If you are made redundant while on adoption or Shared Parental Leave, you have special protection under the law. You must be offered a suitable vacancy if there is one available. The vacancy can be with either your employer or with any subsidiary or associate of your employer. The terms of the vacancy must be not significantly less favourable than your existing contract terms.

If a redundancy or restructuring takes place while you are on leave, your employer must consult with you, just as it must consult with affected employees who are still in the workplace.

In practice, before you go on leave, it is good idea to make sure there are clear lines of communication in place to make sure you can be reached by your employer, and to be proactive if, for example, you want to be considered for other roles in the context of redundancy (for example, a different shift pattern or reduced hours).