hours cut while on maternity leave-options?

[joeclogs]

My wife is on maternity leave at the moment. She was on a fixed term contract that is due to finish on the 31-December. Her employer (a state body) have renewed her contract to June 2009 but changed the terms and conditions. She is being offered 2 and a half days per week. This reduction in working hours also applied to a number of other contract staff. Her maternity benefit is worth €280 per week which the employer keeps and then pays her a full salary (about €520 per week).
Her salary for the 2 and half days will be €260 per week. Her understanding is that she will receive the €280 of the maternity benefit and no more once the new contract comes into effect on the 1st of January. However she feels that she is being discriminated against. If she was not on maternity she would receive her €260 + be entitled to unemployment assistance for the other 2 and a half days (approximately €100) so she would come out with approx €360 per week. Is she being discriminated against because she is on maternity and what can she do?

 

[Diziet]

She would not be entitled to unemployment assistance if she is not available for work, so this example does not work.

It must be a pain to take the drop in salary, but unless being chosen for reduced hours was discriminatory in itself (and you imply it was not), then can you define how the employer discriminated?