Q: We have an employee on maternity leave. There’s a possibility we may need to make her role redundant while she is on leave. She is covered by an award. What are our obligations given we are a small business with fewer than 15 employees?

A: Generally, you can lawfully effect a redundancy during a period of parental leave so long as the fact that the employee is on parental leave has no influence on the decision to make them redundant. If there is a comparable role that is vacant, you will be obliged to offer employment in that role.

Please note: The answer is correct at the time of publishing. Be aware that laws may change over time. Refer to Parental leave for current advice.