Maria Miller MP warned 3 years ago within the House of Commons of the significant discrimination and poor treatment faced by a staggering 54,000 pregnant women and mothers at work each year.
The treatment of pregnant women and new mothers by their employers appears to be slowly getting worse. According to research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, they found that one in 20 women are made redundant during pregnancy or on maternity leave and one in 10 feel they are treated worse by their employer after returning to work. Employment Lawyers have reported a significant increase in the number of maternity related cases over the past year.
Therefore, a new bill sponsored by Maria Miller MP is expected to pass its second reading in the House of Commons soon. The new bill will outlaw redundancy from the point a woman notifies of her pregnancy until 6 months after the end of her maternity leave with limited exceptions for cases of gross misconduct or where a company has ceased trading.