The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill passed successfully through the House of Commons on 3rd February 2023.
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill was introduced as a private Members Bill in June 2022 by Labour MP Dan Jarvis. Currently, under Regulation 10 of the Maternity and Paternity Leave Regulations 1999, employers only have an obligation to offer employees on maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave a suitable alternative vacancy (appropriate and on terms not substantially worse than the previous job), if their role is at risk of redundancy.
However, if the Bill is eventually passed and becomes law, it would give the Secretary of State the power to extend the Regulation 10 protections so that it applies to pregnant women, as well as new parents returning to work from a relevant form of leave.
The redundancy protection period would apply from the point the employee disclosed the fact that they are pregnant and would extend until six months after a new mother has returned to work. Therefore if an employee takes the full 52-week maternity leave, they will continue to be protected against redundancy for a further 26 weeks following their return to work, when the child reaches 18 months old.
The Bill would also give the Secretary of State the power to make regulations to expand equivalent protections for those on adoption leave or shared parental leave to extend after those periods of leave have concluded.
Dan Jarvis MP for Barnsley Central said:
“At the heart of this Bill are tens of thousands of women pushed out of the workforce each year simply for being pregnant. I’m proud this new legislation will go some way to providing pregnant women and new mums greater protections in the workplace. I want to thank all those who’ve supported the Bill and I look forward to working with them to ensure it passes into law.”
The introduction of the Bill comes in response to a government consultation which estimated that up to 54,000 women a year felt they had to leave their jobs due to pregnancy or maternity discrimination.
Business Minister Dean Russell said:
“Being an expectant or new parent is already a hugely exciting yet anxious time without the added pressure of worrying whether your job is on the line.
By extending the UK’s world class workplace protections, today’s reforms will help to remove workplace discrimination and provide improved job security for employees at such an important and precious time in their lives.”
