Caroline Lucas leads call to end ‘widespread’ pregnancy discrimination A cross-party group of MPs led by Caroline Lucas is pressuring the Government to take urgent action to tackle maternity […]

A cross-party group of MPs led by Caroline Lucas is pressuring the Government to take urgent action to tackle maternity and pregnancy discrimination in the workplace.

The leader of the Green Party is calling for new mothers and pregnant women to be better protected, tabling an Early Day Motion to draw attention to the issue.

Early Day Motion (EDM) The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. An EDM calls for a debate on an issue in Parliament but without setting a date. EDMs are rarely debated in the Commons because a date is not set and are used by MPs to draw attention to the issue.

Widespread and worrying discrimination

A Government-commissioned 2015 survey of over 3,200 women found 11 per cent of women reported experiencing discrimination at work after becoming new mothers which forced them to leave their job.

This ranged from having been dismissed, made compulsorily redundant where others in their place of work were not, or treated so badly they felt they had to quit, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The Commission said this is the equivalent of 54,000 women being forced out of work each year if the numbers in that survey were replicated across the country.

Fewer than one per cent of these women brought an employment tribunal claim against their employer for pregnancy or maternity discrimination.

Women have three months to bring a tribunal claim in cases of maternity or pregnancy discrimination against their employer. Tribunal fees of up to £1,200 introduced in 2013 were followed by a sharp drop in the number of women bringing pregnancy discrimination claims to court.

Maria Miller, the Women and Equalities Committee Chair, said at the time the Commission’s findings provided “hard evidence that there is widespread and worrying discrimination against women during pregnancy and when they return to work from maternity leave”.

An ‘appalling’ situation for women

The EDM tabled by Ms Lucas calls on the Government to increase the time limit for pregnancy and maternity discrimination claims to six months.

Speaking to i, Ms Lucas said the current time limit for claiming for discrimination is contributing to an “appalling” situation where fewer than one per cent of the women affected by pregnancy or maternity discrimination launch a claim against their employer.

“The current rules clearly aren’t working,” she said. “I became involved in this campaign after seeing some of the testimony from women affected. This discrimination can affect all pregnant women and new mothers in work – from teachers to social workers and employees at big firms – and it must be stopped.”

The MP for Brighton Pavilion also highlighted findings from a recent survey of more than 2,300 women by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Maternal Mental Health Alliance that four out of five women said they experienced at least one episode of a mental health problem during pregnancy or after.

‘Enormous’ appetite for changing legislation

Ms Lucas urged Conservative MPs to back the campaign.

“There’s an enormous appetite for changing this legislation. It’s time that the Government wakes up to this serious discrimination, and takes immediate action to curb pregnancy and maternity discrimination.”

Jo Swinson, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “When I was Employment Relations Minister, I commissioned the EHRC to research the scale of the problem of pregnancy discrimination. The results were shocking: 54,000 women a year forced out of their jobs, and many more risking their health in unsafe working environments. We need strong leadership from the Government to tackle this problem: ending employment tribunal fees and extending the time period for claims would be a welcome start.”

Cross-party support

Ms Lucas’ petition has been sponsored by Labour MPs Harriet Harman and Jess Phillips, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Jo Swinson, the SNP’s Alison Thewliss and Liz Saville Roberts of Plaid Cymru. It has been signed by 71 MPs from seven parties, including Tory MP Sir Peter Bottomley and Jim Shannon of the DUP.