Pregnancy and maternity discrimination

In the UK, pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010, protecting individuals from unfair treatment due to pregnancy, maternity leave, or pregnancy-related illness, covering recruitment, work, and return from leave, with the protective period lasting from conception through maternity leave. This includes direct discrimination, harassment, and victimisation, such as being denied a job, promotion, or being dismissed because of pregnancy.

Tip for employees: If you experience this, you can raise concerns with your employer, seek advice from organisations like Acas, Maternity Action or Pregnant then Screwed.

Risk assessments

Employers are legally required to ensure working conditions that do not pose any health risks to the pregnant employee and her baby. It is unlawful to dismiss a worker or treat her unfavourably because she cannot do the same work as a result of health and safety risks during pregnancy or upon the return to work, for example, when breastfeeding (link to relevant section under Return to Work). Sometimes it only takes some small changes (see Reasonable Adjustments – link to section) to a pregnant employee’s role to ensure there are no health and safety risks to mother and child.

Antenatal appointments

Pregnant staff

Pregnant employees have the right to reasonable time off with full pay for ‘antenatal’ (pregnancy-related) appointments and care.

Fathers and other non-birth parents

Partners have the right to time off work to accompany the expectant to 2 antenatal appointments. This time off does not have to be paid and is for a maximum of 6.5 hours for each appointment. Male employees and partners generally found employers supportive if they wanted to attend scans or classes. However, some felt awkward asking for time off due to workplace culture or gender expectations.

“Sometimes I felt bad asking because it’s just the way society works… you just crack on and go to work.” (Shane, Medium business employee)

Insights from our research

Most participants in our research were able to easily attend antenatal appointments during the working day. Most employers were flexible and supportive, and they were aware of the need to allow pregnant employees paid time off to attend appointments. Depending on the specific job role and workplace culture, practices varied. A small number of organisations explicitly stated that antenatal appointments were paid in their policies. In some instances, absences for appointments were formally recorded, but in the majority of cases, they were managed on an informal basis, relying on trust between the manager and employee.

“My work is quite flexible and always has been regardless of being pregnant or not, so things like midwife appointments I just put them in the diary and went, I didn’t need to specifically book time off for them, so it would have been classed as paid. I didn’t need, fortunately, any other antenatal appointments other than scans and midwife appointments.” (Anna, Small business employee)

Some employees were encouraged to schedule appointments early or late in the day to minimise disruption. Others had to catch up on missed work and, in some workplaces, there was an expectation that the time would be made up elsewhere (e.g. through flexi-hours, TOIL, or working later).

“If I disappear for a few hours to go to an antenatal clinic, that’s fine, but the deadlines don’t move.” (Mark, Small business employee)

Some employees felt guilty about taking time off or pressured to compensate by working longer hours, even when not explicitly asked to do so. Positive experiences were often linked to close, family-like cultures in small teams. Employers valued open communication from staff when managing frequent or urgent appointments (see also How to create a supportive workplace culture – add link).

Fertility treatment and high-risk pregnancies

There is no specific legal right to time off for fertility treatment appointments, but they should be treated like any other medical appointment. Staff members who become pregnant through fertility treatment have the same maternity rights that apply to a non-IVF pregnancy.

Pregnancy protection rights start from the embryo transfer stage, and from this point, employees are protected from unfair treatment or dismissal related to the potential pregnancy, although they are not required to inform their employer at this stage.

Complex, high-risk pregnancies and fertility treatments need extra understanding that is not always covered in information on standard entitlements and can add uncertainty around adequate support.

“I think because it’s not the normal kind of pattern of someone becoming pregnant… it doesn’t feel very supported.” (Meghan, Medium business employer)

High-risk pregnancies carry an increased chance of complications for the mother, the baby, or both. Although IVF pregnancies are necessarily higher risk, they do need closer monitoring than non-IVF pregnancies.

Supportive practices

It is good practice to also offer paid time off work for fathers and other non-birth parents to accompany the expectant to antenatal appointments. This might involve more than two appointments in case of higher-risk pregnancies, where it is even more important to be present to support the pregnant partner. It can be helpful for employers to remind pregnant employees to keep them up-to-date on any changing health needs to minimise risks of complications, especially in case of higher-risk pregnancies (see Supportive Workplace Culture).

What can employees do to help? They can keep their employers informed of any changing support needs on their own initiative rather than waiting for employers to approach them.