Pregnancy discrimination
Over 1,000 women take legal action every year claiming they were sacked for being pregnant, according to a new report from the Equal Opportunities Commission.
Stakeholder Response: Institute of Directors
A spokesperson for the Institute of Directors, said: "It goes without saying that women who have children should have employment protection. Maternity rights are fundamental in a civilised society. The vast majority of employers are only too ready to recognise this and make the necessary accommodations. They recognise that the next generation has to be born and nurtured; many are parents themselves. And they also recognise that it makes business sense to look after all their key employees - whether male or female or whether parents or childless. It may sound hackneyed but a contented workforce really is likely to be more productive and stable. High staff turnover, with the need to recruit new people, is costly and time-consuming."
Stakeholder Response: British Retail Consortium
Kevin Hawkins, BRC director general, said: "Retail is a sector that values all employees and every retailer will always try to keep up good practice and keep up to speed with any new legislation affecting pregnant employees, but like any other sector, we are not perfect and mistakes happen.
"We do not believe that the survey paints an accurate picture of attitude and practice within the retail sector. The survey also fails to recognise the diversity of the retail sector, giving no indication of the size of the retailers in question. The differences between small and large retailers in terms of company policies can be significant and the raft of new and recent employment legislations will always prove more of a challenge for smaller retailers.
"The retail industry has always attracted a diverse workforce and will always be especially attractive to women because of the great flexibility offered and a change-accommodating attitude that inspired the NHS to look at retail as the best practice sector when developing policies to attract women back to work. The fact that retail is the second largest employer of women is testimony to that."
Nick Goulding, FPB chief executive, said: "There are a number of issues of concern to small businesses surrounding maternity pay. Small businesses are, of course, obliged to comply with the current regulations, and mostly do, yet the impact that the regulations have on the small business owner is far more pronounced than the impact on bigger businesses.
"While we don't oppose the extension of maternity pay rules that make it easier for new and expectant mothers (and fathers) to spend time with their families, the regulations place a far harsher burden on the smaller business.For many small businesses the loss of one worker for what could be as long as 12 months may have a huge impact.Initially the business will have to find a suitable part-time replacement. There will be additional costs accrued during the 'hand-over period' when two employees may have to be paid, costs associated with recruitment can be extremely expensive and time-consuming and to top it all although companies can claim back the costs of maternity pay from the government they are obliged to pay up front, which constitutes an interest free loan to the government.
"We have been asked by the Equal Opportunities Commission to take part in a consultation that will be examining the issue. We will definitely take part and will endeavour to strongly highlight the problems experienced by small business as well as helping to examine potential solutions to those problems.
"In conclusion this is a classic case of regulations that have been designed to achieve a better environment for the progression of female employees actually creating the opposite effect whereby they constitute a real barrier to such progress due to the implications for small employers in particular."
Stakeholder Response: Federation of Small Businesses
A spokesman for the FSB said: "Small businesses genuinely employ the right person for the job regardless of gender or age. Moreover, it is important to keep this issue in perspective because on average a small employer only faces the situation of a pregnant worker once every 10 years. This does mean, however, that when it does happen it can take them by surprise. The administration of maternity is particularly troublesome for a small business. Under the law a women on maternity leave does not have to let her employer know when she plans to return to work and an employer cannot ask that question. This makes it difficult for a small firm to employ someone on a fixed contract to cover the leaver. The FSB would like to see maternity leavers giving their employers an update on their situation every two months."
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