For many businesses, managing a pregnant worker is a balancing act between employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and profitability. And there is a direct correlation between the three. Ensuring that the time during an employee’s pregnancy and maternity is well managed is essential to the successful running of the business.

The direct and indirect financial costs faced as a result of discriminating against a woman could be enormous. Claims are on the increase because Britain’s workforce is more aware of its individual rights and it has the access to legal advice.

As well as the direct cost of a potential case, which could bring with it a maximum award of £56,800 for unfair dismissal and potential unlimited compensation for discrimination claims, there is also the cost of replacing the employee. This, however, pales into insignificance when faced with the potential of compensation payments.

Indirectly, other repercussions of mishandling an employee’s pregnancy can include the loss of key skills, knowledge and experience, disruption to operations and the negative effect on her colleagues’ morale. In addition, high staff turnover creates a considerable burden for line managers, who have to recruit and train new staff. The reality is, whether a company employs two or 2,000 people, it is illegal to discriminate against women from the moment a job advertisement is placed. And, if a dismissal is pregnancy-related, it is automatically unfair no matter the length of service.

Women will need additional support during their pregnancy, especially at the beginning when many can feel sick and tired. Employers also need to take care to ensure that provisions are made to adjust workloads slightly if a job involves standing, lifting or carrying.

Although some employers knowingly flout the law, many businesses do face genuine challenges in managing pregnancy and simply do not know what their responsibilities are or what help is available to them.

For those businesses that are able to manage pregnancies, there are significant benefits. Statutory maternity pay is recoverable from the Government. It stands at 92 per cent for most employers and 104.5 per cent for small employers (those whose gross national insurance liability in the last complete tax year was £40,0000 or less).

Of the 441,000 pregnant women in the workforce every year, most will wish to continue to work until shortly before the baby’s birth and four of five women who were supported by their employer during pregnancy will return to work.

Women must take a minimum of two weeks compulsory maternity leave after childbirth (four weeks if they work in a factory). It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that they have taken their compulsory maternity leave.

Every employed woman has a legal right to 26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave. If she is eligible she will receive statutory maternity pay during this period. If she has at least 26 weeks of continuous service by the fifteenth week before the expected week of birth, she has a right to additional unpaid maternity leave, which follows immediately after ordinary maternity leave for a further 26 weeks, giving a total of 52 weeks’ leave.

There is an exception to the automatic right for employers with five or fewer employees, where it is not reasonably practicable for the employer to allow the woman to return to her job or a suitable alternative. The circumstances in which this exception can be applied are limited, so advice should always be sought.

Some employers may wish to offer a longer period of maternity leave than required by law, especially to employees without six months’ service, who do not qualify for the longer period of maternity absence. This enhanced maternity leave is a good way of encouraging a woman to come back to work.

When returning to work, some mothers may want to reduce their working hours or work more flexibly to help them to continue in paid work while caring for their child. The legal issues here can be complicated. Taking a flexible and sympathetic approach can help the employer and employee.

By far the wisest move is to plan for the eventuality that some of your workforce may become pregnant and encourage a dialogue with employees to establish an open and honest working relationship.

Of course, as with much of employment law, handling pregnancy will already be best practice in the modern, successful business. After all, it is only common sense that employees who feel valued, informed and involved in the decisions that affect their working lives will be those who will want to make the greatest contribution to the continuing success of the company.

The Equal Opportunities Commission report Pregnant and Productive calls for two main changes to help employers and employees to manage the pregnancy at work more effectively. It wants government to provide a written statement of maternity rights for every pregnant woman with a tear-off slip to give to employers and for employers to have a “right to request” employees to indicate their planned return date much earlier during maternity leave.

In the meantime, businesses may just find that it pays to talk.

The author is a partner in the employment group at Walker Morris

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