Surrogacy 




Birth mothers under a surrogacy arrangement are protected from sex, pregnancy and maternity discrimination and are entitled to the full range of statutory maternity rights, whatever happens to the child after birth.



Only a biological mother can claim pregnancy discrimination. The EU Pregnancy Directive does not protect women who do not give birth, even if they breastfeed straight after birth (CD v ST [2014] IRLR 551 CJEU, Z v A Government Department C-363/12). 


Qualifying surrogate parents in the UK have specific rights under the Children and Families Act 2014, including rights to time off, adoption leave and pay, explained in Chapter 9.




Same-sex partners have the same leave and pay rights as heterosexual couples having a child through surrogacy. It would be sexual orientation discrimination to treat them less favourably.



Unions have led the campaign for proper rights for surrogate parents. The case of CD v ST (above) was supported by public services union UNISON.