Last reviewed: April 2026
Last updated: April 2026, with the current legal position and recent changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025
If you are pregnant and worried about how your employer might treat you, you are not alone. Pregnancy discrimination is still far too common in UK workplaces, despite strong laws against it.
Finding out you are pregnant should be one of the most significant moments of your life. For many women, it also becomes a source of quiet dread about their job. Will your boss be supportive? Will you still get that promotion you were heading for? Will you have a job to come back to?
The good news is that you have real, enforceable rights. The harder truth is that many employers either do not know these rights or choose to stretch them. That is why understanding your protections properly matters. This guide walks you through the position as it stands in 2026, in plain English, and tells you what to do if things are going wrong at work.
What Pregnancy Discrimination Actually Is
Pregnancy discrimination happens when your employer treats you unfavourably because you are pregnant, have given birth, or are on maternity leave. The law is clear: it is illegal.
One important distinction makes pregnancy discrimination different from many other types of workplace discrimination. Your employer does not need to treat you worse than someone else for it to count. If you are treated unfavourably because of your pregnancy or maternity, that is enough. They cannot argue “we would have treated a man the same way” because men do not get pregnant.
The main laws protecting you are the Equality Act 2010 (which covers pregnancy and maternity as a protected characteristic) and the Employment Rights Act 1996 (which covers automatic unfair dismissal protections). More recently, the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 extended redundancy protection significantly, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Royal Assent December 2025) is introducing a further tranche of protections through secondary regulations.
You can read the official guidance on pregnancy and maternity rights at gov.uk/discrimination-your-rights.
The Reality: How Common Is Pregnancy Discrimination?
Government research has long estimated that around 54,000 women a year feel forced to leave their jobs because of pregnancy or maternity discrimination. That figure represents roughly one in nine mothers facing serious enough treatment to end their employment.
The impact does not stop at job loss. Studies consistently show that women who experience pregnancy discrimination are more likely to develop postnatal depression and anxiety. Careers are affected for years afterwards, with measurable pay gaps appearing between those who experienced discrimination and those who did not.
Some industries carry higher risk. Hospitality, retail, and some parts of healthcare show consistently higher rates of pregnancy-related exits. Smaller employers (fewer than 50 staff) also tend to have higher rates, often because they lack proper HR support and do not fully understand their legal duties.
Spotting The Warning Signs
Pregnancy discrimination rarely looks like “we do not want pregnant women here.” It is almost always subtler than that. Things to watch for:
Sudden Changes After You Announce Your Pregnancy. If your responsibilities shift, you are excluded from meetings you used to attend, or projects get reassigned right after you share your news, pay attention. Your employer may frame it as “looking after you”, but if you did not ask for these changes, they may be unlawful.
A Sudden Onset Of Performance Concerns. If your appraisals have been positive for years and suddenly everything you do is wrong, and this shift lines up with your pregnancy announcement, take that seriously. Informal concerns that suddenly become formal processes are a red flag.
Comments That Reveal Assumptions. “I suppose you will not be wanting that promotion now.” “We need someone more reliable.” Even well-intentioned remarks like “you will probably want to stay home with the baby” reveal discriminatory thinking about your commitment and capability.
Missing Out On Opportunities. Being passed over for training, promotions, or visible projects after sharing your pregnancy news is a warning sign. Your employer cannot make assumptions about what you want or what you are capable of based on your pregnancy.
Timing Is Evidence. The closer the timing between your pregnancy announcement and any adverse treatment, the harder it becomes for your employer to claim the two are unrelated.
Your Rights During Pregnancy
Time Off For Antenatal Appointments
You have a legal right to paid time off for all your antenatal appointments, including routine check-ups, scans, and classes recommended by your midwife or doctor. Your employer cannot make you schedule them outside working hours or make up the time.
Your partner has the right to take unpaid time off to accompany you to two antenatal appointments.
Pregnancy Risk Assessment
Once you tell your employer in writing that you are pregnant, they must carry out a specific risk assessment of your role. If risks are identified, they must take reasonable steps to remove them: adjusting hours, changing duties, modifying your workspace. If they cannot make your current role safe, they must offer suitable alternative work on the same terms. If no alternative is available, they must suspend you on full pay.
Protection From Unfair Dismissal
It is automatically unfair to dismiss you for any reason connected with your pregnancy or maternity leave, regardless of how long you have worked there. Even if your employer claims other reasons for dismissal, they bear the burden of proving your pregnancy or leave had nothing to do with it.
Right To Return To Work
After maternity leave, you have the right to come back to work. If you take 26 weeks or less (Ordinary Maternity Leave), you can return to exactly the same job. If you take longer (up to 52 weeks total), you can return to the same job or, where that is not reasonably practicable, a similar job on the same terms.
Extended Redundancy Protection (Current 2026 Position)
This is the protection most commonly misunderstood, so it is worth being precise.
Since 6 April 2024, the redundancy protected period has been significantly extended:
- During Pregnancy: Protection starts from the day you tell your employer you are pregnant. If your role is at risk of redundancy, you must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy as a priority.
- During And After Maternity Leave: Protection runs until 18 months from your child’s birth. If you take the full 52 weeks of maternity leave, this gives you roughly six months of continuing protection after your return to work.
- Adoption And Shared Parental Leave: Broadly the same 18-month window, with specific rules for each leave type.
- Neonatal Care Leave (Introduced April 2025): Where six or more continuous weeks are taken, the protected period runs 18 months from the child’s birth.
If your employer does not follow these rules, any dismissal may be automatically unfair and could also amount to pregnancy or maternity discrimination. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce further enhanced dismissal protections once the secondary regulations are finalised (government consultation closed in January 2026 and new rules are expected during 2026 and 2027).
What The Law Does Not Say
Because misinformation is common in this area, it is worth being clear about what the law does not currently say. As of April 2026:
- There is no five-year protection period after maternity leave. The current enhanced protection is 18 months from the child’s birth.
- Compensation at employment tribunal for discrimination is not capped at a specific figure. It is uncapped and depends on the facts of the case, with awards commonly including loss of earnings, injury to feelings, and sometimes aggravated damages.
- There is no current statutory requirement for companies of a particular size to publish annual pregnancy-related workforce reports or provide mandatory pregnancy discrimination training. These have been discussed in consultations but are not law.
Always check the date of any legal article you are reading and cross-reference with gov.uk or Acas for the current position.
What To Do If You Are Facing Discrimination
Start Documenting Everything
Keep a dated, detailed record. Who said what, when, and who else was present. Save emails, texts, and written evidence. Forward important communications to a personal email address. This may feel excessive, but in a dispute a clear paper trail is the single most powerful thing you can produce.
Put Your Pregnancy In Writing
If you have not already, email or write to your employer formally confirming your pregnancy. This creates a clear record and triggers all your legal obligations and protections.
Know Your Company’s Policies
Read your employment contract, staff handbook, maternity policy, and any equality or grievance policies. This shows you what your employer should be doing and whether they are following their own stated rules.
Try Raising It Informally First
If you feel safe doing so, raise your concerns with your manager or HR. Sometimes the issue is genuine ignorance, not malice, and a conversation resolves it. But keep notes of what is said.
Use The Formal Grievance Process
If informal discussion does not resolve things, submit a written grievance under your employer’s procedure. They then have a legal obligation to investigate properly.
Get Outside Support
Acas provides free, confidential advice (acas.org.uk). Maternity Action and Pregnant Then Screwed both offer specialist pregnancy discrimination support. Your trade union (if you are a member) can also help.
Consider Legal Advice Early
Many employment solicitors offer free initial consultations. If the discrimination is serious or your employer is dismissive, getting legal advice early can change the outcome significantly.
Watch The Time Limits
You normally have three months less one day from the discriminatory act (or the last in a series of acts) to begin a tribunal claim. Before issuing a claim, you must also complete Acas Early Conciliation. These deadlines are strict, so do not delay.
Getting The Right Documents In Place
Having professional, well-written letters and forms does two things. It signals to your employer that you understand your rights, and it creates the paper trail you will need if things escalate.
Our legal document generator at motherswhowork.co.uk/mumslegalfriend contains templates covering every stage of the pregnancy and maternity journey:
- Pregnancy And Health At Work Pack – pregnancy notification letters, risk assessment requests, reasonable adjustments requests. These establish your rights cleanly from day one.
- Workplace Rights And Dispute Resolution Pack – grievance letters, discrimination complaint forms, written follow-ups after meetings. Written by employment specialists.
- Return To Work And Flexible Working Pack – flexible working request letters, return-to-work planning documents, appeal templates.
Each template includes guidance notes explaining when and how to use it, what information to include, and how to adapt it to your situation.
Your Next Steps
If you are experiencing pregnancy discrimination, do not wait:
- Document Everything that is happening, with dates and witnesses.
- Secure Your Evidence by forwarding key emails to a personal account.
- Review Your Company Policies to understand what should be happening.
- Decide On Your Goal – do you want to stay with this employer long-term, or is this about leaving on the best terms possible?
- Try Informal Discussion if you believe it may help.
- Use The Formal Grievance Process if informal does not work.
- Get Support from Acas, your union, or a specialist charity.
- Take Legal Advice early for serious cases.
- Watch The Time Limits – three months less one day, with Acas Early Conciliation first.
One Honest Word Before You Go
You are not just fighting for yourself. Every woman who stands up to pregnancy discrimination makes it marginally harder for employers to get away with it next time. That is part of the long story of how workplace rights actually change.
The law is strong. Support is available. Good documentation and clear thinking will take you further than you might believe right now. For nineteen years, Mothers Who Work has been walking alongside women through pregnancy, maternity, and return to work. If you have not already, join our newsletter at the foot of this page, or become part of the MWW Club for community with women who have been where you are.
You deserve to be treated fairly during one of the most significant seasons of your life. Do not let anyone talk you out of that.
This guide provides general information about pregnancy discrimination law in the UK and should not be treated as legal advice for your specific situation. For advice about your particular circumstances, consult a qualified employment solicitor. For professional legal document templates and comprehensive guidance, visit motherswhowork.co.uk/mumslegalfriend.
