The EAT has given its judgment in the case of a primary school teacher who returned from maternity leave and was allocated a year 2 class rather than a reception class which she had previously taught.
The teacher brought a claim under Regulation 18 Maternity and Parental Leave etc Regulations 1999, alleging that she had not been allowed to return from maternity leave to the “job in which she was employed before her absence”.
The EAT, agreeing with the Employment Tribunal, held that the jobs were the same. The EAT found that the teacher was employed as a primary school teacher both before and after her maternity leave. When considering whether an employee is returning to the same job the EAT found that it was necessary to take account of the nature, capacity and place of the ‘old job’ and the ‘new job’.
Blundell v St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School
