spoke to my CWU rep yesterday who basically said they don't know where I would stand.

Thanks again in advance.