ABSTRACT
So far we have considered the legal standards set through family-friendly legislation per se and through particular legislation relevant in the event of a pregnancy-related dismissal (chapter 3), and how that legislation can be applied at tribunal level (chapter 4). Both assessments have revealed flaws in standard setting and enforcement aspects of the relevant regulatory system and here another important aspect of the legal regulation of pregnancy and parenting is considered: the ability of those experiencing pregnancyparenting/workplace conflicts to access employment tribunals. Tribunals are now established as the first, and are often the only, formal legal institution with which aggrieved employees come into contact in the event of wrongdoing at work. Tribunals are still, despite recent government attempts to keep such conflict management ‘in-house’, a core aspect of the UK’s dispute resolution framework. As Morris and Nott have argued, ‘if the mechanics of equality are defective, the impact of the law is fundamentally undermined’ (Morris and Nott 1991: 160) and this chapter considers how far the relevant ‘mechanics’ of law, the procedural aspects of dispute resolution in the employment context, support or hamper our cohort of potential claimants.
