Inform an employee on maternity leave of a job vacancy

Key points

• Employers should ensure that employees who are on maternity leave are not disadvantaged when it comes to having the opportunity to apply for vacancies within the organisation.
• They should therefore consider putting in place a system of notifying employees on maternity leave of vacancies that arise. This might involve, for example, a regular general email rounding up all vacancies, or more personal contact from the employee's line manager where a vacancy in an area in which the employee is interested arises.
• If a suitably qualified employee who is on maternity leave wishes to apply for a vacancy, they are entitled to be considered for the position even though they may not be able to start the vacant post until their maternity leave ends.

XpertHR resources