Pregnancy and maternity at work: closing the gap between rights and reality
The experiences of pregnant women and new mothers at work are back in the policy spotlight. In recent months, the UK Government has announced a series of reforms to strengthen workplace equality and support for working parents. These include its consultation response to strengthening protections against unfair dismissal for pregnant women and new parents, which would make enhanced dismissal protections a day-one right and extend safeguards to employees taking different forms of parental leave.
Recent Budget measures will extend parental pay eligibility to self-employed fathers, partners and adopters, and provide £15 million to mobilise the first-ever Misogyny Prevention Fund. Alongside these, wider equality measures include the ongoing Parental Leave and Pay Review and the ‘Say What You Pay’ announcement that will legally require employers to publish salary information in job adverts.
Together, these developments signal a clear ambition to improve the experiences of working parents, particularly women, by reducing barriers to participation, progression and retention. But how can rights be translated into consistently positive workplace experiences?
New research on pregnancy and maternity discrimination by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) for the former Department for Business and Trade (now the Department for Business, Innovation and Science), highlights why policy reforms must be accompanied by effective implementation if they are to improve employee experiences. In this blog, we highlight three key findings and what they mean for employers.
Discrimination manifests through everyday workplace experiences
Public discussion of pregnancy and maternity discrimination often focuses on the most visible outcomes, such as dismissal, redundancy or tribunal claims. While these remain important, our research suggests that discrimination is frequently experienced through a range of everyday workplace interactions and decisions that may never result in a formal complaint.
Participants commonly described missed progression opportunities, negative comments and stereotyping, difficulties accessing flexible working, and concerns about inadequate health, safety and wellbeing support during pregnancy. Analysis of Employment Tribunal cases found that claimants often perceived the onset of unfair treatment to coincide with the announcement of a pregnancy, with negative experiences often continuing through maternity leave and into the return-to-work period. Cumulatively, these experiences contributed to grievances, career stagnation or decisions to leave the employer.
Line managers shape workplace experiences
Across both employee and employer interviews, line manager capability emerged as a recurring factor shaping workplace experience. Participants frequently described managers as their primary source of information, support and decision-making throughout pregnancy, maternity leave and return to work. When managers were knowledgeable, proactive and confident discussing issues such as leave entitlements, flexible working arrangements and workplace adjustments, staff experiences were generally positive. Conversely, lack of awareness, inconsistent policy application, poor communication, or uncertainty about legal/ organisational requirements led to feelings of exclusion, uncertainty and unfair treatment. Clear, consistent communication was particularly important during periods of leave and the transition back to work.
Strengthening rights must be accompanied by greater awareness and fair implementation
Awareness of workplace rights varied considerably among both parents and employers. Participants only sought information at key trigger points, such as discovering a pregnancy, preparing for maternity leave, returning to work, or after experiencing unfair treatment. While parents often turned to their employer first, they also relied on online searches, family and friends, trade unions, maternity charities and other external sources to understand their rights and entitlements. However, they frequently reported that available information was complex, fragmented and difficult to navigate.
Access to flexible working arrangements was a case in point. Several study participants reported difficulties securing flexible working arrangements after parental leave, changes to working patterns that created childcare pressures, increasing return-to-office requirements, and perceptions that similar requests were treated inconsistently across staff. Employees often felt alternatives had not been explored, decisions lacked proper justification and transparent communication, and flexibility was culturally discouraged, which heightened perceptions of unfairness and sometimes affected their ability to remain in the role.
Turning policy in practice: what employers can do
As the Government strengthens protections for pregnant women and new parents, employers will need to do more than simply update policies. Our research suggests that many negative pregnancy and parental experiences arise not because policies do not exist, but because they are applied inconsistently in day-to-day workplace interactions.
Three areas stand out.
- Prioritise key transition points
Particular attention should be paid to key transition points, especially pregnancy disclosure, periods of leave and return to work. Clear communication, early discussions about support needs, workplace adjustments, well-managed flexible working conversations, and agreed return-to-work plans can help reduce uncertainty and ensure employees feel supported throughout the process.
- Improve information, communication, and transparency of workplace decisions
Employers should make clear, accurate and up-to-date information on parental rights readily accessible and communicate it consistently. Open conversations about flexible working should be supported by clear explanations of decisions and consideration of alternatives where requests cannot be accommodated. Greater transparency about progression and reward decisions, including how periods of parental leave are taken into account, may also help reduce misunderstandings and mitigate longer-term career disadvantage.
- Invest in line manager capability
The clearest message for employers is the importance of building line manager capability. Managers are often the first point of contact for discussions about pregnancy, leave, flexible working and return-to-work arrangements, yet many reported limited experience or confidence in navigating these issues. Providing managers with practical training, clear guidance and access to HR support may be effective ways to ensure line managers can apply policies confidently, consistently and fairly.
As policymakers seek to strengthen protections for pregnant women and new parents, the research highlights the importance of looking beyond legislation alone. For employers, the task is not simply to update policies in response to legal change, but to ensure those policies are understood and consistently delivered in practice.
Ultimately, the quality of employees’ experiences depends less on what is written in a policy document and more on the confidence, capability and support of the managers responsible for implementing it. For employers, the proposed legislative changes are an opportunity not simply to comply, but to proactively create workplaces that enable pregnant employees and new parents to thrive.
Any views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Institute as a whole.