MPs are demanding urgent government action to tackle a “shocking and unacceptable” rise in workplace discrimination in the UK against expectant and new mothers over the last decade.
A report published by the women and equalities select committee called for Britain to put in place protection similar to that in Germany, where pregnant women can only be made redundant in certain circumstances.
The MPs also expressed concern for casual, agency and zero-hours workers, who they said were more likely to report risks to their health and safety, and more likely to leave their employer because of those risks not being resolved. The government should review the maternity and pregnancy rights of this group, they said.
The report, published on Wednesday, recommended individual risk assessments, to help reduce the number of women, 25%, who left their jobs because health and safety concerns regarding pregnancy and maternity were not met.
The committee chair, Maria Miller, said: “The arrival of a new baby puts family finances under extreme pressure yet, despite this, thousands of expectant and new mothers have no choice but to leave their work because of concerns about the safety of their child or pregnancy discrimination. Shockingly, this figure has almost doubled in the last decade, now standing at 54,000 each year.
“There are now record numbers of women in work in the UK. The economy will suffer unless employers modernise their workplace practices to ensure effective support and protection for expectant and new mums.”
She criticised the government’s response to its own findings in March, which showed that pregnancy discrimination, which is illegal, was worse now than in 2005.
“The government’s approach has lacked urgency and bite,” Miller said. “It needs to set out a detailed plan outlining the specific actions it will take to tackle this unacceptable level of discrimination. This work must be underpinned by concrete targets and changes to laws and protections to increase compliance by employers to improve women’s lives.”
Currently, 77% of pregnant women and new mothers experience discrimination at work, compared with 45% 10 years ago and 11% lost their jobs, according to the study by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission in March.
“We find it shocking that the number of new and expectant mothers feeling forced out of their job has nearly doubled in the past decade,” the report on Wednesday said. “It is difficult to accept the EHRC’s characterisation of this as solely an issue of misinterpretation of the law.”
The report recommended greater protections, including changes in the law, paid time off for antenatal appointments for all workers, and a reduction in the current fee of £1,200 to take a case to a tribunal, which discourages those discriminated against to seek justice.
In Germany, a dismissal ban prevents redundancies for pregnant employees except in rare cases, such as gross misconduct by the worker, or the employer getting into severe financial difficulties resulting in multiple job losses.
Pregnancy discrimination in the UK is present across all industries and income brackets, studies have found. However, differences do exist. For instance, those on low incomes tend to face discrimination when pregnant, while those on higher incomes tend to experience discrimination on their return to work.
A recent survey of Mumsnet users found a fifth of mothers had been asked at a job interview how they would manage childcare if they got the job.
Rosalind Bragg, the director of Maternity Action, who gave evidence to the committee, described the report as a roadmap to help tackle the issue.
Implementing its recommendations could “reverse the increase in discrimination” and move towards a situation where pregnancy discrimination was rare, she said.
Elizabeth Duff, a senior policy adviser for the National Childbirth Trust, said: “Women in the 21st century should never fear making the choice between having a career and a family. Action to address this mistreatment is long overdue.”
Catherine Rayner, of the Discrimination Law Association, told the committee the rise in the number of women in casual, agency and zero-hours work might be one reason for the doubling of discrimination.
“There are huge swaths of women, particularly in some of the caring industries, who are treated not as employees but as workers and therefore do not necessarily access the (same) rights.”
The birthrights organisation said poorer women were at the greatest risk of having a stillbirth, dying in childbirth or suffering complications.
“It is vital that the law protects these women – some of whom are in casual, agency work or on zero-hours contracts where they are unable to access protected time for vital antenatal appointments.
“If vulnerable women cannot attend antenatal appointments because of concerns about missing work, this may put them and their babies at serious risk.”
The EHRC’s deputy chair, Caroline Waters, said the commission was pleased the committee had adopted its recommendations to improve access to justice, “calling for an extension on the three-month time limit for tribunal claims, and tackling the barriers caused by high tribunal fees”.
In her response to the committee’s report, Business Minister Margot James stressed that discrimination in the workplace is illegal.
James said: “It is completely unacceptable that pregnant women and new mothers are apparently being forced to quit their jobs because of outdated attitudes.
“Tackling this issue is a key priority of mine and this government and I would like to thank the committee for its important work. We will consider its recommendations carefully and respond in due course.”
‘It came as a complete shock’
Rebecca Raven was sacked from her £21,000-a-year job teaching art at a private school after telling the headmistress she wanted to take maternity leave.
An employment tribunal later ruled that Raven, who was represented by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, had been unfairly dismissed by Howell’s School, in Denbigh, north Wales. In 2012 the school was ordered to pay Raven £34,000 in compensation, but she said that, so far, she hasn’t seen a penny.
The 36-year-old from Wrexham, who now runs her own business, said: “There is discrimination law and equality law, but employers are getting away with flouting it.”
She recalls being told by one of the school trustees that they did not want to “waste money on maternity pay”.
“I was very clued up. I had been previously self-employed and I knew my rights. But I was made to feel like a criminal. It came as a complete shock. When you are pregnant, you are emotional anyway, but the whole thing put me under a lot of pressure.”
She welcomed the report’s findings, in particular the recommendation for a reduction in tribunal fees, which have risen in recent years.
