New Bill To Protect Pregnant Women And New Parents From Redundancy

A new bill to protect pregnant women and new parents from redundancy has moved a stage further to being enshrined in law.

On February 3 the bill passed successfully through the House of Commons moving it forward. It was supported unopposed and will now go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

Under current rules, employers have an obligation to offer an employee on maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave a suitable vacancy where one exists during a redundancy exercise.

This new protection  will begin from the moment someone tells their boss they are pregnant and last until the child is 18 months old. This means a mother returning from one year’s maternity leave would receive an additional six months’ redundancy protection.

When introducing the Bill last year, Jarvis said “tens of thousands of women are pushed out of the workforce each year simply for being pregnant.”

The Graham Agency, keeping you informed.