Starting a family is often an exciting, joyous time, but it can also be deeply stressful. The physical and mental recovery after birth, disrupted nights, and the adjustment to being a parent — or caring for more than one child — can take its toll. The one thing you don’t want to be worrying about is whether you’ll have a job to return to after maternity leave, but for many women, this is the reality.
Research from Pregnant Then Screwed and Women In Data has revealed a sharp increase in the number of women who are pushed out of their job when pregnant or when returning from maternity leave. Up to 74,000 women every year now lose their job for getting pregnant or taking maternity leave — an increase of 37% from 54,000 in 2016.
A third (35.9%) of the women surveyed said they were sidelined or demoted. Yet despite a new law extending redundancy protections to pregnant women and those returning from maternity leave coming into force in April 2024, just 2% of women who experience discrimination raise a tribunal claim.
“We know that when businesses feel uncertain about the future and are making cuts, it tends to be pregnant women and mothers who are the first to be pushed out as they are seen as distracted and less committed to their job than other employees,” says Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed.
The long-term discrimination experienced by pregnant women and mothers is fueled by stigma and gender stereotypes around the role of women in society. In other words, basic sexism.
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According to the British Social Attitudes survey , one in five people think women with children under school age should stay at home, despite many women wanting a career as well as a family. Research by King’s College London found that more than 70% of mothers would continue to work even if they didn’t need to financially — refuting the widely-held perception that mothers are less committed to work, which is often the basis of maternity discrimination.
And as the cost of living crisis intensifies, it is becoming increasingly challenging to run a household — and pay the rent, mortgage and bills — on one income.
“Pregnant women and mothers are also viewed as being 10% less competent than women without children,” adds Brearley. “The rising numbers of mothers being pushed out of their jobs are directly linked to the slow growth across our economy.”
It can be difficult to tell if you’re being sidelined at work or pushed out of your job, because the signs can be subtle. It might be the odd comment about work ethic and productivity — even though you know you’re performing just as well as you were before.
“You might be left out of meetings, or have clients removed,” adds Brearley. “Pregnant women should watch out for a change of behaviour from their employer from the point they announce a pregnancy.
“I have heard from so many women who are doing really well at work and their personal development reviews are exemplary. Then they announce they are pregnant and suddenly things change, their development reviews go from exemplary to substandard.”
If this is the case, it’s essential to know your legal rights. Under the Equality Act 2010, people who are pregnant and new mothers are legally protected against unfair treatment and dismissal.
In April 2024, the period specifically protecting pregnant employees or those taking maternity leave from redundancy was extended. Now, the redundancy protected period during pregnancy and maternity starts when an employee tells their employer that they are pregnant and ends 18 months from the exact date the baby is born. “Before this, they were only protected while on maternity leave,” says Lidster.
“During this ‘protected period’, an employee cannot be selected for redundancy because of pregnancy or maternity,” says Zoe Lidster, managing director of Harwood HR Solutions . “This does not mean they cannot be selected for redundancy at all, however, it does place a greater burden on employers to justify the redundancy itself and the selection process.”
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If your employer has reduced your workload or your role has changed, you may have a claim for pregnancy discrimination and detrimental treatment. But there may be other reasons why this is happening — for example, a genuine downturn in the work available — so it’s a good idea to speak to your boss informally first to find out what’s going on.
Ask for a meeting with your employer or HR manager to raise your concerns. And if nothing comes of this, you can go through your company’s grievance or appeals procedure, says Lidster.
If you want to make a claim in an employment tribunal, you have to contact ACAS first to try to resolve it through a process called "early conciliation". However, you must contact ACAS within the time limit of three months (less one day) from the date of the act you are making the claim about, for example, being made redundant.
While the recent legislative changes offer some hope, collective action and continued advocacy are crucial to challenging deep-rooted biases and ensuring workplace equality. And although taking action against discrimination is important, it’s ultimately up to employers to fix the problem — and to make sure people aren’t discriminated against simply for having children.
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