What is Pregnancy Discrimination?

Pregnancy and maternity discrimination happens when you're treated unfairly because you're pregnant, breastfeeding or have recently given birth and are taking time off. 

These are both forms of sex discrimination, a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. This ensures pregnant employees and partners of pregnant women are protected from the moment they are pregnant until the end of the protected period. This protection includes:

• Pregnant employees are entitled to reasonable paid time off for antenatal care. 
• Partners of pregnant women have the right to take time off to attend two antenatal appointments. 
• Women returning to work following Maternity Leave have the right to return to their original job or suitable alternative.
• Employers can agree to up to ten Keeping in Touch days
• Employers are required to take into account health & safety risks and make accommodations to eliminate the risks.
• A woman made redundant on maternity leave must be offered a suitable alternative vacancy without having to apply for it.

Even with the legal protections in place, maternity discrimination still persists daily, especially in the financial services sector. 

You may have experienced discrimination, whether being denied a job or promotion due to pregnancy, being unfairly assigned less work or undesirable tasks during pregnancy, or termination because of maternity leave.

If you've been a victim of this, contact Cavendish Employment Law today at 0207 9657203.

What are the different types of maternity discrimination to look for?

There are six main types of discrimination; direct, indirect, harassment, victimisation, failure to make reasonable adjustments and discrimination arising from disability. These can all have an impact on maternity and paternity rights. 

We’ve included some examples of pregnancy and maternity discrimination below

Direct Maternity Discrimination 

This occurs when someone is treated less favourably because they are pregnant, have recently given birth or adopted a child. For example, if you were on maternity leave and were suddenly made redundant without being offered a suitable alternative vacancy. 

Another example would be if you were in line for a promotion and it was suddenly taken away after telling your employer you are 25 weeks pregnant. 

Indirect Maternity Discrimination

This occurs when a company-wide policy or practice has a disproportionately negative impact on women who are pregnant, have recently given birth or adopted a child. 

For example, if a company policy mandates all employees to work overtime or travel overseas for client meetings, this would disproportionately impact pregnant women and those who have recently given birth. 

Maternity Harassment 

This occurs when someone is subjected to unwanted verbal, physical or sexual behaviour related to their pregnancy, recent childbirth or adoption. For example, a pregnant woman experiencing inappropriate comments from their supervisor regarding their physical appearance.

Maternity harassment can also occur when colleagues make inappropriate jokes about the employee's pregnancy or keep asking repetitive questions about when they are going on maternity leave.

Maternity Victimisation 

This occurs when someone is treated less favourably after making a complaint about any maternity discrimination they have faced. 

For instance, a senior employee who is pregnant is no longer considered for an internal promotion after making a formal complaint to HR about receiving harassment from her colleagues. 

Failure to make reasonable adjustments for maternity 

Reasonable adjustments include anything from a lighter workload to allowing more frequent breaks for breastfeeding. 

Failure to make these adjustments for pregnant employees and those returning from pregnancy is unlawful. For example, it would be deemed unlawful for your employer to make you attend multiple meetings in a row without allowing breaks for breast pumping. 

Discrimination Arising from Maternity 

This occurs when someone is treated less favourably due to a disability relating to their pregnancy or childbirth. For example, an employee is being treated less favourably after developing pre-eclampsia during her pregnancy. 

How maternity discrimination might affect you as a senior employee?

Maternity discrimination can affect you at all times throughout your professional career, from the application process to contract termination. 

Application process

Whether you're applying for a promotion or a new role entirely, employers may often refuse to accept your application if they know you are pregnant or have recently given birth if it's unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. 

Although it occurs less often, the same case can happen with men who take paternity leave during the application process, with it being seen as less committed to the job. 

Interview stage

During the interview stage, there are ways you can face maternity and paternity discrimination. 

Employers may ask inappropriate questions about a woman's pregnancy or childcare plans, leading to assumptions about her ability to perform the job based on her pregnancy or childcare status. These assumptions may lead to a woman being offered a lower salary than a male counterpart or excluded from the recruitment process entirely.  

In rare cases, an employer may ask a woman to sign a contract involving discriminatory terms such as giving up her job if she becomes pregnant. 

In the workplace

No matter how long you've been working for your employer, maternity discrimination can manifest in various ways.

Whether it's verbal harassment creating a hostile work environment, failure to provide reasonable work accommodations or reduced responsibilities irrespective of your job performance. 

Discrimination can also be subtle. Employers may deny training or advancement opportunities to parents or those expecting which can significantly hinder career growth and progression.

Financial Opportunities

Maternity and paternity discrimination can also happen in the form of unequal compensation and loss of benefits. 

It is not uncommon for pay disparities to arise between employees who take maternity or paternity leave and those who do not, even if their job performance or responsibilities are the same. 

Moreover, employers may further disadvantage parents by revoking benefits such as healthcare coverage or retirement contributions based solely on their parental status. 

Promotion opportunities

Pregnancy can also impact an employee's chances of getting a promotion at the workplace. Whether it's being overlooked for new roles due to a recent pregnancy, citing concerns about their commitment to the company, or assumptions that they are not interested in promotion due to their pregnancy. 

Termination

Maternity and paternity discrimination can also have a significant impact on senior employees when it comes to contract termination. For instance, an employer may terminate an employee shortly after announcing their pregnancy or taking paternity leave, without any valid reason or prior performance issues. 

Similarly, an employer may select a woman for redundancy just because she is pregnant or on maternity leave. In such cases, the employer should offer a suitable alternative vacancy without requiring the employee to apply for it. 

Employers may also demote or reassign an employee to a less favourable position after they return from maternity leave without any valid reason. 

How you can deal with maternity discrimination as a senior employee?

Maternity discrimination is illegal in the UK, but it still happens. Senior employees can face particular difficulties in dealing with maternity discrimination due to fear of retaliation and a lack of support from colleagues fearing ostracisation. 

Despite this, there are a few things you can do to put yourself in a better position:

• Keep a record: Compile all incidents of discrimination (emails, text messages, notes of conversations, or any other evidence that supports your claim).
• Talk to your employer: By speaking to HR, a representation of your employer, they should take discrimination claims seriously. Keep in mind though, their job is to protect the employer first.
• File a formal grievance with your employer. This will start the formal process of investigating your complaint.
• Take legal advice. If you've addressed the situation with your employer and no change has happened, or you feel like you have a case, you may wish to take legal advice.

Contact Cavendish Employment Law Solicitors Today

Every year, thousands of senior employees are discriminated against because of their pregnancy, maternity leave, or return to work after maternity leave, Many of which have a high-value complex claim. 

At Cavendish Employment Law, we are employment law experts ready to advise you on your legal rights, gather evidence to support your claim, represent you in negotiations and advise you on settlement agreement terms. 

Contact our employment law team on 0207 9657203 or contact us online.