Pregnancy discrimination

A survey by baby charity Tommy's and People Management magazine of 600 human resources employees has revealed that pregnant women continue to be bullied in the work place.

The survey found that one in five HR staff said that a pregnant employee had approached them with complaints of discrimination. And around one in seven female employees said they had been made to feel they’d let the company down by getting pregnant.

Tommy's Chief Executive Jane Brewin said, "The survey was totally anonymous so the HR professionals in question have uncovered what's really going on in many UK companies today. "

"The alarming fact about these results is that often what an organisation claims it is doing in terms of staff welfare, is quite clearly not the case in practice. "

Some of those questioned for the survey said they had seen pregnant workers subjected to greater pressure to over-perform and make up for time lost to antenatal appointments. With one in seven HR staff believed line managers in their organisation did not respect the rights of pregnant employees.

Jenny Watson, Chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, said, "It is appalling that women continue to be passed over for promotion, mistreated and put under stress during pregnancy."

WWW.EOC.ORG.UK 26TH JUNE