Today's workplace is a landscape of shifting sands. Companies that we all thought of as secure are crumbling, and every day brings news of fresh redundancies.
So if you're on maternity leave and planning to go back to your job, it pays to still keep an eye on the workplace and know your rights.
Did you know that you can still be made redundant, even if you're on maternity leave? Many of us assume that this is not the case, but if your employer can prove that your role is redundant, then they can let you go. So don't assume that you are necessarily safe. A recession touches everyone.
A recent report in The Guardian claims that many more women are being targeted for redundancy during pregnancy or maternity leave than ever before.
How do you find out exactly what your rights are if you're on maternity leave? What happens if your employer wants to make you redundant?
Maternity Action (formerly The Maternity Alliance) is an independent charity which seeks to improve the rights of pregnant women and new mothers. It produces a range of useful factsheets outlining your rights at work and how to handle redundancy. You can download them from here.
This site gives the government's official take on this issue, with a comprehensive rundown of your maternity rights and all that you're entitled to.
And this report from Personnel Today is interesting because it's written by a solicitor, looking at this issue from the employer's point of view. If you want to know what your boss is thinking, check it out.
Did you lose your job when you were pregnant? Was your employer supportive when you were on maternity leave? Post your comment below.