Enhanced redundancy protection proposal for new mothers

Aims to end the fear faced by many women

Parliament is considering a bill that will provide greater protections against redundancy for pregnant women and new mothers.

Under current protections, a woman who is made redundant during her maternity leave must be offered any suitable alternative vacancies, should there be any suitable positions.

The proposal is that current protections could be extended to prohibit employers from making a woman redundant from the point that she notifies them she is pregnant until six months after the end of her maternity leave.

The bill, driven by research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, aims to end the fear faced by many women of losing their jobs simply because they were pregnant.

EHRC research demonstrates that one in 20 women are made redundant while pregnant or on maternity leave and one in 10 were treated worse by their employer after returning to work from maternity leave and one in five experienced harassment or negative comments from colleagues or managers.

Under the proposal, a situation where the employer ceases trading would not be covered.

We shall continue to keep a close eye on this one…