On 22 July 2019, the Government announced that it has approved an extension to the protection of new parents facing redundancy.
Previously, only women on maternity leave had special protection in a redundancy situation; employers must offer them a suitable vacancy where one is available, giving them priority over other employees.
This new announcement extends that protection a further 6 months after a new mother returns to work and has been widened to include those taking adoption leave.
The Government is also developing similar protection for those employees returning from shared parental leave to ensure these employees receive proportionate protection.
Due to the short period of time fathers are on statutory paternity leave, the Government concluded that the redundancy protection would not extend to them, as the purpose of the protection is for those who have returned to work after a long period of absence.