An employee who is on shared parental leave and who is at risk of redundancy is legally entitled to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists before it is offered to other employees (including those who are also at risk of redundancy).
For employees who are on shared parental leave, and who have not taken maternity or adoption leave, this additional protection lasts until either:
- The end of the shared parental leave, where this is less than six weeks in duration; or
- 18 months from the date of the child’s birth, where this is more than six weeks in duration.
The alternative role should in all cases be offered before the end of the original contract and begin the day immediately following the day on which their original contract comes to an end. The new post must be suitable and appropriate for the employee in the circumstances and the new contractual provisions must not be substantially less favourable than those of the previous contract.