A new nursery manager was appointed last September subject to a six-month probationary period. She announced she was pregnant last November. Her performance has been poor. She has suffered from quite a lot of pregnancy-related issues and has had quite a lot of time off. Is it possible to extend her probationary period when she returns from her maternity leave?
It would pose legal risk to extend her maternity period on her return: she could argue that extending the probationary period is a detriment and/or less favourable treatment related to pregnancy. No comparator would be required, so the nursery could not rely on the defence that it was not treating her less favourably than a male employee in a similar situation who was, for example, off sick.
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