Could this lead to more discrimination claims for employers?
Maternity and childcare issues are often in the press, whether because of the struggle involved in balancing business needs and support for working parents, or because of alleged workplace discrimination.
The CBI recently put forward proposals to extend statutory maternity pay from the current 39 weeks to 52 weeks, and to provide 15 hours of free childcare a week for children aged one to four years old. The idea behind the proposals is to improve incomes and job prospects for working parents, acknowledging the struggle for employees who are juggling childcare and career progression. Whether this develops into government policy remains to be seen. With a hefty £2 billion price tag, it is certainly a radical idea which has pros and cons for both employers and employees.
The positives are likely to be:
- Improved morale for working parents. They should feel more supported by their employer
- Improved reputation for the organisation in its approach to working families. Many job candidates looking at prospective employers like to see a wide range of individuals working in an organisation and the company demonstrating empathy and support towards its employees
- Less stress for employees planning a family from a financial/career progression perspective. If women know they will receive extended maternity pay, and free childcare, earlier on they will worry less about the financial impact of becoming a parent, and hopefully discard the idea of not returning to work
- Women will be less likely to allow starting a family to affect their career plans and would worry less about the impact such a move would have on their progression at work, which in turn would be reflected in their productivity
But there are also likely to be negatives:
- Organisations could face workforce planning issues if more women take the full 52 weeks’ maternity leave
- Employees without children could argue they were being disadvantaged because they do not have them
- There may be an increase in pregnancy/maternity discrimination towards those employees benefiting from the increase in statutory maternity pay and free childcare
Of these, the potential rise in discrimination claims is perhaps the most concerning from an employer’s perspective because it is largely outside their control yet potentially very costly. Pregnancy and maternity are ‘protected characteristics’ under the Equality Act 2010. It is an employer’s responsibility to ensure that neither the organisation, nor disgruntled employees who do not have children, treat women who are pregnant or on maternity leave less favourably because they are pregnant or on maternity leave. If these proposals became a reality, organisations would need to carry out refresher training for their work forces on a wide range of equality issues.
Employers are often unsure about the need to inform employees on maternity leave of changes and opportunities within the organisation, such as promotions and training programmes. Assuming an employee who is pregnant or on maternity leave is not interested in hearing about new opportunities can be a costly mistake. If women were to be off work for a longer period of time, they would be at greater risk of discrimination because of their employers’ actions, or failure to act. Encouraging gender diversity across the workforce would become even more important. Organisations would need to expressly state that all employees should be treated fairly and equally, regardless of their personal life choices, including whether or not to have a family.
Having a checklist to go through with employees before they go off on maternity leave, and asking how they would like to be contacted for updates during their maternity leave, would go a long way to protecting employers now and in the future. Items on this checklist should include:
- Confirmation of maternity leave dates
- Clarity on whether the employee will be accessing work emails during leave
- Confirmation from the employee on how she would prefer to be contacted during maternity leave
- Up-to-date phone, email and postal contact details for the employee
- A section that can be signed by the employer and employee to indicate that both parties have agreed to the arrangements
Deana Bates is an employment solicitor at Simpson Millar LLP
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