ABSTRACT
The Employment Rights Act 1996 provides protection from dismissal for all pregnant employees and in connection with childbirth. Further rights relating to maternity and parental leave can be found in the Employment Relations Act 1999 and the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999, as amended by the Employment Act 2002 and the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 2002. The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act 2018 has received Royal Assent and should come into force in 2020. It will give all employed parents the right to two weeks’ leave if they lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. Protection from discrimination is also extended to discrimination by trade unions and employers associations, employment agencies and qualifying bodies such as the Association of Chartered Accountants, the Law Society and partnerships. In order to establish this type of discrimination, comparison must be made with a person of the opposite sex or another race.
