Pregnancy and maternity discrimination
24 July 2019
The Government has made a number of commitments in its response to the consultation on extending redundancy protection for pregnant women and new parents.
The consultation on extending redundancy protection for pregnant women and new parents ran from the end of January to 5 April 2019 and invited views on ways of achieving additional protection from redundancy for those returning from maternity and other forms of parental leave, and creating a more consistent approach to pregnant mothers and those on maternity leave.
In its response the Government commits to:
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Ensure the redundancy protection period applies from the point the employee informs the employer that she is pregnant, whether orally or in writing;
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Extend the redundancy protection period for six months once a new mother has returned to work. We expect that this period will start immediately once maternity leave is finished;
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Extend redundancy protection into a period of return to work for those taking adoption leave following the same approach as the extended protection being provided for those returning from maternity leave – it will be for six months; extend redundancy protection into a period of return to work for those taking shared parental leave, taking account of the following key principles and issues:
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the key objective of this policy is to help protect pregnant women and new mothers from discrimination
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the practical and legal differences between shared parental leave and maternity leave mean that it will require a different approach
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the period of extended protection should be proportionate to the amount of leave and the threat of discrimination
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a mother should be no worse off if she curtails her maternity leave and then takes a period of Shared Parental Leave
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the solution should not create any disincentives to take Shared Parental Leave
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Establish a taskforce of employer and family representative groups. The taskforce will make recommendations on what improvements can be made to the information available to employers and families on pregnancy and maternity discrimination. It will also develop an action plan on what steps Government and other organisations can take to make it easier for pregnant women and new mothers to stay in work.
We shall keep you updated as work progresses in this area. The summary of responses to the consultation can be accessed below.
Pregnancy and maternity discrimination consultation: government response