£1m research into pregnancy discrimination cost
The Government has announced a new £1m round of indpendent research into pregnancy discrimination in the UK.
The programme was approved by Minister for Women and Equalities Maria Miller and will look in into what effect the discrimination has on both families and the economy.
Over 9,000 pregnancy discrimination claims have been lodged against employers in the UK since 2007 with many women being unfairly dismissed before being eligible to claim maternity pay.
Maria Miller said: “It’s unacceptable that women suffer from discrimination when they become pregnant and yet many are saying that they are treated unfairly at work because of it.
“I am determined that we tackle these systemic problems which leave women feeling undervalued and penalised. We have made some significant changes to help women at work but there is more to do. This new research will be crucial in helping us to understand the extent of the problem and the issues around it”
A previous report into this issue, nearly 10 years ago, found that women in the UK had lost nearly £12m in maternity pay as employers fired them before they became entitled to claim.
The report also found that over half of women experienced some form of disadvantage at work for being pregnant or taking maternity leave with 30,000 women saying they had been forced out of their jobs.
As a result of this report greater workplace rights were given to women and working parents such as extensions to statutory maternity leave and pay as well as the right to take more flexible hours to make childcare easier.
Charities have welcomed the news but have raised concerns over the research being used to justify a weakening of workplace rights.
Rosalind Bragg, Director of maternity rights charity, Maternity Action, said: “It is important that the Government does not weaken the law on pregnancy discrimination but instead focuses on employer compliance. The principles of non-discrimination were established decades ago and should be accepted as an essential part of the business environment.
“Since the economic downturn began, pregnant women and new mothers have faced an increasingly difficult time in the workplace. Unfair and unlawful treatment of new mothers is widespread and action is urgently needed.
“While we welcome the plans for research, the Government could very easily intervene now to better protect women’s rights.
“They could immediately remove the new £1200 fee to take a pregnancy discrimination case to the employment tribunal, reinstate the questionnaire procedure and fund the specialist advice services which women desperately need.”
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) proposed the work and will take on the running of it.
The Commission will also be running an education campaign aimed at employees and employers to raise their awareness of pregnancy and maternity discrimination rights and obligations.
The EHRC CEO Mark Hammond said: “This is an important issue and this work, along with the other efforts being made to tackle pregnancy discrimination, will reduce the chances of women being unfairly penalised.”
Currently 1 in 20 cases handled by the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) are directly connected to pregnancy discrimination.
The EASS was set up by the Government last year to offer free advice and support in equality rights cases in England, Wales and Scotland.
