Commission commits to further work on maternity discrimination

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has recently published its 2013/14 corporate plan, in which it sets out its priority areas of work for the coming year.

One issue that the Commission has committed to look at further is the problem of pregnancy and maternity discrimination. The corporate plan says:

“There is considerable evidence of discrimination against women who are pregnant, on maternity leave or on their return to work. The Commission will assess existing research and guidance for employers and employees and consider how to improve employer understanding of their rights and obligations and employee understanding of their employment rights and obligations.”

This commitment has been welcomed by work-life balance organisation Working Families.

“We are delighted that the EHRC has responded to our call to address the issue of pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace,” commented Chief Executive Sarah Jackson.

“We wrote to the EHRC with our annual helpline report: for the third year running we reported on high levels of maternity and pregnancy discrimination. Almost 10% of our callers raise maternity discrimination issues and our advisers report that poor practice is increasingly blatant in the recession.

“We hope that the Commission’s commitment to start further work in this area this year will lead to increased understanding by employers of their obligations. It is simply unacceptable that women should be treated badly, sidelined or even sacked just because they are pregnant or taking maternity leave,” she concluded.

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