Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to address levels of discrimination in the work-place for women who are pregnant.

Margot James

Pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination in the workplace is both unlawful and unacceptable, and has no place in today’s society. That is why the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) jointly commissioned independent research to better understand the issues so that appropriate steps can be taken to address the situation.

The Government is committed to tackling pregnancy and maternity discrimination and we are taking action as promised in our response on 22 March 2016 to recommendations made by the EHRC. We are working with a range of partners including EHRC and Acas to promote opportunities for women, including pregnant women and new mothers; to ensure that female talent is recognised and rewarded; and to make more employers aware of their legal obligations.