Pregnant women and new parents to gain greater protection against redundancy

New proposed legislation that aims to give pregnant women and new parents greater protection from redundancy has secured government backing.

The Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination Bill, introduced by Labour MP, Dan Jarvis, and backed by the government will enable this redundancy protection to be extended so it applies to pregnant women as well as new parents returning to work from a relevant form of leave.

Under current rules, before offering redundancy to an employee on maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave, employers only have an obligation to offer a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists.

The government’s support for the bill follows a consultation on proposals which found evidence of the scale of prejudice facing new parents in the workplace: an estimated 54,000 women a year feel they have to leave their jobs due to pregnancy or maternity discrimination.

Business Minister Dean Russell said:

“Being an expectant or new parent is already a hugely exciting yet anxious time without the added pressure of worrying whether your job is on the line.

“By extending the UK’s world class workplace protections, today’s reforms will help to remove workplace discrimination and provide improved job security for employees at such an important and precious time in their lives.”

Dan Jarvis, MP for Barnsley Central, said:

“I am delighted that my Private Members’ Bill, the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill has passed its second reading in Parliament and is now a step closer to becoming law.

“At the heart of this Bill are tens of thousands of women pushed out of the workforce each year simply for being pregnant. I’m proud this new legislation will go some way to providing pregnant women and new mums greater protections in the workplace. I want to thank all those who’ve supported the Bill and I look forward to working with them to ensure it passes into law.”