Pregnancy + Maternity Discrimination Solicitors
Pregnancy and maternity are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, which means it is illegal for employers to treat pregnant employees or those on maternity leave unfairly. This also applies to those on paternity, parental or adoption leave.
If you have been treated unfairly because of your pregnancy or maternity leave, you may be able to make a discrimination claim against your employer. To speak to our specialist maternity discrimination solicitors, call 0117 325 2929 or fill out our enquiry form.
Barcan and Kirby’s pregnancy and maternity discrimination expertise
Our employment lawyers have a wealth of experience advising employees who have been subject to unfair treatment and discrimination due to their pregnancy or maternity leave.
We understand that this is a distressing time and adds another layer of stress and uncertainty to a significant life event. Welcoming a child into the world is an exciting time, and unfair treatment at work should not take away from that.
Our pregnancy and maternity discrimination solicitors provide common-sense advice and practical guidance to help resolve matters and move forward. In addition to maternity discrimination, our employment lawyers can help with a range of employment law issues, including:
- Constructive dismissal
- Discrimination claims, including disability discrimination, age discrimination and sex discrimination
- Grievance procedure
- Harassment at work
- Redundancy
- Stress at work
- Unfair dismissal
- Wrongful dismissal
- Advice on issuing or progressing an employment tribunal claim
- Settlement agreements
Find out more about our employment law advice here.
Contact our pregnancy and maternity discrimination solicitors in Bristol
We work with employees all over the UK from our offices across Bristol and the surrounding area in Bedminster, Bishopston, Bristol city centre, Kingswood and Thornbury.
To speak to our specialist team about making a discrimination claim relating to pregnancy, maternity, paternity or parental leave, call us on 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form.
What are my maternity rights?
Pregnant employees are entitled to up to 52 weeks (one year) of maternity leave. This must be taken as a continuous period, but you do not have to take the whole year.
Expectant women are also entitled to:
- Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), which is paid for up to 39 weeks
- Paid time off for antenatal appointments
- Protection from unfair dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity leave
- Keep their usual benefits (other than pay), including accruing annual leave
If your employer has failed to provide you with the above entitlements, you may be able to claim sex discrimination for pregnancy. If this has happened to you, get in touch with our specialist maternity discrimination solicitors on 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form.
Blog | Maternity leave: do you know what your employment rights are?
The right to return to work
Mothers also have the right to return to work after maternity leave, although this depends on the length of leave taken. For example:
- If you take 26 weeks or less of maternity or adoption leave, you have the right to return to the same job.
- If you take more than 26 weeks, you have the right to return to your job or a similar job if it is not feasible for you to return to your usual role (for example, in a redundancy situation)
If you take more than 26 weeks and refuse to accept a different job with the same or better conditions, your employer may count this as your resignation. If you have been offered an alternative role to come back to after maternity or adoption leave, and you want advice on what your rights are, our employment law solicitors can help.
What counts as maternity discrimination?
‘Pregnancy and maternity’ is one of nine protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010. According to the Act, pregnancy and maternity discrimination is unfavourable treatment that happens because:
- Someone is pregnant
- Someone is on maternity leave or has the right to take maternity leave
- Someone has a pregnancy-related illness
You are only protected from discrimination if you are in the protected period, and your employer knows you are pregnant, or if they should ‘reasonably have known’. The protected period starts when you become pregnant and ends when your maternity leave ends, you return to work, or you leave your job.
Examples of pregnancy and maternity discrimination include:
- Refusing to hire a pregnant job applicant
- Being dismissed due to pregnancy or maternity leave
- Having your employment terminated due to a pregnancy-related illness, e.g. hyperemesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness) or back pain
- Denying a pregnant employee a promotion
- Denial of a pay increase
- Reduction in pay or hours
- Failure to remove risks at work and protect your health and safety
Maternity discrimination FAQs
Yes, you can be made redundant while on maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave. However, your employer must follow the same process as they would for any other employee, i.e. one that is not on parental leave. This includes offering a suitable alternative job where possible and providing a clear justification for the redundancy. This reason must not be related to the fact that you are on parental leave.
If you believe you have been selected for redundancy due to your pregnancy or parental leave, you should speak to an employment solicitor as soon as possible.
If your employment ends in or after the 15th week before your baby is due (roughly week 26 of your pregnancy), you will still be entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay.
If you leave your job before this period, you will not be entitled to SMP, but you may be entitled to Maternity Allowance instead. Read more about Maternity Allowance in our blog.
If you get pregnant while on maternity leave, you can go on maternity leave again and do not need to go back to work between your pregnancies.
You may not be eligible to receive maternity pay, however. You can check your eligibility here.
No. If you have or expect to have responsibility for bringing up the child and you have been continuously employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks, you have a legal right to paternity leave from your employer.
You must be either the child’s father or married to/in a civil partnership with or a partner of the mother or birth parent.
The eligibility criteria for fathers who are adopting or having a child through surrogacy are different to those of ‘birth fathers’.
Adoption
One person is the ‘main adopter’ and one is the ‘secondary adopter’.
- The main adopter can take adoption leave and pay.
- The secondary adopter can take paternity leave.
Your employment rights when on adoption or paternity leave are protected.
Surrogacy
One of the intended parents can take adoption leave, and one can take statutory paternity leave. It is up to the parents to decide which one to use.
To be eligible to take statutory paternity leave for surrogacy, the intended parent must intend to apply for a Parental Order within six months of the baby’s birth and meet the eligibility criteria for statutory paternity leave.
If you are not sure what you are entitled to, you can check by using GOV.UK’s allowance checker.
Parents who are sharing responsibility for a child, i.e. the parents, can take shared parental leave (SPL) of up to 50 weeks.
You can take SPL in the first year after the birth of your child, adopting a child or getting a Parental Order if you’re having a child through surrogacy.
The birth parent or primary adopter can take up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity or adoption leave, but share it with the other parent, as long as they take a minimum of two weeks after the birth or adoption. For example, the mother takes 40 weeks and the father takes 12 weeks.
Fathers are entitled to one or two weeks of paid paternity leave when their partner is having a baby, they are adopting a child or are having a baby through surrogacy.
Paternity leave must be taken all at once after the child is born, and end within 56 days of the birth.
Unlike maternity leave, fathers do not have to give a specific date for their paternity leave to start. However, it is common to communicate their anticipated start date, e.g. on the day of the birth.
If you wish to change the date when your paternity leave begins, you must give your employer at least 28 days’ notice.
Like with maternity leave, your employment rights are protected while on paternity leave, including accruing annual leave, receiving pay rises and the right to return to work after.
Why Barcan and Kirby?
Our Employment Law team benefits from the expertise of highly talented experts, including Samantha Castle, Alicia Bouarada, Natalie Pring (who are all members of the Employment Lawyers Association) and James Bell.
We also have a top-ranked Personal Injury department that can offer extensive experience in workplace accidents.
Barcan and Kirby is recognised by the Law Society with its Lexcel accreditation, reflecting the strength of our client services. We are also independently regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Get in touch with our pregnancy and maternity discrimination solicitors
If you believe you have received unfair treatment as a result of your pregnancy or maternity, paternity, adoption or parental leave, we may be able to help.
To discuss your potential discrimination claim with a member of our team, call 0117 325 2929 or fill out our enquiry form, and a member of our team will be in touch.