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Pregnancy or maternity
[ch 7: pages 206-207]Under section 18, EA 10, it is unlawful to treat a woman unfavourably during the “protected period”:
• because of her pregnancy;
• because of a pregnancy-related illness;
• because she is on compulsory maternity leave; or
• because she has taken, or asked to take, ordinary or additional maternity leave.
The “protected period” is:
• for a woman who qualifies for maternity leave, the period from the start of the pregnancy to the end of the woman’s maternity leave; and
• for a woman who does not qualify for maternity leave (for example a job applicant or an agency worker), the period from the start of the pregnancy until two weeks after the end of the pregnancy (section 18(6), EA 10).
Employers are not allowed to justify pregnancy or maternity discrimination under any circumstances (Webb v EMO Cargo (UK) Limited [1994] IRLR 482).
See page 214: Direct pregnancy and maternity discrimination and also page 398 for information on rights during redundancy.
British employers living in the dark ages
New EHRC research findings, published in February 2018, have revealed entrenched pregnancy and maternity discrimination in UK workplaces, based on a survey of 1,106 senior private sector decision-makers. Among the findings:
• over a third of employers think it is reasonable to ask a woman during recruitment about their future plans to have children; six out of 10 think a woman should have to disclose whether she is pregnant during the recruitment process;
• nearly half think it is appropriate to ask during recruitment whether she has young children; and
• 44% believe that a woman should have to work for an organisation for a year before having children.
This research coincides with the Fawcett Society’s 2018 Sex Discrimination Law Review (page 208). The review calls for the protected period under section 18, EA 10 (see page 214) to be extended to six months after maternity or parental leave, and to cover employees on Shared Parental Leave. The review also recommends that pregnancy harassment should be expressly outlawed by section 26, EA 10 to send a clear message that it is never acceptable.
For further information see the LRD booklet: Supporting pregnant workers — a union rep’s guide, September 2016 (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=BK&iss=1838)