A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has decried employers who are "in the dark ages" over the recruitment of pregnant women and new mothers, but a number of small businesses are finding new ways to be accommodating.

In a survey of 1,106 private sector employers published on Monday, the EHRC found that 36pc thought that it was reasonable to ask women about their plans to have children in the future during recruitment, despite the fact that it is against the law to not appoint a woman because she is pregnant or might become pregnant.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the EHRC says it's clear that many employers need more support to better understand the basics of discrimination law and the rights of pregnant women and new mothers.

While there's no doubt that women should not be discriminated against for getting pregnant, there’s also no denying that for companies – especially small ones – maternity leave presents challenges, principally because there’s no way to know if an employee is coming back, which makes it hard to plan for the future.

EHRC's findings show that the most negative attitudes to pregnancy and maternity are among firms with 250 or fewer employees.

Richard Stone manages just 17 staff members at his PR agency Stone Junction, but overcomes the challenges of maternity leave by adopting an "ethical and moral" perspective.