Can an employee who is pregnant or on maternity leave be made redundant?

Yes. However, absences related to pregnancy or maternity leave should never negatively affect an employee’s selection criteria score. Similarly, it is automatically unfair to select an employee for redundancy because she is pregnant or on maternity leave.

Also, women on maternity leave who have been selected for redundancy have a statutory entitlement to be given priority above any other employee (even where others are more qualified or experienced) to be offered any suitable alternative vacancies. For more detail on maternity and redundancy see the joint Acas & EHRC guide Managing redundancy for pregnant employees or those on maternity leave here: https://www.acas.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-03/managing-redundancy-for-pregnant-employees-or-those-on-maternity-leave.pdf