We are currently in a redundancy situation and have been meeting with staff in one part of our business where 15 jobs are at risk. One of those positions is held by a lady who is currently on maternity leave. ( hers is a field position outwith the main office) We have already met with her to inform her her job is at risk. Unfortunately the next step is to tell her that her position will be redundant unless an alternative can be found and this is the difficult bit.
Her maternity leave does not end until March- her redundancy would take effect at the end of her leave.
She has indicated that she may be looking to do something different and may be interested in part time, but not formally as she is still unsure.
Due to another maternity situation, a position needs to filled in the office. I know that this lady will be interested in it. I also know that she is not the right person for the job. What’s more we cannot wait until she makes up her mind as to what she would like to do. The position is a key one and needs to be filled asap.
What are my options here? Can we ask her to apply for the job and go through an interview? If we applied the same principle to all the redundancy candidates who are interested in alternatives,would that make the process fair? can we turn her down on the grounds that she does not have the skills to do the job? I’d be interested to hear what you think
fiona fritz