Lawyer – Legal – Attorney

What is pregnancy and maternity discrimination?

The Sex Discrimination Act specifically prohibits discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity leave.

Discrimination on these grounds is deemed to be automatically discriminatory on the grounds of sex without the need to provide a male comparator. A male comparator (actual or hypothetical) is used in other sex discrimination cases to test whether a man would have been treated more favourably in similar circumstances.

This protection exists during what is called the ?protected period? from conception to the end of statutory maternity leave.

Who is covered?

Women are protected by the Sex Discrimination Act where they are:

? A job applicant
? An employee
? A worker
? Self-employed and personally providing a service

What is covered?

The Sex Discrimination Act?s provisions for pregnancy and maternity cover all areas of employment, including, but not limited, to:

? Recruitment
? Promotion
? Training
? Redundancy selection
? Additional protection for employees

The Employment Rights Act and the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations also give employees (not other workers) additional protection. This legislation makes dismissal automatically unfair if it is due to an employee?s pregnancy or maternity leave. Subjecting a woman to any other detriment due to her pregnancy or maternity leave is unlawful.

Different types of pregnancy and maternity discrimination

Pregnancy and maternity discrimination arises where a woman is treated less favourably on the grounds of her:

? Pregnancy or pregnancy-related illness.
? Exercising, seeking to exercise, or having exercised or sought to exercise, the statutory right to maternity leave.
? Complying with the law prohibiting her working during compulsory maternity leave.

Women are also protected from unfair dismissal and detriment for reasons connected to:

? A failure to return after maternity leave when the employer had not notified her of her return date
? Working or refusing to work on keeping in touch days.
? A requirement or recommendation for a health and safety reason (where a woman is suspended for this reason, it must be on full pay).
? Being made redundant during the statutory maternity leave period and not being offered an existing suitable alternative vacancy.

Workplace rights for pregnant women and new mothers

Pregnant women and new mothers have specific workplace rights. It is important that employers and employees understand these rights. If an employer fails to observe these rights they may face an Employment Tribunal claim for unlawful sex discrimination and/or unfair dismissal.

Health and safety (pregnancy)

Employers must make suitable and sufficient health and safety assessments of the risks pregnant employees face at work.

Ante-natal appointments

All pregnant employees – regardless of hours worked or length or service – have a statutory right to paid time off for ante-natal care.

Maternity leave

All employees are entitled to one year?s statutory maternity leave regardless of length of service.

Keeping in touch

Employees are now entitled to work for their employer during maternity leave for up to 10 days without bringing that leave to an end.

Maternity pay

Statutory maternity pay is now 39 weeks for those who qualify. Contracts of employment may provide for more generous terms and/or payments.

Compulsory maternity leave

All employees must take a minimum two weeks? maternity leave from the day of birth.

Pay and benefits

A woman may bring a sex discrimination and/or detriment claim if, as a result of maternity leave, she is denied benefit of the terms and conditions to which she is entitled (including pay rises, promotion and bonuses).

Holiday

Statutory paid annual leave (5.6 weeks) continues to accrue during ordinary maternity leave and additional maternity leave.

Health and safety after maternity leave

Employers must make suitable and sufficient assessment of the health and safety risks for new and breastfeeding mothers.

Breastfeeding

Employers must provide adequate rest and meal breaks and suitable rest facilities for breastfeeding mothers (not toilets).

Flexible working requests

All employees with a child under 16 have the right to request flexible working. Employers must give proper consideration to the request using the required statutory procedures.

Written reasons for dismissal

Regardless of their length of service, employees dismissed when they are pregnant or on maternity leave are entitled to receive written reasons for their dismissal without having to request them.

Unfair dismissal

It is automatically unfair to dismiss a female employee or select her for redundancy due to pregnancy or maternity. There is no minimum qualifying service period.

Redundancy

Employees on maternity leave have special protection from redundancy. Where a redundancy situation means it is not practical to continue to employ a woman on maternity leave under her existing contract of employment, she must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy and is given priority over and above any another employee who is also at risk of redundancy but not on maternity leave. This can be with an associated company. The terms and conditions must not be substantially less favourable than those of the previous contract. This preferential treatment over other employees is a rare example of lawful positive discrimination.

For more help and advice on pregnancy and maternity discrimination contact your local martin searle solicitors? by visiting www.ms-solicitors.co.uk or calling Brighton (01273) 609911 or Croydon (0208) 356 4490.

---

martin searle solicitors? employment lawyers have a flexible and pragmatic approach and are committed to helping businesses implement policies and procedures to ensure that relationship runs smoothly. Employees and employers looking for more information about Employment Law or to speak with human resources consultants please visit: http://ms-solicitors.co.uk/

Related Videos :

• The Top Ten Weird Dismissals Of Cricket
  NOTICE:: This video was made before Kevin Pietersen' s ' helmet' dissmissal. So stop telling me that i should have put it in…. Cricket Australia England West Indies Soccer Wicket Run Out Bowled LBW India From: lorib61 Views: 11490 7 ratings Time: 01:08 More in Sports view video »
• Maternity Clothes Maternity Swimwear
  Maternity swimwear is great for summer pregnancies. Learn more about the best maternity swimwear with tips from a pregnancy expert in this free video on maternity clothes. Expert: Roxanne Beckford Contact: www.onehotmama.com Bio: Roxanne Beckford and husband Bob Hoge are the owners of a website that' s all about parenting and pregnancy. Filmmaker: Nili Nathan From: eHow view video »
• It s Just Fate Episode 1 3
  It' s Just Fate Episode-1.3 Speaker:Students of [[enter a school name]] I have good news.This year we will have a singing contest.Later at dissmissal you can join by signing in the audition list at the Music Room.Thank You. Demi:*sighs* [[At Dissmissal]] [[Music Room]] Demi:*joins the line* Chelsea:Well, Hello.Loser. Demi:Hi, Dumb Dora. Chelsea:I didn' t know view video »
• THE FIGHT OF THE CENTURY
  Storyline: One day @ a 12:00 dissmissal friends gathered together to eat pizza.. Then LIGHT SABER FIGHT!!! The friends battled each other with only using about 10 plastic swords, a camera, and pure awesomeness… This is one of the many epic battles fought…… Light saber fight epic funny Star Wars From: crossbones75 Views: 317 3 ratings view video »
• Uganda Maternity Leave
  United Nations, New York, July 2009 – All African women work. Very few women work in formal workplaces. Even fewer expect to keep their job when they have a baby, much less get maternity leave. But in a small company of security guards in Uganda, both workers and employer are finding advantages in unionization view video »
• Maternity clothes
  Someone asked me to show my. So here are some of the basics I have. My advice Try on different style pants and find what you are most comfortable in. Just because it doesn' t say maternity doesn' t mean you cant wear it. if it fits wear it! Ask around. Some friends or family may have view video »

Related News :

• Why PayPal lost this customer over credit card fees policy
  I have this event coming up and will be be the funds-collector from people scattered across different locations. Initially, I thought of PayPal as the easy way to go. Boy, was I wrong. Today, thanks to a very poor experience with the company’s Web site and a couple of clueless telephone customer service reps, I’ve decided against PayPal – all because I think the company’s policies involving… read more »
• Save the Y effort advances as officials join rally crowd in South Toledo
  By JC REINDL BLADE STAFF WRITER The neighborhood-led movement to save the South Toledo YMCA from closing gained momentum yesterday with the best-attended rally to date, including support from several officeholders and mayoral candidates. The rally and news conference outside the South Toledo branch drew an after-work crowd of about 70 people, including state Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo), Lucas… read more »
• Beijing to establish office to resolve migrant worker issues
  To better handle issues concerning the 3 million or so farmers-turned-workers in the capital, Beijing municipal government will establish a new department as part of its current government-restructuring reform. The Migrant Workers’Office will replace the existing joint-department office, which has been mostly, but not solely, in charge of issues pertaining to migrant workers, an official with… read more »
• Welcome to the high school ninth graders
  Dear Ninth Grade Students, Parents and Guardians, With the start of the school year just a few weeks away, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you to Phoenixville Area High School. I hope you are excited and eager to begin this next step on your educational journey. You may be a little apprehensive, too, but I am sure you will quickly find yourself at home here and involved in our many… read more »
• Staff at Child Development Lab receive comprehensive credential
  Six teachers from the University’s Child Development Lab at the McPhaul Center received the Child Development Associate credential for their superior work with children. The credential, awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition, is given to qualified individuals who excel in enhancing the quality of early-care education for children from birth to 5 years of age. read more »
• Union files unfair labor charge against Oak Lawn
  Alleging that village officials bargained heavy-handedly and in bad faith, the union representing 17 of the 36 village employees set to be laid off in Oak Lawn has filed an unfair labor practice against the village. Officials with Operating Engineers Local 150, which represents more than 100 public works and administrative employees in Oak Lawn, said the village violated negotiating rules in a… read more »
• Compete rates Healthgrades com number one doctor ratings web site
  HealthGrades.com is the #1 doctor-ratings Web site by an enormous margin according to an analysis of Web traffic by Compete, a TNS Media company. HealthGrades.com, long known for its hospital-quality ratings, is the public Web site of the leading healthcare ratings company, featuring quality reports and ratings of every practicing doctor, hospital and nursing home in the country. read more »
• Mozilla to EU Microsoft IE ballot screen not enough
  Automatic update could force users to choose IE Mozilla is calling for the European Union (EU) to demand more than just a Windows’ browser ‘ballot screen’ from Microsoft in answer to its antitrust charges.Both Mitchell Baker, the former CEO of Mozilla and the chairwoman of Mozilla Foundation, and Harvey Anderson, Mozilla’s chief counsel, posted lengthy blogs, citing concerns with Microsoft’s… read more »

Incoming search terms for the article:

• employer : AUDITION (2)
• discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy (1)
• discrimination pregnancy self employed (1)
• Maternity Discrimination Lawyers (1)
• maternity leave discrimination (1)
• recent family leave and pregnancy discrimination article (1)