Pregnant women still get 'raw deal' at work

Pregnant women will continue to get "a raw deal" at work and even face the sack in some cases, unless the government takes some positive action, according to the Equal Opportunities Commission's (EOC).

The EOC made its conclusions following a new report into pregnancy discrimination in the workplace which is published today to mark the start of National Pregnancy Week.

Julie Mellor, Chair of the EOC, said that every year 1,000 women in England and Wales take legal action claiming they were sacked because they were pregnant, "and that is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg". Some 350,000 working women become pregnant in the course of each year in Britain, according to statistics.

She said: "Others face pay cuts, demotion, hostile treatment or are made to work in an unsafe environment. The impact on these women's lives and on the health of their baby can be disastrous."

"Our investigation has discovered that while the great majority of employers who know the law think it is fair, there are huge holes in many people's understanding. Some employers knowingly flout the law but many simply don't know what their responsibilities are or what help with costs is already available from the government."

The interim report of the EOC's investigation into discrimination against pregnant women at work, 'Tip of the Iceberg', looked at how the responsibilities and costs of pregnancy, as well as the benefits, are currently shared between employers, the state and individual women and their families.

The report's recommendations include a written statement of rights and responsibilities to be provided to every pregnant woman and her employer, to be given to a woman at her first antenatal visit. The reports also calls for a statutory Code of Practice to clarify the complicated jigsaw of existing law and help with planning; and an extension of the three-month time limit for filing a pregnancy-related employment tribunal claim.

Also publishing it’s the results of its survey today, the shopworkers union Usdaw found that 62% of pregnant women reported a negative change in attitude in their employer during pregnancy. One in four told Usdaw they were made to feel marginalised and ignored.

And 40% of pregnant women told Usdaw that their employer either did nothing or made an unhelpful suggestion when they brought to their employer's attention the fact that they were experiencing difficulties with certain aspects of their job because of pregnancy.

John Hannett, Usdaw General Secretary, said that the union was "extremely concerned" that the examples of good practice were outweighed by the bad experiences.

"Many women told us they felt undervalued, ignored, humiliated, even made to feel guilty about being pregnant. Women who asked for help were told to stop complaining, repeated requests for maternity uniforms fell on deaf ears and women were excluded from decisions on the basis that they were pregnant," he said.

The retail sector is the UK's second biggest employer of women – two-thirds of retail staff are women.

The Usdaw survey reflects the views of 1,239 women.

(gmcg/mb)