Hi there Sorry I have missed a few bits out owth regards to the other vacancies. They were on a lower scale but as I had a permenant contract I had salary and benefits protection for a year as long as I took a post which was no more than 2 scales below my current scale. My previous employers knew that we were looking for any alternaitve suitable jobs within that 2 scale range. I have found this further information which others may find useful or could confuse them more like me..... this came form a description of the Regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental etc Regulations 1999 "If there is a suitable vacancy, the employee enjoys the right to have it "ring fenced". She should not have to apply for the job - the entitlement is absolute and there should be no requirement for competition with internal or external applicants. She should not have to fill in application forms, forward her CV, attend assessment centres or demonstrate in any other way that she is the best candidate for the post. The priority applies where there is an appropriate opportunity, simply because of her circumstances. If a suitable alternative vacancy exists with the employer, its successor, or an associated employer, it must be offered to the employee. The post must be offered even if the woman is not as well qualified as others who face redundancy, is not the best candidate for the job and would not have been offered the job if she were competing with other employees who are also being made redundant. This can create dissatisfaction among other employees who do not share the priority status, but they would be unlikely to succeed in a claim of unfair dismissal as a result of losing out on alternative employment that has gone to a woman on maternity leave. It would, however, be advisable for an employer to be open and transparent about its obligations in this respect in the redundancy process, and to include an explanation of the reg. 10 duty in information provided for both collective and individual consultation." Interesting how i did not discover this information until after I was made redundant. I hope any other people who face this situation are finding the thread useful as it seems some employers are very much unaware of these rights and regulations The Badger and Telford& Wrekin council case is very similar to my circumstances..... Badger v Telford & Wrekin Council ET/1307836/09 This case is a reminder for employers that, even if they go through an otherwise fair redundancy process, they must ensure that employees on maternity leave are offered any suitable alternative employment that exists. Practical tips The council no doubt felt that it had acted fairly at the time of Ms Badger’s dismissal, but employers cannot use ignorance of the law as a defence against a tribunal claim. Employers must always be aware that it is not sufficient merely to alert a potentially redundant employee on maternity leave to suitable alternative vacancies - they have a positive obligation actually to offer the employee any such roles. If an employer does not do so, the employee’s dismissal will always be automatically unfair - whether or not the employer was aware of its legal obligations in this regard. Ms Badger was employed as a youth worker at the council, working with one other colleague on a particular scheme for students. The scheme was not a success, and over time Ms Badger and her colleague had been given other tasks to fill their working day. Ms Badger went on maternity leave in September 2008, but while she was on leave, the council determined that the scheme should be closed, and that this would result in the potential redundancy of Ms Badger and her colleague. The council therefore placed the two employees in a selection pool, and began a redundancy consultation process. The council’s letter inviting Ms Badger to her first redundancy consultation meeting did not state what the reason for that meeting was. At the meeting, the council advised Ms Badger that she could go on the council’s redeployment register to seek other work, which she did. However, although the council did notify Ms Badger of vacancies, at no point during the redundancy process did it offer any of those jobs to her. The council ultimately dismissed Ms Badger for redundancy and, after her appeal was not upheld, she brought a claim for unfair dismissal. The tribunal considered that, although the council had erred procedurally regarding the first consultation meeting with Ms Badger, it had cured that defect on appeal. The council’s evidence was that it had been unaware of its duty to offer Ms Badger, due to her maternity leave, a suitable alternative position. The council had simply given her standard advice to look for new jobs and apply for them. The tribunal found that the council took no action to establish if any of its vacancies were suitable for Ms Badger, and that it had given her the wrong advice, putting the onus on her rather than offering her a position. Given the council’s failure in this regard, the tribunal was particularly unimpressed by the council’s argument that none of those vacancies were suitable anyway. It therefore held that Ms Badger’s dismissal was unfair. No sure what your thoughts are around this or if you are aware of the case? I don't know what Ms Badger was awarded either - I would just like a job to return to after my maternity, especiallya s I live in an area with very high unemployment and limited industries/business I can see myself and my family slipping from being hardworking middle england to poverty If only I had known about this before.

Hi there Thanks for the reply. The Island is classed as mainland england so we are governed by the same laws as the rest of england. I can easily evidence that there were a number of suitable jobs as a couple of them were roles of a lesser scale/pay which I had previously worked in anyway, so that would be fairly straight forward. I forgot to mention that I pulled out of the interview on one post due to the fact that I was pregnant/on maternioty and felt that my chances would be hindered - I have this in writing to a senior manager also! Could you expand a bit about the sex discrimination element as the main focus of the tribunal would come under unfair dismissal due to them not following the correct laws around section 10. I was made redundnant on the grounds that central government withdrew the funding for our project and my pregnancy/maternity would've had no bearing on the removal of my post. It would eb most helpful thanks Thanks so much again!

Hi there Was wondering if anyone with any kind of ET experience could help? I was made redundant at the end of July - was employed by the local Council. The funding ended for our project and as a result the whole of our team were up for redundancy. I was then made redundant during the first week of my maternity leave. I enterted into the redeployment pool as was everyone else and sent a weekly bulletin of jobs and told to apply for any I fancied. I only ahd a 3 week window and everyone else had 4 weeks as I was the only one going on to maternity. From what I now understand is that due to part 10 of an act I should've automatically been assigned into a suitable position from when I was on maternity leave. This was not told to me and nether was it an option. I highlighted 2 jobs through redeployment but was made to go to interview ( again I believe I should've had preferential treatment as I was on maternity leave??). It would seem that my employer has breached the law around maternity leave and offering an alternative suitable position. I have come across a recent case where the claimiant was in exactly the same position as me and took her ocuncil to court and won, thus a preceeding case is there. See Badger v Teford and Wrekin Council for thorough case. Now my dilemma is , it seems I have a strong case for unfair dismissal. At the time I was unaware of this, HR told me nothin of this and now I am suffering financial hardship. My local council also have a clause which states that anyone made redundant is unable to take up a fresh position within the local authority for a minimum period of 2 years. As I live on an island with few employers , high and seasonal employment, this really hinders my chances of finding another job locally once my maternity ends in April. I may have to move and relocate! Had they followed the correct procedures an offered me alternative employment things would be very different for me now! The problem is 4 days after I was officially made redundant and 11 days after my maternity leave started I had my daughter via c-section. Iwas really out of action for a number of weeks and also following this suffered with anxiety. It is only now - 17 weeks down the line that I feel able to challenge the way I have been treated by the authority and take soem action. Unfortunately I have missed the 3 month deadline ofr lodging a claim with the employment Tribunal. I have heard their deadlies are very strict, though on the website it states that in certain circumstances late applications may be considered. I just wanted advice on whether anyone else has had experience with a late ET and also whether people think I should waste my time persuing it fi i am to be shot down at the first hurdle? I know if I get past this then I will have a strong case! Another thing which ahs made me extra cross is that they are now making huge cuts across the whole authority and a friend of mine who is also about to go on maternity, is in the same situation I was and is being treated the same. HR seem to not know the law and niether did my union rep. I have been supporting her with my knowledge and experience but now feel cross that they should be allowed to add extra stress a time when support is needed and also think they are beyond the law Any advice , help , support or constructive criticism most welcome. Thanking you all in advance

Just wondering how we donate to the site?

Just wondering how we donate to the site?

Well we went to court today for our hearing and reqeusted that the judge suspend the posession order and basically he laughed the mortgage companys legal rep out of court!!! The solicitor stood there with completely the wrong figures ( luckily our statement from jan - may came through in time) and when the judge asked how much we were in arears the solicitor siad contractually 1 month ( going off the payment being due on the 1st which it isn't as theya greed the 25th of each month) but technically nothing????!!! The judge asked who the lending company were becasue on one document it says db mortgages and then the rest say wave lending ( who are wave ledning we have never heard of them). It was so funny becasue by the end of it their solicitor was seeming to be defending my case??!!! The judge upheld the suspended order as long as payment is recieved bythe 1st of the following month!!! Hurrah we stuffed the other side who had no real case and completely no defence!!! Thanks so much to Ell-enn -she was brilliant as always! Our advice to everyone is to keep records of eveything, get everything in writing and don't be afraid to go to court - it's not as bad as it seems! As long as you can prove you can pay or your circumstances are going to change in the immediate future you have something to fight with The judge was very nice and he even said that he was lookign to suspend the order from the start anyway as we put such a great defence statement across ( again thanks to Ell-enn).

Well we went to court today for our hearing and reqeusted that the judge suspend the posession order and basically he laughed the mortgage companys legal rep out of court!!! The solicitor stood there with completely the wrong figures ( luckily our statement from jan - may came through in time) and when the judge asked how much we were in arears the solicitor siad contractually 1 month ( going off the payment being due on the 1st which it isn't as theya greed the 25th of each month) but technically nothing????!!! The judge asked who the lending company were becasue on one document it says db mortgages and then the rest say wave lending ( who are wave ledning we have never heard of them). It was so funny becasue by the end of it their solicitor was seeming to be defending my case??!!! The judge upheld the suspended order as long as payment is recieved bythe 1st of the following month!!! Hurrah we stuffed the other side who had no real case and completely no defence!!! Thanks so much to Ell-enn -she was brilliant as always! Our advice to everyone is to keep records of eveything, get everything in writing and don't be afraid to go to court - it's not as bad as it seems! As long as you can prove you can pay or your circumstances are going to change in the immediate future you have something to fight with The judge was very nice and he even said that he was lookign to suspend the order from the start anyway as we put such a great defence statement across ( again thanks to Ell-enn).

went to the courts this morning and they have put the case forward to monday 18th at 10.30 am a little too close to the actual eviction date but at least we'll know either way!!!

went to the courts this morning and they have put the case forward to monday 18th at 10.30 am a little too close to the actual eviction date but at least we'll know either way!!!

I just said i was taking it back to court tomorrow (they don't know that a judge is available). I went in dec and then for the 2nd time in january as the order was suspended until the 16 th of jan on the proviso that jans payment was made so in short yes but am more nervous this time as its the 3rd time and am thinking the judge is going to get fed up seeing this case!!

I just said i was taking it back to court tomorrow (they don't know that a judge is available). I went in dec and then for the 2nd time in january as the order was suspended until the 16 th of jan on the proviso that jans payment was made so in short yes but am more nervous this time as its the 3rd time and am thinking the judge is going to get fed up seeing this case!!

Hi Ell-enn have just spoken to DB and asked them about they payments etc and the arrears also spoke about why iwas charged 2 lots of litigation fees for the last court date when their rep didn't show and rightly or wrongly told them that i was presenting my case to the courts for a suspension. Was this o.k??? (He did ask on what grounds but i declined to elaborate). To be honest i don't know wether i'm coming or going just walking around in a daze! Many thanks once again for all your help.

Hi Ell-enn have just spoken to DB and asked them about they payments etc and the arrears also spoke about why iwas charged 2 lots of litigation fees for the last court date when their rep didn't show and rightly or wrongly told them that i was presenting my case to the courts for a suspension. Was this o.k??? (He did ask on what grounds but i declined to elaborate). To be honest i don't know wether i'm coming or going just walking around in a daze! Many thanks once again for all your help.

Hi Ell-enn went to the courts this afternoon and they said i was too late to put the form in today and will have to present the statement etc tomorrow at 10 am grrrr!!! they have said there will be a judge available tomorrow or next tuesday. I am however confident that DB's solicitors will not be able to attend if its tomorrow (but i will still be charged for this) then i believe the case will be adjourn???(If i remember correctly). So hopefully things will be sorted in 1 way or another tomorrow!!??

Hi Ell-enn went to the courts this afternoon and they said i was too late to put the form in today and will have to present the statement etc tomorrow at 10 am grrrr!!! they have said there will be a judge available tomorrow or next tuesday. I am however confident that DB's solicitors will not be able to attend if its tomorrow (but i will still be charged for this) then i believe the case will be adjourn???(If i remember correctly). So hopefully things will be sorted in 1 way or another tomorrow!!??

THanks again Ell-enn you are truly brilliant!! THe statementis fantastic and you are a credit to this site and an asset to all its users. Its a shame that we cannot sue these companys for the stress and emotional abuse they inflict on people. We will have to pay an additional £500 in their legal fees grrrrrrr just to add pain to injury

THanks again Ell-enn you are truly brilliant!! THe statementis fantastic and you are a credit to this site and an asset to all its users. Its a shame that we cannot sue these companys for the stress and emotional abuse they inflict on people. We will have to pay an additional £500 in their legal fees grrrrrrr just to add pain to injury

Hi Ell-enn thanks so much again for this. Do you think the judge will look favourably as we have paid a substantial amount towards the mortgage, the arrears are coming down and we have ( apart from their awkwardness) kept to the arrangement? Also we have noticed that this company are charging us a £50 per month arrears management fee and 91.09 per month on the interest!! gosh !!

Hi Ell-enn thanks so much again for this. Do you think the judge will look favourably as we have paid a substantial amount towards the mortgage, the arrears are coming down and we have ( apart from their awkwardness) kept to the arrangement? Also we have noticed that this company are charging us a £50 per month arrears management fee and 91.09 per month on the interest!! gosh !!

Hi there I have the original order here and there is no official payment date as such it just says 'from 1st Feb 2009'. We agreed with DB to change the date to the 25th of each month after Febs payment went missing in the banking world!! It was a cash payment of £1650 and it was actually paid on 15th feb as we had to wait 14 business days for db's payment slips to come through. This was after they refused to take payment via debit card because i failed the ID check!!! They refused to allow me to set up a direct debit for this account as well!! The cash payment went missing as barclasy would not issue a receipt and we had to find it in Barclays system. We kept in contact with the company throughout all this and paid the payment as soon as we could. Db were happy through this whole process!! Payments should be monthly payment of £1399.20 plus an additional £250 per month, so just under £1650 per month. we have paid £6600 to DB in total so far!

Hi there I have the original order here and there is no official payment date as such it just says 'from 1st Feb 2009'. We agreed with DB to change the date to the 25th of each month after Febs payment went missing in the banking world!! It was a cash payment of £1650 and it was actually paid on 15th feb as we had to wait 14 business days for db's payment slips to come through. This was after they refused to take payment via debit card because i failed the ID check!!! They refused to allow me to set up a direct debit for this account as well!! The cash payment went missing as barclasy would not issue a receipt and we had to find it in Barclays system. We kept in contact with the company throughout all this and paid the payment as soon as we could. Db were happy through this whole process!! Payments should be monthly payment of £1399.20 plus an additional £250 per month, so just under £1650 per month. we have paid £6600 to DB in total so far!

Sorry just nocitced - the mortgage is in my name though I live with my partner and she is contributing!

Sorry just nocitced - the mortgage is in my name though I live with my partner and she is contributing!

Hi Ell-enn You are a god send and we will be donating after all this stress has gone! hopefully it will go he right way! Well I am just collating all the payment evidence now - I have just downloaded bank statements and have found old mortgage statements so hopefully this will do. Payment of £1650 on 4/01/2009 ( went in on the 4th due to xmas and new year!) Next payment was made on 1st Feb 2009 via cash but went missing through the banking system so we had to put a track on it!!! We continually communicated with this company throughout all of this! 03/03/2009 £1500 went into their account and then a payment of £150. 31/03/2009 £1600 went into the account ( due to bank finally finding payment we made 2 payments in March!!) 30/04/2009 £1700 went into DB mortgages account. We have a 7 year old and also my disabled brother-in-law lives with us too. I spoke to someone at the law centre today and they said that they cannot believe how unreasonable, difficult and inconsistant this company are. Do you think the judge will side with them? We can and are affording the payments we are just victims of the mortgage companies difficulties and banking processes. thanks again ell-enn

Hi Ell-enn You are a god send and we will be donating after all this stress has gone! hopefully it will go he right way! Well I am just collating all the payment evidence now - I have just downloaded bank statements and have found old mortgage statements so hopefully this will do. Payment of £1650 on 4/01/2009 ( went in on the 4th due to xmas and new year!) Next payment was made on 1st Feb 2009 via cash but went missing through the banking system so we had to put a track on it!!! We continually communicated with this company throughout all of this! 03/03/2009 £1500 went into their account and then a payment of £150. 31/03/2009 £1600 went into the account ( due to bank finally finding payment we made 2 payments in March!!) 30/04/2009 £1700 went into DB mortgages account. We have a 7 year old and also my disabled brother-in-law lives with us too. I spoke to someone at the law centre today and they said that they cannot believe how unreasonable, difficult and inconsistant this company are. Do you think the judge will side with them? We can and are affording the payments we are just victims of the mortgage companies difficulties and banking processes. thanks again ell-enn