Report Shows Maternity Discrimination On Young Women

A recently released survey from the Equity and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has revealed that young British mothers are experiencing workplace discrimination over pregnancy and maternity-related issues on a major scale.

The report also gives the shocking conclusion that women are six times more likely to be dismissed from their job when pregnant, and that 6% of women aged below 25 suffer discrimination after revealing to an employer they are having a child. This contrasts sharply with an estimated 1% of mothers from other age groups experiencing discrimination. Of the mothers aged under 25 interviewed for the survey, 15% of them have expressed how they felt pressure to resign from their role in contrast to the 7% of older women who felt the same. Every year a total of 54,000 women are forced from their job due to pregnancy discrimination.

Caroline Water of EHRC states that: “Young working mothers are feeling the brunt of pregnancy and maternity discrimination with more than any other age group being forced out of their jobs, facing harassment and experiencing issues with their health as a result.”

Other interesting issues highlighted by the survey include how many young women are not aware of their rights in regard to maternity and pregnancy in the workplace, especially those employed in less stable and lower paid roles. Women in such positions are less likely to confront their employer or speak out about their concerns due to concern over losing their job. This is particularly true of service roles such as childcare and waitressing; industries that employ hundreds of thousands of UK women on zero hours contracts. This leads to a situation in which women have to choose between starting a family and having a career, made worse by a lack of trade union representatives in these industries.

Solutions to the problems addressed in the report are already underway via the EHRC which is launching a campaign to encourage pregnant women to speak out for their rights, with employers being encouraged to assist by ensuring a safe and comfortable environment exists in which women can do so.

Ms Water of the EHRC explains the need to create such an atmosphere for working mothers: “We cannot continue to allow these young women to be unfairly held back in the starting blocks of their working lives when they could have the potential to achieve greatness”.

Tribunal fees require legal fee payments by claimants regardless of whether a case is eventually won or lost; a law that came into force in July 2013. This has made it very difficult for young women to bring their case to tribunal, made worse by the law that all cases must be submitted within three months of the grievance suffered; a short time span for a woman preparing for the complex lifestyle adjustment of motherhood. This lack of legal support is reflected by the less than 1% of maternity discrimination claims being overseen by an employment tribunal.

The tribunal fee increase was intended to reduce the number of false claims being made without the need of payment from the claimant, but has resulted in many genuine cases being ignored.

The Scottish government intends to remove tribunal fees across the country; a move made possible as a result of the parliamentary powers gained via the Scotland Act 2016. This will give Scottish female employees a an opportunity to speak out over discrimination; a move that may inspire other UK countries to follow.