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Sex and the small business - Mum's the word

By Margaret Webster, Finance Director, Close Invoice Finance

Is sex discrimination flourishing in UK workplaces? Godfrey Bloom seems to think so. The UK Independence Party MEP, who recently took a seat on the European Parliament women's rights committee, predictably caused uproar with his misguided comment that "No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age". Criticism immediately flew in from all sides, with many proclaiming Bloom a Neanderthal and a chauvinist.

Bloom later said that many of his more outrageous comments were jokes, but emphasised that he felt maternity rights legislation was detrimental to the very women it was intended to help. The worst-hit, he feels, are small businesses with fewer than 20 people which can ill afford to give months of time off to new mothers; large companies can bear the brunt much more easily.

He was also not without his supporters, though many preferred to remain anonymous. One owner of a small business, employing four people, recently confided to The Times: "...taking on a woman who could become pregnant is an additional risk which, if you don't need to take, you shouldn't.... the real impact is not the cost, it is the loss of manpower. If you have four people in your business and one goes on maternity leave, you have just lost a quarter of your workforce." Another felt the rules themselves offered too little certainty: "A woman on maternity leave is under no obligation to tell you if or when she is returning".

Regardless of whether or not one agrees with Mr. Bloom, it is imperative that employers are aware of what maternity rights exactly are, and what they are statutorily required to offer their employees.

First, maternity leave rights apply to both full- and part-time employees (provided qualifications such as length of service have been met). As well, time off for antenatal care applies to all employees regardless of length of service; antenatal care may include childbirth or parenting classes, medical examinations and so on. During antenatal time off, employees must be paid at their normal rate of pay.

Everyone is entitled to 26 weeks of maternity leave as a minimum, and employees who have worked with their company for 26 weeks continuously qualify for an extra entitlement. Women are required to take a minimum of two weeks off following birth, or four for factory workers.

And what does it cost the company? While on maternity leave, a woman's entitlement to normal benefits she would receive if working - such as accrual of holiday time, share schemes or memberships - will continue to apply. However, she is not entitled to receive pay from her employer during this period. Upon her return to work, she is entitled to benefit from any improvement in salary or terms made to her position at the company while she was away. (Bonuses, however, are highlighted in the DTI information guide to maternity rights as a complicated issue and legal advice is recommended.)

For purposes of time served at the company, which affects matters such as seniority, benefits and redundancy payments, a woman's statutory maternity leave counts as continuous service. This is not the case for any additional maternity leave taken without special arrangements between employer and employee.

Employers must ensure that they understand the rules: a woman has the right not to suffer detrimental treatment at work due to her pregnancy, from the moment she informs her employer she is pregnant. Women suffering discrimination due to their being pregnant, having had children or taking time off for antenatal or maternity leave (or seeking to do so) can take their complaints to an industrial tribunal.

As with all employment matters, communication between staff and management is the key. Employers don't need to fear maternity leave; working with women to ensure a smooth transition for everyone is likely to pay dividends of staff loyalty and appreciation long after the leave period ends


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