The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill was supported by MPs unopposed and will now undergo further scrutiny in the House of Lords.
The Bill aims to strengthen employment rights for new parents and mothers to be by protecting them against redundancy for longer. It protects women from redundancy during and after pregnancy, and amends existing regulations to protect parents from redundancy on return to work from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
Labour MP Dan Jarvis sponsored the Bill and urged MPs to back his proposals, telling them they had a “precious opportunity within our grasp to make a real difference to over 50,000 pregnant women and new parents each year”.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Usdaw has long campaigned for stronger protections against redundancy for pregnant women and new parents, the current rights are simply not adequate. We are grateful to Dan Jarvis MP for successfully bringing this measure to Parliament and we urge members of the House of Lords to also back the Bill.
“Strong employment and equality rights during pregnancy and maternity leave are absolutely necessary; pregnancy discrimination at work and in the labour market remains widespread, ranging from being denied paid time off for ante natal appointments to inadequate rest breaks and lack of a proper risk assessments. Women in unorganised workplaces face particular problems and are often too afraid or vulnerable to assert their rights. So trade unions and strong workplace organisation are crucial to defending and furthering women’s rights at work.
“One of the most effective ways to deliver better pay, decent work and fairness for women at work is for employers to recognise and work with trade unions. So we welcome new employment rights, but they must be part of a wide-ranging new deal for workers that makes work pay, ends insecure employment, provides a proper social security safety net and gives workers a voice through their trade union.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion