Reform plans threaten maternity leave and job security for half a million pregnant women, analysis shows

Half a million pregnant women could lose workplace protections every year under Reform UK’s plans to repeal the Equality Act, new analysis has shown; Charities and campaign groups warned the plans would “destroy decades of progress”.

In February, the party’s equality spokesperson Suella Braverman announced plans to repeal the law “on day one” if she won the next election, claiming Britain was “torn apart by diversity, equality and inclusion policies”.

The Equality Act 2010, which replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single law, legally protects people with protected characteristics, including pregnancy and maternity, from discrimination in the workplace and wider society. It makes it illegal to fire, harass or disadvantage women because they are pregnant, have a pregnancy-related illness or are on maternity leave.

Losing protections under the Equality Act would remove the legal obligation for employers to treat pregnant women and new mothers fairly, possibly leading to discrimination.

Characteristics protected under the Equality Act include age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, race, religion or belief, gender and sexual orientation.

Reform said the Equality Act would be replaced by a new “Workplace Fairness Act”, saying it would “restore fairness, protect women and rebuild public confidence in the law by treating people as individuals rather than dividing them into rival groups”. However, they did not provide details on what protections this legislation would include.

Ms. Braverman described the protected properties as “harmful” and “divisive.”

Pregnancy rights charity Pregnant then Screwed warned that repealing the law would have “devastating consequences for everyone” and called for “more support for mothers and parents, not less”.

Meanwhile, research conducted by the Women’s Budget Group in 2023 found pregnancy and maternity discrimination to be the most common employment law issue on which women seek advice and support.

The think tank warned that weakening equality protections would “take us backwards”, arguing that “too many women are still excluded, pushed aside or treated unfairly during pregnancy, maternity leave or returning to work”.

This comes after analysis by the Labor Party predicted that up to half a million pregnant women could be left unprotected each year if the law was repealed; The analysis was based on statistics on the number of live births in 2024 (640,000) and the percentage of women in employment (72 percent).

Responding to the figures, Pregnant Then Screwed CEO Rachel Grocott said: Independent: “Repealing the Equality Act is an unthinkable proposal. This is not a meaningless bureaucracy, but a way to support everyone’s work and participation in society on an equal and fair basis.

“Removing protections for women to work and return to work after having children would destroy decades of progress; leaving half a million pregnant women without workplace protection is simply shocking.

“It must be made very clear to voters that this will have devastating consequences for everyone. We need to build on the foundations of the Equality Act and provide more support for mothers and parents, not go seriously backwards by removing the basic protections that the Equality Act gives us.”

Erin Mansell, deputy director of the Women’s Budget Group, said: Independent: “The Equality Act 2010 is a landmark piece of legislation and remains one of the most important tools women have to fight discrimination in the workplace.

“Too many women are still excluded, sidelined or treated unfairly during pregnancy, maternity leave or returning to work – weakening these protections would set us back.

“Pregnancy and maternity discrimination remains a persistent reality in England and Wales… We also know that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women and Disabled women can face overlapping and compounded forms of discrimination, making strong legal protections even more necessary.”

Meanwhile, Labor leader Anna Turley accused Reform of being “intended to destroy women’s rights”.

He added: “Nigel Farage has previously said women are less valuable to employers than men and that maternity leave is madness. Now Reform wants to strip vital protections for women when they need them most.”

Plans to scrap the Equality Act come despite some senior Reform politicians calling for action to boost the declining birth rate.

Earlier this year,Independent Reformation has revealed that Matt Goodwin, UK’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election, has previously called for a “biological reality” check on women and girls and given his views on how Britain should deal with its looming “fertility crisis”.

He has previously suggested that extra taxes should be imposed as a penalty on people without children.

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage said those with “large numbers of children” could be given tax breaks to help with living costs if his party comes to power.

The party’s policy chairman, Dr. James Orr also defended pro-natalist public policy, saying that “the gap between desired fertility and actual fertility is increasingly widening in most parts of the West.”

But Ms Mansell warned that weakening equality protections would mean “more women may have to delay starting a family or decide they don’t want to take that risk at all”.

He said: “At a time when starting a family is becoming increasingly difficult, weakening these protections will exacerbate this difficulty.

“Families are already under intense financial pressure, with prices of essential goods rising once again, housing becoming cheaper and childcare costs placing a huge strain on household budgets.

“Motherhood is still associated with lower pay, fewer advancement opportunities and greater workplace insecurity after having children.

“If women can’t trust that pregnancy or maternity leave won’t put their job, income or career at risk, it’s no wonder more women feel they have to postpone starting a family or decide they don’t want to take that risk at all.”

A spokesperson for Reform UK said: “Reform UK will deliver the most pro-family government in a generation, with expectant and new mothers supported and celebrated at every stage.

“The Equality Act, although well-intentioned, often produced unfair and divisive results, such as putting ideology ahead of common sense and punishing people for being white or working class.

“It needs careful and targeted reform through a new Workplace Fairness Act to restore justice, protect women and rebuild public confidence in the law by treating people as individuals rather than separating them into rival groups.”