Claims of pregnancy discrimination are on the rise in the UK – so much so, that the Government has launched an investigation into its impact on families and the economy
Pregnancy may come with a few side effects (hello, nausea and falling asleep at 7pm), but one thing you don’t expect is problems at work.
Still, 9,000 discrimination complaints have been brought against employers since 2007 – which is why a new Government investigation has been launched.
Carried out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the £1m study will look at the reasons behind the complaints and the impact of difficulties in the workplace when you’re pregnant or on mat leave.
‘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,’ says Maria Miller, Minister for Women and Equalities.
‘We have made significant changes to help women at work but there is more to do.’
The last study of this kind took place nearly 10 years ago, and found that half of all mums-to-be experienced some form of disadvantage at work, simply for taking mat leave or being pregnant – 30,000 women even said they’d been forced out of their jobs.
We’re interested to find out the results – M&B are all about supporting working mums and mums-to-be. That’s why we’ve set up our Working Mums Club, to advise and get behind you every step of the way.
Feel unsupported at work? We hear you. Struggling to balance career and family? We’ve got the information you need.
Part of this involves some fab Q&A sessions on our Facebook page with inspirational working parents.
On Thursday, Cara Sayer, mum of one and inventor of naptime solution SnoozeShade, will be joining us between 1 and 2pm, answering all your questions on setting up a business, inventing a product and juggling a career with kids.
Simply post on our Facebook wall from 1pm, tweet your question to @MotherAndBaby or email team@motherandbaby.com if you’d prefer to be anonymous or aren’t free tomorrow.
Cara, 41, invented SnoozeShade to help her baby daughter sleep when they were out and about. The SnoozeShade Original is now one of a range of sun and sleep shades that make family life easier for everyone. Multi-award-winning, on sale around the world and endorsed by baby sleep experts in just three years since it launched, it’s the UK's best-selling sun and sleep shade.