Sunday, November 20, 2005
30,000 women lose job due to pregnancy.
Maternity pay will shortly be extended from 6 to 9 months, with the right to turn part of it into paternity pay.
This is great news for those working for large companies or with strong trade unions.
But many employers are not complying with their *existing* statutory duties.
The Equal Opportunities Commission / Citizens Advice Bureau found that:
..each year 30,000 women are dismissed, made redundant or treated so badly that they decide to leave their job as a result of their pregnancy.
New maternity rights are all very well, but the problem is enforcement. CAB says that employers can get away with non compliance:
..in the knowledge that the Employment Tribunal process – the only means of enforcing most employment rights, - is unduly legalistic and adversarial, and thus extremely daunting, especially to pregnant women, new and lone parents, very young and elderly workers... etc
Every year, about one-third of all Employment Tribunal claims are withdrawn by the claimant before the case reaches a hearing, and research by the Department of Trade and Industry has found that in 51 per cent of such cases this is because the claimant considers there to be too much stress, difficulty, fuss or expense involved in continuing.
More from CAB briefing
This is great news for those working for large companies or with strong trade unions.
But many employers are not complying with their *existing* statutory duties.
The Equal Opportunities Commission / Citizens Advice Bureau found that:
..each year 30,000 women are dismissed, made redundant or treated so badly that they decide to leave their job as a result of their pregnancy.
New maternity rights are all very well, but the problem is enforcement. CAB says that employers can get away with non compliance:
..in the knowledge that the Employment Tribunal process – the only means of enforcing most employment rights, - is unduly legalistic and adversarial, and thus extremely daunting, especially to pregnant women, new and lone parents, very young and elderly workers... etc
Every year, about one-third of all Employment Tribunal claims are withdrawn by the claimant before the case reaches a hearing, and research by the Department of Trade and Industry has found that in 51 per cent of such cases this is because the claimant considers there to be too much stress, difficulty, fuss or expense involved in continuing.
More from CAB briefing
