It is against the law to dismiss a woman, make her redundant or to treat her less favourably because she is pregnant. Unfortunately, women still experience discrtimination in the workplace on the grounds of their pregnancy.
Employers need to be aware of the legislation that covers maternity entitlements and manage the situation from they are informed of the pregnancy to when the woman returns to work following the maternity leave.
In brief women are entitled to:
- reasonable paid time off to attend ante-natel appointments;
- 26 weeks ordinary leave, regardless of their length of service;
- a further 26 additional leave, if they have 26 weeks continuous service by the beginning of the 14th week before the expected childbirth;
- receive statuatory maternity pay for the first six months of their leave, subject to certain qualifying conditions;
- retain their normal terms and conditions of employment, except for renumeration (monetary wages or salary), throughout their maternity leave;
- return to the same job, with the same terms and conditions, unless a redundancy situation has arisen, in which case they are entitled to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy;
- expect their employer to assess for any health and safety risks, whilst they are pregnant and upon their return to work.
Employers should ensure thay they have a maternity policy, which provides clear guidance to their employees.
Links
- ACAS
- Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
- Includes articles and information on flexible-working and working-time.
- Citizens Advice Bureaux: Adviceguide
- Practical, up-to-date information on a wide range of topics, including benefits and housing, employment rights and discrimination, debt and tax issues.
- Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
- Department for Work and Pensions
- Equality and Human Rights Commission
- HM Revenue and Customs
- Directgov: Employees
- A user friendly guide to UK employment law.
- Working Families
- Working Families helps children, working parents and carers and their employers find a better balance between responsibilities at home and work.
- workSMART
- Frequently asked questions on Statuatory Maternity Rights and other topics.
