About pregnancy discrimination

30,000 women a year loose their jobs as a result of becoming pregnant.  This is illegal discrimination. 
It is against the law for an employee to be dismissed or given worse working conditions because they are pregnant or on maternity leave. The protection applies from the first day of employment. In some circumstances women are entitled to special protection, for example protection from dismissal due to pregnancy related absence.

During the recession, where we will see an increase in redundancies across the board, Fawcett is increasingly worried that this figure will go up. Working Families – which has a helpline for those balancing work and families – has already found an increase in cases, and have said that they are alarmed by the number of cases of discrimination against pregnant women and those on maternity leave.

Recession is no excuse for pregnancy discrimination. It remains illegal to discriminate against a woman because she is pregnant or on maternity leave.

Fawcett will be joining with other organisations to call on the Government to publicly state its commitment to preventing pregnancy discrimination at work during the recession and to reassert that making a woman redundant because she is pregnant, on, or returning from maternity leave is illegal and will not be tolerated.
Pregnancy discrimination is one of the many problems which mothers face which is why its one of the key issues in our Keeping Mum campaign.

Currently in the UK, having a child puts women at risk of moving into poverty.

Mums are at greater risk of poverty in the UK than in any other western European country.

The reason?

From the moment they conceive a child, women face immediate financial penalties - thousands lose their jobs, and many more face disadvantage and reduced opportunities in the workplace.

After having a child, many mums become trapped in part-time, low-paid and low-status work. They are more likely to be in insecure jobs as temps or homeworkers.
Despite the evidence, the Government's strategy to end child poverty does not recognise the gendered nature of poverty.

The solution

We are calling on the Government to introduce:

Protection: A ban on the dismissal of pregnant women, to tackle discrimination head-on. 50% of pregnant women experience some form of discrimination. But in practice, the vast majority of these women don’t have access to legal redress – so the law needs to be strengthened.

Fair Pay: Increasing maternity entitlements to the same level as the minimum wage, to provide a decent income for new mothers.

Support: Increasing the number of hours mothers can work without losing their benefits from four to sixteen. This would remove the risks associated with accessing work for mothers.