Report calls for better safeguards for expectant mothers, amid ‘shocking’ rise in workplace discrimination
A new parliamentary report is calling for better protection for pregnant workers, as the number of women leaving their jobs because of concerns about the safety of their child or pregnancy discrimination has reached 54,000 per year.
The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) report, Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination (pdf), features several recommendations for ensuring a safe working environment for new and expectant mothers, and to prevent discrimination.
“Employers should be required to undertake an individual risk assessment when they are informed that a woman who works for them is pregnant, has given birth in the past six months, or is breastfeeding,” said the report.
“Such a requirement would help employers to provide a safe working environment and would not be a great burden. We are not convinced that the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) recommended approach of encouraging employers to have conversations with women about risks is robust enough.”
Other recommendations in the WEC report include extending the right to paid time off for antenatal appointments to all workers, and giving more baby-related rights to casual, agency and zero-hour staff who have served a period of continuous employment.
The committee also called for the government to increase protections so new and expectant mothers could be made redundant only in certain circumstances, similar to laws already in place in Germany. It also urged for a reduction in tribunal fees and a review of the three-month time limit for bringing claims for maternity and pregnancy discrimination.
Currently, it can cost up to £1,200 to bring a tribunal claim, which the TUC says is one of the reasons why just one per cent of women who are discriminated against by their employer bring a tribunal claim.
WEC chair Maria Miller said the treatment of working mothers-to-be was “shocking. The government’s approach has lacked urgency and bite. It needs to set out a detailed plan outlining the specific actions it will take to tackle this unacceptable level of discrimination. This work must be underpinned by concrete targets and changes to laws and protections to increase compliance by employers to improve women’s lives.”
The report follows an inquiry sparked by data from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the EHRC, which revealed that the number of pregnant women who felt forced out of work has doubled over the past decade.
Professor Caroline Gatrell from Lancaster University Management School, said the committee’s report was “long overdue, as is government action to turn these ‘paper tiger’ maternity policies into legislation with bite.
“A chasm exists between anti-discrimination promises made within policy, and the everyday experiences of pregnant workers. Pregnancy discrimination is commonplace and it occurs regardless of occupational status,” she added.
Half of respondents to the survey reported that pregnancy had had a negative impact on their career, such as being given duties at a lower level. Around 20 per cent of women surveyed said they had experienced harassment or negative comments related to pregnancy; 11 per cent reported being either dismissed, or made compulsorily redundant where others in their workplace were not, or treated so poorly that they felt they had to leave; and 10 per cent said that their employer had discouraged them from attending antenatal classes.
Laura Harrison, people and strategy director at the CIPD, said: “It’s inexcusable that discrimination against pregnant women at work is still a problem in the UK. Besides the damage this discrimination causes to women’s self-confidence and earnings potential, there’s a resultant loss of value for employers – not just in terms of talent but possibly also of the engagement of women.
“The consequence of this loss of talent and engagement to the UK economy is obvious. We know the economy will only reach its potential when it builds and sustains opportunities for women to be as economically active as men,” she added.
Business minister Margot James said tackling this “illegal” issue is a key priority for the government, and they will consider the recommendations.
Last week, research from Citizens Advice revealed that the number of women seeking advice on discrimination because of maternity and maternity leave issues had increased by almost 60 per cent in just a year,. The most common issues connected to maternity leave that the charity dealt with included people being made redundant and reductions in hours, including being moved to zero-hours contracts.