Can I Be Made Redundant While Pregnant? UK Rights 2026

Being made redundant while pregnant or on maternity leave can feel devastating — but you have some of the strongest legal protections available to any employee in the UK. Understanding those rights can make the difference between accepting an unlawful dismissal and challenging it successfully.

The short answer: redundancy because of pregnancy is automatically unlawful. A genuine redundancy during pregnancy is lawful only if it is not pregnancy-related and your employer follows a fair process — including giving you priority access to suitable alternative vacancies.

For related reading, see our employment rights overview and our Statutory Maternity Pay guide.

The Key Legal Protections

Your rights during pregnancy and maternity leave come from two separate pieces of legislation:

The protection applies from the moment you become pregnant — you do not need to have told your employer yet, though practical protection obviously improves once you have.

What “Automatically Unfair” Means

Normally, you need 2 years of continuous service before you can bring an unfair dismissal claim. Pregnancy and maternity-related dismissal is an exception: it is automatically unfair regardless of how long you have worked for the employer.

This means:

• No 2-year service requirement
• No need to prove the wider fairness of the redundancy process — the dismissal is unfair by definition if pregnancy was the reason
• Compensation is uncapped (unlike standard unfair dismissal claims)

The Right to Priority Alternative Vacancies

This is one of the most powerful — and least known — rights. If a genuine redundancy situation arises during pregnancy or maternity leave, your employer must offer you any suitable available alternative vacancy before offering it to other at-risk employees.

This priority right means:

• If there is one suitable role available, it must be offered to you before anyone else
• Your employer does not need to interview you against other candidates for this role — they must offer it to you directly
• The role must be suitable — meaning on terms not substantially less favourable than your existing role

Failure to offer a suitable vacancy is automatically unfair dismissal — even if the redundancy itself was otherwise handled fairly.

When Does the Priority Vacancy Right Apply?

The priority applies during a protected period which runs:

The April 2024 extension is significant. Previously, protection ended at the end of maternity leave. Now it continues until 18 months after the expected week of childbirth — covering the return to work period when redundancy is often threatened.

Genuine Redundancy vs Unfair Selection

Redundancy itself is not unlawful — it is the reason for selection that matters.

A lawful redundancy during pregnancy must:

1. Be a genuine redundancy situation (reduced need for the work you do)
2. Use objective, pregnancy-neutral selection criteria (attendance records that exclude pregnancy-related absence, skills assessments, etc.)
3. Consult properly — including with you individually
4. Offer priority alternative vacancies before other employees

Indicators that redundancy may be unlawful:

• You were the only person selected, despite others having lower scores or less experience
• Selection happened shortly after you announced your pregnancy
• Your role was advertised again shortly after you left
• The selection criteria included factors affected by pregnancy (such as attendance records during pregnancy-related absence — this is not permitted)
• You were not consulted in the same way as other at-risk employees

Pregnancy-Related Absence Cannot Be Used Against You

Your employer cannot count pregnancy-related sickness absence against you in redundancy selection. Using pregnancy-related absence — morning sickness, ante-natal appointments, complications — as a selection criterion is automatically discriminatory.

If you were marked down in selection because of absence that was pregnancy-related, the selection is unlawful regardless of whether the employer knew the absence was pregnancy-related.

What to Do If You Are at Risk of Redundancy

Making an Employment Tribunal Claim

If you believe your redundancy was unlawful, you can make a claim to the Employment Tribunal. Before doing so, you must contact ACAS to start Early Conciliation — this is a legal requirement and pauses the time limit.

Time limits:

• The deadline is normally 3 months less one day from the date of dismissal
• For example, dismissed on 1 May 2026 → claim must be submitted by 31 July 2026 (or contact ACAS before this to pause the clock)
• This limit is strictly enforced — late claims are almost always rejected

Remedies Available

If your claim succeeds, a Tribunal can award:

For pregnancy discrimination claims under the Equality Act, there is no cap on compensation — unlike standard unfair dismissal claims which are capped at the statutory limit (£115,115 in 2026/27).

Key Takeaways

• Redundancy because of pregnancy is automatically unfair dismissal and discrimination — no minimum service required
• Genuine redundancy during pregnancy is lawful but must follow a fair, pregnancy-neutral process
• You have priority right to suitable alternative vacancies over all other at-risk employees
• Since April 2024, this protection extends to 18 months after the expected week of childbirth
• Pregnancy-related absence cannot be used in redundancy selection criteria
• Employment Tribunal time limit is 3 months less one day — do not delay
• Contact ACAS first and keep detailed records of everything