Tip of the iceberg: interim report of the EOC's investigation into discrimination against new and expectant mothers in the workplace

"Every year, in England and Wales alone, around 1,000 women take legal action against their employer claiming they were sacked because of their pregnancy. This is likely to be the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of women contact the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and other organisations eve...

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Bibliographic Details
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Manchester 2004
EOC
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19293043124910112259-Tip-of-the-iceberg-interim-rep.htm
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collection Library items
description "Every year, in England and Wales alone, around 1,000 women take legal action against their employer claiming they were sacked because of their pregnancy. This is likely to be the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of women contact the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and other organisations every year about their maternity or pregnancy rights at work. Over 500 women have been in touch with us since we launched the investigation to tell us their experiences. These are the sorts of problems they face: - during pregnancy: being refused a job, dismissed, selected for redundancy, demoted, losing out on pay, bonuses or other benefits, being exposed to health and safety risks or subjected to unpleasant or hostile treatment - during maternity leave: being made redundant, not consulted on changes to the organisation, passed over for promotion, or deprived of the benefit of pay rises or bonuses - on return to work : being denied flexible hours or forced to return to a lower-status job. Whilst only 350,000 women are pregnant in any one year in Great Britain, out of almost 10 million working women of childbearing age, many women will experience pregnancy at work at least once. Pregnancy discrimination can hit the income and health of their families very hard and the effects can be long-lasting. Because so few women are pregnant at any one time, pregnancy is an unfamiliar experience for most employers and does present challenges. When discrimination occurs, the economy and businesses lose out on talent as well as facing the costs of replacing staff and, sometimes, legal costs. Some women fear the effect of pregnancy on their careers and there is evidence that women are having fewer children than they would ideally choose (OECD, 2003). This is happening at a time when the birthrates in England, Scotland and Wales are declining."
format TEXT
geographic United Kingdom
id 19293043124910112259_0b67d144b06845cbb0781510813c7421
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19293043124910112259_0b67d144b06845cbb0781510813c7421
is_hierarchy_title Tip of the iceberg: interim report of the EOC's investigation into discrimination against new and expectant mothers in the workplace
language English
physical 36 p.
Digital
publishDate 2004
publisher Manchester
EOC
spellingShingle employers liability
maternity leave
pregnant women
sex discrimination
workers information
workers rights
Tip of the iceberg: interim report of the EOC's investigation into discrimination against new and expectant mothers in the workplace
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=117574693575
title Tip of the iceberg: interim report of the EOC's investigation into discrimination against new and expectant mothers in the workplace
topic employers liability
maternity leave
pregnant women
sex discrimination
workers information
workers rights
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19293043124910112259-Tip-of-the-iceberg-interim-rep.htm