Does Your Business Have Steps In Place?

Employers are warned not to ask women about pregnancy and children after a report revealed shocking statistics…

According to statistics from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), most employers think that women should have to reveal if they are pregnant during the interview or recruitment process.

The survey went on to reveal that two out of five employers said women who have had more than one child while in the same role can be a ‘burden’ to the team.

The Chief Executive of the EHRC said: “It is a depressing reality that, when it comes to the rights of pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace, we are still living in the dark ages.”

This shocking discrimination within the recruitment process is more common than we may think, but everyone should know that, as an employer, it is against the law to discriminate and to not appoint a woman because she is or may be pregnant.

Employers must have support and guidance about the law and the rights of their employee or prospective employee.

Women should not have to be forced between having a career and a family, which is why we have support in place to help businesses manage these situations with full respect for the lifestyles that women choose.

The survey revealed that British employers are “living in the dark ages” in regard to recruiting women. This is something we believe needs and must improve right now, both to show support to women wanting to start a family, and to ensure their business is following the rules of the law.

Case Study:

A business we had been working with recruited a lady who was pregnant and they had not been made aware of this during the interview. One her third day of work with the business, she revealed she was actually four months pregnant.

Of course, this is something that came as a surprise to the small business, but after the initial surprise, plans were put in place to manage the situation effectively.

We reviewed maternity policies and payments, risk assessments were conducted, and discussions surrounding maternity leave were carried out to ensure the business had suitable maternity cover in place. As a small business, it was not an ideal situation, but with the right management and support it was done with respect and care for the employee.

If you need advice or support around maternity policies and procedures that should be carried out, get in touch with Oculus HR to discuss how they can help.