Maternity rights at work, explained by an employment law expert

The recently reported case of Sarah Lindup, who worked for Manchester-based Bright HR, highlights that even HR companies can make expensive mistakes. Upon returning from maternity leave, she lost her former job in the web team sales department while she was on maternity leave in 2022. She had been earning about £65,000 a year before she left to have her daughter, but was given a role earning around £24,000 afterwards, the tribunal in Manchester heard.

The legal position is recorded in summary form by ACAS on the website. Your right to return to the same job as before depends on how much maternity leave you've taken.

The first 26 weeks of maternity leave are called 'ordinary maternity leave' under the law. You have the right to return to the same job after ordinary maternity leave. If you've taken more than 26 weeks, this is called 'additional maternity leave'.

If you use additional maternity leave, you still have the right to return to your job on the same terms as before you left. But if it's not possible because there have been significant changes to the organisation, you could be offered a similar job. In this case, the job cannot be on worse terms than before. For example, the following must be the same: pay, benefits, holiday entitlement, seniority, location of employment.

When considering the case, the panel found the maternity leave was "fundamental" to why she had not been able to return to her role, and found in her favour. They stated “on the balance of probabilities, the only conceivable reason for the sudden volte-face in the respondent's attitude towards the claimant, and the resulting massive loss of remuneration, was her maternity leave."

Employers need to recognise their obligations to their employees returning form maternity leave. Ms Lindup is now waiting for a remedy hearing, that will award her compensation for injury to feelings, loss of earnings and benefits and other losses that may be identified. Just also think about the reputational harm to the business operating in the HR field.