Pregnancy: Discrimination

(asked on 20th June 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to tackle maternity discrimination.


Answered by
Andrew Griffiths Portrait
Andrew Griffiths
This question was answered on 28th June 2018

The law is absolutely clear that pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace is unlawful. Government is tackling pregnancy and maternity discrimination in several ways.

Firstly, Government is working to increase awareness of individuals’ rights and employers’ obligations. We have made steady progress.

- ACAS published updated guidance in November, so that women and employers understand their rights and obligations better. Government also continues to support the Equality & Human Rights Commission’s Working Forward campaign on pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

- The MAT B1 form (the form which enables a pregnant woman to claim Statutory Maternity Pay from her employer or Maternity Allowance from Jobcentre Plus) has recently been updated to include a link to advice and guidance on employment rights for pregnant women and new mothers.

- The Government’s response to the Taylor Review of modern working practices committed to update and consolidate the pregnancy and maternity discrimination pages on GOV.UK by summer 2018.

Secondly, the Government has committed to review the legislation relating to redundancy protection and consider whether this is sufficient. This review is underway.

Thirdly, in terms of monitoring and enforcement, Government continues to fund both the ACAS helpline and the Equality Advisory and Support Service, which provide free advice in this area. Government will also monitor others’ findings (such as the recent EHRC work poll on employer attitudes) for any signs that interventions are starting to have an impact or changes in employers’ practices.

Reticulating Splines