We campaigned for an amendment to the Equality Bill to maintain the current level of protection against pregnancy
discrimination. We are delighted that the Government has amended the legislation. See our
briefing for details.
The Government has given commitments to extend statutory maternity pay from 39 to 52 weeks and
to introduce transferable maternity leave, to commence in April 2010. There are reports that the Government is
backtracking on this. Maternity Action will be running a campaign to get Government to honour its commitment.
In March 2009, a Court of Appeal judgment changed the entitlement to NHS secondary care for refused asylum seekers.
See our information sheet
'Recent court case on refused asylum seekers' for more details on the implications for maternity care.
As of April 2009, the right to request
flexible working has been extended to all parents of children under 17. See our information sheet
'Child-friendly working hours' for more details.
Maternity Action and Medact have released a series of
information sheets on maternity rights for women from abroad. These cover employment rights, benefits and healthcare and are for
asylum seekers, refugees, refused (failed) asylum seekers, EU nationals, women with no recourse to public funds, women with
indefinite leave to remain and undocumented migrants.
A tribunal case has given refused asylum seekers
access to Section 4 support earlier in their pregnancy. See
Asylum Support Appeals Project for more information.
