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Tag: maternity leave

Pregnant worker saw own job advertised online before she was sacked

Pregnant worker sacked after job posted online

An employment tribunal recently heard the story of Sintija Gaikniece, a pregnant worker who was shocked to find her own job advertised online just before she was fired from her position at VPZ, a vape shop in Forfar, Scotland. Gaikniece was dismissed in June of last year after her bosses claimed that customers had complained about her behavior. However, she became suspicious when she received no evidence of these complaints and later discovered that the company had already posted a job advertisement to replace her before officially terminating her employment.

According to the legal proceedings, Gaikniece began working for VPZ in January 2022 and discovered her pregnancy only two weeks into her employment. She stated that her bosses had promised to discuss maternity arrangements but never followed through with the discussions. Gaikniece believed that the company had conspired to terminate her to avoid paying for her maternity leave. As a result, she filed an employment tribunal appeal, which she won, leading to her being awarded £17,500 in compensation. Speaking to the Daily Record newspaper, Gaikniece expressed her belief that the company had planned her dismissal and already had a replacement ready.

Gaikniece recounted her probationary meeting in late June where her boss informed her that there were complaints about her customer attitude but provided no specific details. She was told that she hadn’t passed her probation and was given the option to leave immediately if she wished. Gaikniece accepted the termination, signed on for Universal Credit, and began her legal battle.

In response to the allegations, a spokesperson for VPZ stated that the company, as the UK’s leading vaping retailer employing over 450 individuals nationwide, promotes an inclusive culture to foster the development and success of all employees. They highlighted their commitment to equal opportunities and their comprehensive paternity and maternity policy, which offers benefits and flexibility to staff members. The spokesperson acknowledged the tribunal’s judgment but mentioned that the company would be appealing the decision and, due to ongoing legal proceedings, refrained from further comment on the case.

The case of Sintija Gaikniece sheds light on the challenges faced by expectant mothers in the workplace. Research conducted by Culture Shift indicates that more than a quarter (26%) of expectant mothers hesitate to disclose their pregnancy due to concerns about potential stigma from colleagues and managers. The percentage rises to almost half (46%) for those who have been employed for less than six months when they become pregnant. Pregnancy and maternity discrimination ranked as the fifth most common discrimination claim from 2020 to 2021. The claims mainly revolved around sham redundancies, offensive comments directed at pregnant employees, failure to implement flexible working options, and being overlooked for promotion.

In the United Kingdom, there are legal protections against maternity discrimination, with the primary law being the Protected Period outlined in the Equality Act 2010. This period begins when a woman’s pregnancy commences and ends at the conclusion of her additional maternity leave period or when she returns to work after pregnancy, whichever is earlier. These laws aim to safeguard the rights of pregnant individuals during this critical time in their lives.

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Over 97% of UK companies are not giving enough support to female employees

Employers need to re-evaluate job perks for women

Less than 3% of jobs offered by UK employers advertise benefits necessary to help women thrive. This is according to new research from the job search engine Adzuna.

The company looked at more than one million job ads in March 2023 to find out how many postings promoting perks aimed at women. The results revealed the dire need for employers to step up.

In Adzuna’s analysis, they found:

  • 29,501 of the 1,043,451 job ads cited perks aimed at retaining and supporting women.
  • only 17,638 ads promoted enhanced maternity or parental leave.
  • just 6,410 postings offered some support with childcare costs.
  • only 821 job ads mention menopause support; of those, just 30 postings offer paid HRT therapy. This is despite evidence showing that 1 in 10 women aged 45-55 leaves the workforce due to symptoms of menopause.
  • only 5 UK job ads offered menstrual leave.

Recent research by YouGov found that almost half of Brits favour of the introduction of menstrual leave legislation. A further 40% of women said they regularly get period pain which is severe enough to affect their ability to work. Some countries have realised the negative impact that this time of the month has on women in the workplace. For example, Spain recently introduced legislation allowing three days per month of state-paid menstrual leave for those with incapacitating periods.

Adzuna’s research also found that fertility benefits such as egg freezing and IVF support are rare, with only 51 job ads mentioning these perks. Various large tech companies offer these benefits, but hiring in large tech companies is currently depressed, so there are limited options for women seeking fertility benefits from employers.

In contrast, many employers are offering popular perks such as duvet days (619 job ads), unlimited holidays (953 ads), and free gym membership (3,912 ads).

Paul Lewis, Chief Customer Officer at job search engine Adzuna, comments: “Women remain woefully undersupported in the UK workplace. Instead of duvet days or free gym membership, employers need to focus on benefits that support female employees. In particular, evidence shows menopause and menstruation are top factors making it harder for women to thrive at work, even leading many to drop out of the workforce. Women shouldn’t need to suffer in silence; employers need to step up, introduce open dialogues around these topics and add more flexibility for women juggling their health with work. Furthermore, keeping women in the workplace is key to filling skill gaps, so introducing benefits that help attract, support and ultimately retain women makes sense from a business as well as a societal perspective.”

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New mothers lack support, study reveals

Businesses called on to look at maternity pay policies and working models

The 2022 Parental Leave Study, conducted by Fertility Family, has found that one in five women are delaying having children due to work. The new study also revealed that half of new mothers need flexible working hours compared to less than two in five fathers. The belief is that flexible working hours would combat the increasing cost of childcare.

The study demonstrated that mothers struggle to balance work and family life after maternity leave. Twenty-four percent agree that maternity leave should last longer. And

As inflation hits new highs of 6.2%, 27% of women believe that maternity pay should be higher. In comparison, 15% of men want higher paternity pay.

The survey of employees at 116 UK companies also found that only 11% of mothers are happy with the parental leave policies at their companies and their company’s support of new parents.

The study also revealed that 21% of women would appreciate longer paid paternity leave for fathers. Fifteen percent of men feel the same. When asked whether working from home was a policy that new parents would appreciate, 46% of men and 44% of women agreed that it would.

With flexible working hours (45%) and remote working (45%) being the most popular wishes from both males and females, companies are called on to embrace employee-focused working models and increased maternity and paternity pay rates.

Gill McAteer, Director of Employment Law at Citation, commented: “Those who feel supported by their employers, and are clear about what their entitlements are, will feel much more comfortable making plans to start a family. Employees who are unsure of their workplace’s policy can often feel disengaged and stressed, which may lead to them putting off plans to have children as they feel like they are not ready.”

“Parental leave policies should be clear on employee entitlements and be available to everyone, with the aim of creating a supportive working environment. For employers looking to enhance their policies, they may consider adopting a family-friendly approach, with flexible or hybrid working, which would be well received by many of those who have families or are planning to do so.”

Lucinda Quigley, Head of Working Parents at Talking Talent, says: “The pandemic has led many people to re-examine their careers, futures and the way they want to work. Any companies not offering the right support and company culture could find their high-talent individuals eschew them in favour of more forward-thinking firms – which will be disastrous for long-term company success.”

“Now is the time for bold and honest conversations. Businesses must be ready to listen and create real change, especially given that the pandemic has transformed people’s thinking about the companies they work for, whilst also shifting family priorities.”

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Employers should offer workplace fertility and parental support

Live birth numbers decrease by 4.1%
The latest data released by the ONS on Birth characteristics in England and Wales: 2020 has reinforced the need for workplace fertility, pregnancy and early parenthood support for employees, and not just simply for those who fit into what is considered the nuclear family.

In 2020, the average age of mothers in England and Wales remained at 30.7 years, while the average age of fathers increased slightly to 33.7 years – both prime working ages; with 1,959 live births to same-sex couples recorded in 2020.

The data shows there were 613,936 live births in England and Wales in 2020, a decrease of 4.1% from 2019. Troubles with fertility do not affect everyone trying to conceive, but for those going through it, it seems that it is one of the last remaining workplace taboos – people simply don’t talk about it to their employer or their colleagues.

On top of this, becoming a parent often happens at the same time as careers are starting to flourish, which means it has a major impact on employers too.

Dr. Mridula Pore, CEO of Peppy said: “Trying for a baby and becoming a parent can be challenging times. When a member of staff tries for a baby or needs treatment to help them conceive, it can be all-consuming. They may need to take time off work for appointments and the stress and anxiety can lead to additional absences from a mental health point of view too.

“Once a baby is born, the stress isn’t over, with challenges such as feeding, sleeping and managing a new routine.

“This is a time when employees need a huge amount of support, and with the right support the experience can be much more positive, and also mitigate absence.”

Employers should be made aware of other data included in the ONS birth characteristics report that has been revealed and that is that the highest stillbirth rates remain in women aged 40 years and over at 5.5 stillbirths per 1,000 births in 2020, which is no change compared with 2019. Also, babies from black ethnic groups have the highest stillbirth rate at 6.3 per 1,000 births. However, this has decreased from 7.1 stillbirths per 1,000 births in 2019.

In 2020, 7.4% of live births were preterm births, a decrease from 7.8% in 2019. (A preterm birth is a birth that takes place before 37 weeks’ gestation.) These present incredibly stressful times for families who are often in very challenging careers and employers, along with HR functions, should consider offering more support to employees in situations such as these.

Dr. Mridula Pore continued: “After a miscarriage or stillbirth, many employees will find it hard to discuss what has happened and will benefit from support from someone with dedicated expertise in this area who understands what the individual or couple are experiencing emotionally, physically and practically.

“Whether employees are seeking treatment to help them conceive, have become parents, or have suffered the trauma of baby loss, support needs to be available as part of workplace diversity, equity and inclusion policies for everyone. We know that these issues don’t just affect young women in heterosexual relationships and although they are difficult subjects to address, those employers that are there when their staff are vulnerable and most at need, will be the employers of choice.”

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