If you’ve been treated unfairly because of pregnancy or maternity, here’s what the law protects

Pregnancy and maternity discrimination is different from most other workplace problems, because you do not need years of service to be protected and you do not need to compare your treatment to anyone else’s; this guide sets out what the law actually protects and what to do if you think it has not been followed.

You are protected from day one, with no comparison needed

Pregnancy and maternity is one of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010The main piece of legislation protecting employees from discrimination at work. It covers nine protected characteristics including age, disability, sex, race, and religion, and makes it unlawful for a.... Unlike some other employment rights, there is no length-of-service requirement at all, so it does not matter if you started your job last week.

Webb v EMO Air Cargo established the key point: you do not need to show that someone else, such as a man, would have been treated better. Dismissing or otherwise treating someone unfavourably because of pregnancy or maternity is discrimination in its own right, with no comparatorA comparator is someone in a similar situation to you but without your protected characteristic (for example, a different race, sex, or disability status), used to judge whether you were treated worse... required.

What counts as unfavourable treatment during the protected period

The law protects you throughout what is often called the protected periodThe window during which you have the priority right to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy if you're made redundant, typically 18 months from the expected week of childbirth, the actual birth da..., running from the start of your pregnancy until the end of your maternity leave, or two weeks after the birth if you did not take leave. During this time, unfavourable treatment because of your pregnancy or maternity is unlawful. This can include being passed over for opportunities, having your responsibilities quietly reduced, or being managed in a way that would not have happened otherwise.

It also includes health and safety. Day v T Pickles Farms Ltd confirmed that your employer’s duty to carry out a pregnancy-related risk assessment does not wait until you tell them you are pregnant. It applies as soon as an employer has women of childbearing age doing work that could carry a pregnancy-related risk. If you tell your employer you are pregnant and no risk assessment follows, that gap can itself be discrimination, not just a health and safety oversight.

Your maternity leave rights, in outline

Most employees are entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, split into 26 weeks of ordinary maternity leaveThe first 26 weeks of the 52-week maternity leave entitlement, running immediately into Additional Maternity Leave if you take the full 52 weeks. and 26 weeks of additional maternity leaveThe second 26 weeks of the 52-week maternity leave entitlement, following on from Ordinary Maternity Leave. Your right to return to your exact previous job applies only during Ordinary Maternity Leave..., with statutory maternity payThe minimum amount your employer is legally required to pay you while you're on maternity leave, if you meet the qualifying conditions, mainly around length of service and earnings. It's separate from..., where you qualify for it, paid for up to 39 weeks. This guide does not cover every detail of pay eligibility, but the leave entitlement itself does not depend on length of service.

If you are made redundant while you are on maternity leave

RedundancyA dismissal that occurs when your employer no longer needs the work you do, either because the business is closing, a workplace is closing, or the requirement for employees to carry out that kind of w... during maternity leave carries extra protection. Under regulation 10 of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999, if a suitable alternative role exists, your employer must offer it to you directly, ahead of other employees at risk of redundancy.

Simpson v Endsleigh Insurance Services Ltd shows what this does and does not mean. The tribunal held that being invited to apply or interview for a role is not enough; your employer has to actually offer you a genuinely suitable one. But “suitable” has real content. In that case, a role in a different city was found not to be suitable because of the significant change in location, so the employer was not found to have breached its duty on those particular facts. If your employer skips this duty where a genuinely suitable role does exist, that can amount to automatic unfair dismissalA dismissal that's automatically treated as unfair, regardless of how long you've worked somewhere. This applies to reasons like whistleblowing, asserting a statutory right, health and safety, or preg... under the Employment Rights Act 1996The primary piece of legislation setting out employees rights in the UK, including the right not to be unfairly dismissed, the right to a written statement of employment particulars, and rights relati....

Returning to work after maternity leave

If you return from ordinary maternity leave, or from the first part of additional leave, you are entitled to return to the same job you left. If you return later, from additional maternity leave, and your original job is not reasonably practicable for your employer to give back, you are entitled to a suitable alternative role on terms no less favourable.

What to do if you think you have been treated unfairly

Start by writing down what happened and when, while it is still fresh. Note any decisions that changed after your employer learned you were pregnant or on leave, and anything your employer should have addressed, such as a missing risk assessment or a redundancy process that skipped regulation 10.

Our guide on whether to raise a grievance walks through that decision if you have not made it yet. If you want to understand the fuller process, our complete guide to raising a grievance at work covers what comes next.

Employment tribunalAn independent court that hears disputes between employees and employers. It is free to bring a claim as a claimant, and most hearings take place in public. claims for discrimination normally have a strict time limitThe deadline by which you must submit a claim to an employment tribunal. For most claims the limit is three months less one day from the act you are complaining about, and it is strictly enforced. Mis... of three monthsThe standard time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims, running from the date of the act complained of. Because the limit is three months less one day, you should not wait until what fee... less one day from the act you are complaining about. Do not wait to get advice while you weigh up your options.

Not sure where you stand? Our situation guide can help you work out what applies. Or book a call with us directly.