Pregnancy discrimination in the workplace

Examples of discrimination because of pregnancy leave

Below are some examples of situations in which you may be subject to pregnancy discrimination:

• If your employer demotes you or gives you a bad appraisal because you are pregnant
• If your employer fails to offer you training or promotion opportunities because you are pregnant
• If your employer makes you redundant because you are pregnant
• If you’re disciplined or dismissed because of an illness connected to your pregnancy
• If your employer dismisses you because you are pregnant
• If your employer fails to undertake a risk assessment in respect of your workplace

Your terms and conditions during pregnancy

You are entitled to the benefit of the same terms and conditions that you were on prior to informing your employer that you were pregnant. You should therefore still be entitled to any benefits that you would normally receive as wages in kind, such as health insurance or company cars. If you’re not provided with these benefits or your terms and conditions are changed without your agreement whilst you’re pregnant then you may have a claim for pregnancy discrimination or sex discrimination.

Discrimination because you are taking time off work sick because of your pregnancy or because of your sickness record

Pregnancy discrimination occurs if an employer treats you(whether you’re a current employee or a job applicant) unfavourably because of an illness suffered as a result of your pregnancy.

Your employer is not permitted to take into account any pregnancy-related absences (during the “protected period”) for the purposes of attendance management, disciplining you or deciding to dismiss you.

If you’re absent from work because of an illness suffered as a result of your pregnancy then you are entitled to receive sickness pay. It is important to note that you are not automatically entitled to be paid in full for the period of work that you’re absent from work because of a pregnancy-related illness and it will not be pregnancy discrimination or sex discrimination if you are not paid at your full rate. However, you should be paid at the same rate that you would have received whilst you are sick as you would have been paid had you not been absent for a pregnancy-related illness.

Discrimination because you are taking time off work for ante-natal care

You are entitled to take a reasonable period of time off work to attend appointments for ante-natal care. If your employer refuses to let you take time off or submits you to any detriment because you are taking time off work to attend an ante-natal appointment then this is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 and the Employment Rights Act 1996.

If you’re the partner of the pregnant woman then you do not have an automatic right to take time off work to attend ante-natal appointments. However, your employer may choose to allow you to take the time off for this purpose or, alternatively, you can take unpaid leave or part of your holiday entitlement so you can do so.

Discrimination because you are undergoing IVF treatment

If you are subjected to a detriment or dismissed because you are undergoing IVF treatment then this may constitute sex discrimination – you should seek expert advice on this. Any detrimental treatment or dismissal after the transfer of the egg through the IVF treatment to you may constitute pregnancy discrimination.

Applying for jobs whilst you are pregnant

You do not have to tell a prospective employer if you are pregnant.

It is unlawful for an employer to refuse to employ you simply because you are pregnant. If you inform the prospective employer that you are pregnant and you are then not offered the job (and suspect that this may be because you informed the employer of your pregnancy) then this may constitute pregnancy discrimination.

If you inform your employer that you are pregnant after you have been offered the job then you must not be subjected to any detriment or dismissed because of this. The withdrawal of a job offer because you are pregnant would constitute pregnancy discrimination.

Action you can take if you think that you’re being discriminated against

If you think that you are being discriminated against because you are pregnant then you should take action as soon as possible. Below are some examples of what you can do:

• Inform your line manager that you believe that you are being discriminated against. Make sure that you put a complaint in writing (preferably by email so that there is a time and date stamp on the complaint and you can prove that it has been sent to the relevant person) and keep a copy. If you think that it is your line manager who is discriminating against you then make a complaint so someone else in a position of authority in your organisation.
• Make a formal complaint (known as a “grievance”) to your HR department and also keep a copy of this
• Obtain specialist advice from a qualified person – you can either consult a lawyer directly or make an appointment with the Citizens Advice Bureau to obtain initial advice
• Collect evidence of the incidents that you think are discriminatory. An important thing to do is to keep a diary of all of the incidents of discrimination that you think that you have suffered and to record exactly who was involved and what happened. Try and obtain any witness evidence that you can from colleagues who have seen or heard things. Keep any letters, emails, minutes of meetings etc. that you think are relevant.

Making an Employment Tribunal claim for pregnancy and maternity discrimination

If you want to make an Employment Tribunal claim for pregnancydiscrimination then you must do the following:

• Make your claim within three months of the last date of discrimination (this is also known as the “limitation date”) – this will be extended by the period of time that you spend within the ACAS Early Conciliation period. The last date of discrimination can often be difficult to pinpoint so you must be extremely careful that you do not fall outside of the three-month period
• Ensure that your employer was aware that you were pregnant (or that there are sufficient facts which mean that your employer should have been aware that you were pregnant)
• Gather enough evidence to allow you to prove your case in the Tribunal – this includes both documentary evidence and, if applicable, witness evidence.

It’s important to note that (unlike, for example, unfair dismissal claims) you don’t need to have worked for your employer for any particular length of time to make a claim for pregnancy adiscrimination – you have the right to do this from “day one”.

What happens if you’re victimized for making a complaint of pregnancy discrimination?

If you do any of the acts listed below (known as a “protected act”) and are then subjected to any form of detriment or dismissal because you have done so then you may be able to make a claim for “victimization” under the Equality Act. A protected act can include:

• Making or threatening to make an informal or formal complaint about pregnancy discrimination within your organisation
• Helping a colleague to make a complaint or helping them with their Employment Tribunal claim regarding pregnancy discrimination
• Making or threatening to make an Employment Tribunal claim for pregnancy discrimination

Employment Tribunal cases involving pregnancy discrimination

• Freear v Vossloh Cogifer UK Ltd 1800747/2016 – employee who was threatened with a disciplinary after making her employer aware of the fact that she was pregnant won a claim for discrimination and was awarded £43,735.09 in compensation (Employment Tribunal judgment here, or read our analysis of the case)
• Onigbanjo v London Borough of Croydon 2301468/2016 –  the Employment Tribunal held that a failure to carry out a risk assessment had discriminated against the employee because she was pregnant (Employment Tribunal judgment here, or read our analysis of the case)
• Doyle v Associated Training Solutions Ltd 2405460/2016 – the Employment Tribunal held that a female employee’s dismissal was because of the fact that she was pregnant and that she intended to take a period of maternity leave (Employment Tribunal judgment here, or read our analysis of the case)
• Ginger v Department for Work and Pensions 3401940/2015 – the Employment Tribunal held that the refusal to allow an employee to take a further period of time off work for IVF treatment constituted direct sex discrimination (Employment Tribunal judgment here, or read our analysis of the case)
• Deol v Sonic Laboratories Ltd 3323774/2016 – the Employment Tribunal held that a pregnant employee’s dismissal was because she was pregnant (Employment Tribunal judgment here, or read our analysis of the case)
• Mrs A Baszkowska v Mr Zbigniew Godzisz – ET/2602065/2019 – the Employment Tribunal held that an employee’s disclosure that she was pregnant led to a change in attitude by the employer towards the employee, and that this then resulted in the employee being ignored whilst on maternity leave (Employment Tribunal judgment here, or read our analysis of the case)