Academy of Social Sciences made worker redundant while on maternity leave
Alicia was told on a video call that her job was redundant while on parental leave.
Alicia was holding her four-month-old baby at home when she was told on a video call that her job would be made redundant. Alicia was on parental leave from the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.
The redundancy cut her paid maternity leave short by one month. The academy made four of its nine staff redundant and cut others to part-time hours after reporting a deficit of about $400,000.
The organisation said the changes followed the end of fixed-term funded projects. Staff say the process lacked proper consultation and did not consider redeployment options.
Alicia said the treatment felt harsh and did not reflect the academy's stated values of duty of care toward employees.
- 4 of 9
- Staff made redundant
- 1 month
- Maternity leave cut short
- $400,000
- Financial deficit
- September 21 to 25
- Process timeline
Why it mattersThe case raises questions about whether organisations owe extra protection to employees on parental leave and highlights pressure on non-profit funding.
AustraliaThe Academy of Social Sciences receives government funding and serves more than 750 social sciences researchers across Australia. The redundancies may affect research projects and undermine Australia's social sciences capacity.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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