Are you up to date with the latest legislation which includes extended protection for pregnant women? We know how difficult it is to stay up-to-date with the ever changing legal requirements for businesses set by the Government.
Every year new rules and regulations are set out to improve working conditions and benefits for employees to ensure every individual is treated with the care and respect they deserve. However, clearly with the year that we have lived through and rules and regulations constantly changing it can be overwhelming to stay clued up on many employment law issues as well as everything else that is going on in your business.
So below we’ve simplified a very important topic in employment law which could be relevant to your business.
Enhanced Legal Protection For Pregnant Women & New Mothers
One of the newest Bills to be passed by the Government was to give pregnant women and new mothers enhanced legal protection against redundancy. This will extend the redundancy protection period for 6 months once a new mother has returned to work. This same protection will also apply to Adoption Leave.
The aim is to simplify redundancy protections and make it automatically unfair for an employer to dismiss a woman by reason of redundancy if the dismissal occurs during the pregnancy, maternity leave or within the 6 month period after the end of the pregnancy or maternity leave. Similar protections are available to those women who experience a stillbirth or miscarriage. These protections should apply from as soon as an employer is aware, either verbally or through written notification, that an employee is pregnant.
The Equality Act 2010 very clearly states that treating women unfavourably because of a pregnancy or maternity leave is against the law however, as with many regulations, malpractices are still happening and much too often for our liking.
In 2015, research found that 1 in 20 mothers were made redundant at some point during their pregnancy, maternity leave or on return from maternity leave. With the pressures of being pregnant and having a new born baby, clearly this is not a fair decision to make.
The Coronavirus Pandemic has brought with it much financial difficulty and uncertainty for not just employers but employees as well. The research above shows that pregnant women and those on maternity leave are at greater risk of being discriminated against and forced into redundancy. This is now against the law and should be avoided at all costs.
If you found all of that information a bit too much, we have a solution. Understanding specialist topics such as employment law can sometimes seem impossible as there is so much to learn and be aware of. Speaking to an experienced HR Consultant about what you need to do to stay legally compliant can take away some of the stresses of dealing with these issues. You don’t need to know the ins and outs of this pregnancy protection from redundancy, just how you can keep your staff protected.
For any help, advice or information regarding these employment law changes please get in touch with one of our HR Specialists by emailing kate@applehr.co.uk.