The Department for Business Innovation and Skill (BIS), together with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), commissioned research exploring pregnancy and maternity related discrimination in the workplace. The research involved interviews with over 3,000 mothers and over 3,000 employers in Britain.

While you may not all have the time or inclination to read the full report, the information that stemmed from the research is worrying, considering rights in relation to maternity and pregnancy discrimination have been around for so long.

Some of the key points of the report are:

• 77% of mothers reported having had negative or possibly discriminatory experience during pregnancy, maternity leave, and/or on return from maternity leave.
• 51% of mothers said that they had felt negative consequences from having had their flexible working requests approved.
• 84% of employers reported that it was in their interests to support expectant and new mothers.
• The majority of employers have felt that 80% of pregnant women and 78% mothers returning from maternity leave were as committed to work as other employees. However, the findings also showed that some employers had negative attitudes.
• The majority of employers were positive about managing most of the statutory rights relating to pregnancy and maternity.

The EHRC has made a number of recommendations to the government to address the findings of the research, which include:

1. Exploring the feasibility of a collective insurance scheme to support small and medium sized employers to spread the cost of providing enhanced maternity pay and cover for maternity leave;
2. Considering the most effective intervention and implementing changes to prevent employers seeking information about women's plans to have children which could potentially be used to discriminate unlawfully during recruitment;
3. Making changes to the employment tribunal fee system so fees are not a barrier to accessing justice for women experiencing pregnancy and maternity related discrimination; and
4. Considering increasing the time limit for women bringing claims to an employment tribunal from 3 to 6 months.

The government has accepted a number of the recommendations and will work with the EHRC and business leaders on addressing the findings from the report. Although, perhaps unsurprisingly, the government rejected the recommendations set out at points 3 and 4 above.

Although this report may not come as a surprise to many women who have experienced discrimination and challenges as a result of a pregnancy and maternity leave, it should be taken on board by employers as a wake-up call, if their practices lead them to being discriminatory then they risk being taken to an employment tribunal as a result.