Avoiding claims for pregnancy and maternity discrimination

The Equality and Human Rights Commission recently announced that it intends to investigate pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace. Pregnancy and maternity are protected characteristics covered under the Equality Act 2010, but discrimination often takes place in subtle ways. Would your staff realise that their actions might amount to unfavourable treatment? 

For example, a manager might decide not to ask a pregnant employee to attend staff training, which she would have attended had she not been pregnant. The manager may not have invited the employee because they thought it pointless if she was soon to commence maternity leave. Alternatively, this decision might have been out of concern for the employee’s health and wellbeing. Either way, the decision is likely to amount to unfavourable treatment because of her pregnancy. During pregnancy and maternity leave, a woman should be informed of any job vacancies or promotion or transfer opportunities, as well as any training and development opportunities; this can easily be overlooked. 

Women also face a potential struggle to retain the same job and responsibilities when they return to work and may be overlooked for promotion. A recent House of Commons survey found that 14% of the 340,000 women who stop work to have children find their jobs under threat when they return to work. 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has been given £1m by Maria Miller, the minister for women and equalities, to investigate just how bad this situation is. This follows on from a damning Slater & Gordon poll showing that many women were returning from maternity leave to worse jobs – or sometimes no job at all. 

To read a guide on pregnancy or maternity discrimination in the workplace, click here