![[Basket]](images/basket.png){kind=small}
Your order![[cover image]](images/issue/BK201905.jpg)
Pregnancy or maternity
[ch 7: pages 218-219]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 (such as a job applicant or agency worker), the period from the start of a pregnancy until two weeks after it ends (section 18(6), EA 10).
Employers cannot lawfully justify pregnancy or maternity discrimination under any circumstances (Webb v EMO Cargo (UK) Limited [1994] IRLR 482).
Only pregnant women or women on maternity leave are protected from pregnancy and maternity discrimination under the EA 10.
See page 225: Direct pregnancy and maternity discrimination, See also page 411 for information on rights during redundancy.
British employers living in the dark ages
EHRC research published in February 2018 revealed shocking levels of 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 a woman should have to work for an organisation for a year before having children.
This research coincided with the wide-ranging Fawcett Society Sex Discrimination Law Review which made a series of important recommendations. A copy of the review is available on the charity’s website. The 2016 Pregnancy and Maternity Inquiry by the Women and Equalities Parliamentary Sub-Committee also uncovered "shocking workplace discrimination" and called for urgent action.
The EHRC is attempting to persuade employers to change their culture on a voluntary basis, through its Working Forward campaign.
Campaigners such as Maternity Action have called, in particular, for statutory duties on employers to report their maternity retention statistics on an annual basis, as a way of shaming UK employers into improving their abysmal record.
https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=e473a103-28c1-4a6c-aa43-5099d34c0116
LRD Booklet: Supporting pregnant workers — a union rep’s guide (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=BK&iss=1838)