Kirsten was made redundant on maternity leave. She didn’t realise it was perfectly legal
Exclusive: Kirsten Gilchrist had just put her baby down to sleep when she took a work call.
She was six months into a year-long maternity leave, with a newborn and toddler at home, blissfully unaware that a “massive” restructure at the office was about to impact her job.
Kirsten was at home with a newborn baby and a toddler when she was made redundant. Kirsten Gilchrist
“I got on a call mid-morning and was told that my role was restructured, and therefore I was made redundant,” Gilchrist told nine.com.au.
“I did feel blindsided… I didn’t expect it to happen to me while on maternity leave.”
Gilchrist felt alone in her baby bubble, unable to comprehend the sudden career U-turn.
The statistics say she isn’t alone.
One in five Australian mothers reported they were made redundant, restructured, dismissed or their contract was not renewed during either pregnancy or maternity leave.
An employer can lawfully make a role redundant during a person’s maternity leave as long as it is a genuine restructure or redundancy and that it meets guidelines around consultation and redeployment efforts.
Gilchrist earned a quick education in workplace law when she lost her job.
At first, she assumed redundancy during pregnancy or parental leave was unlawful.
“I think everyone has got the belief that you are almost shielded from being made redundant or whatever else while on maternity leave,” she said.
“When I was made redundant, the first thing people asked me was: ‘Is that even legal?’
“As it turns out, there are ways around it. It’s not a bulletproof vest.”
Lecturer at the Department of Business Law and Taxation at Monash University Dr Amanda Selvarajah said that while it is illegal to discriminate against someone for pregnancy or being a parent, some employers may disguise their reasons under the guise of redundancy or demotion.
“This makes successful claims difficult in practice aside from being time-consuming, costly and stressful to navigate, especially when you have recently had a new child,” she said.
“This all probably contributes to why such discrimination continues to happen in spite of what the law says.
“This is why positive legal protections such as strengthening the return to work guarantee for all parents returning from parental leave is so important.”
Nine.com.au is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of Gilchrist’s previous employer.
After realising it was indeed perfectly legal, the mother-of-two remembers wondering if it was the “human” thing to do.
With no job to return to, sick leave buffer or colleagues to support her, Gilchrist was thrust into a job hunt she hadn’t planned for.
She had lost her “safety net” and was forced to start from scratch.
Gilchrist was forced to rethink her career and apply for jobs while her baby was just a few months old. Kirsten Gilchrist
“I thought I would have the sick leave that you compile over the years, or the annual leave that you saved up and you didn’t take before going on leave sitting there waiting,” she said.
“All of a sudden that is gone, and you don’t know what’s next, that’s already scary enough and uncertain, but then you put on the layer of having two more mouths to feed and childcare to pay.”
Gilchrist wanted to connect with other mothers who had been made redundant during such a vulnerable time.
She scoured LinkedIn for similar stories but came up with nothing.
“I saw a lot of posts about redundancies, but I never saw a post about someone being on mat leave, or being pregnant,” she said.
“But I would run into other mothers on the street, and I’d tell them about it and they’d say, ‘Yeah, that happened to me too’.
“I just sort of realised, OK, I’m not the only one, which is also shocking.”
Gilchrist penned a candid LinkedIn post about her redundancy and was flooded with similar war stories.
Women from Australia, the US, New Zealand and Asia said they had lost their jobs whilst postpartum too.
“That was important … because when you are so isolated in your little baby bubble, and you all of a sudden don’t have a workplace any more, who else are you supposed to talk to?” she said.
“It was beautiful to see that there were so many others reaching out and saying thank you, I feel the same way, and I’m glad that I’m not the only one.”
It took Gilchrist four months to find a new full-time job.
She was able to stay afloat financially thanks to the advice from fellow mums, including to tap into the federal government’s subsidy which helps pay for childcare.
This supported her family with 12 extra weeks of subsidised care.
Other mums offered their own advice on how to copy with the sleepless nights and financial stress.
“I want to pay it forward now … because all of a sudden, with that help, I could sleep at night,” she added.
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