Pregnancy and maternity at work - your employment rights
Pregnant women and new mothers have legal employment rights which are designed to protect their health and safety and that of their expected or new-born children.
These rights also protect their contractual terms and conditions of employment and are designed to prevent unlawful discrimination.
Pregnant women and new mothers have the right to:
- paid time-off for ante-natal care
- maternity leave
- maternity pay
- protection from unfair treatment or dismissal
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Employers should never try to avoid these legal duties by simply refusing to employ any pregnant women, new mothers or women of child bearing age. Such a policy would certainly amount to direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of your gender (
sex discrimination),
pregnancy discrimination or
maternity discrimination and is likely to be unlawful.
Frequently asked questions: