Discrimination against new mums on the rise

Back in March, the Government released a report that found pregnant women face harassment at work. Now Citizens Advice says the number of women seeking help on pregnancy and maternity issues is on the rise, with some new mums reporting being put on zero-hours contracts or forced out of their jobs.

The charity says there has been a 25% increase in people seeking advice on pregnancy and maternity issues in the past year, as well as more than 22,000 visits to its website.

Pregnant women and new mothers are telling Citizens Advice they’ve had their working hours cut, have been placed on zero-hours contracts and face pressure to return to work early from maternity leave. In some cases, women have been forced out of their jobs – possibly illegally.

According to The Guardian, one woman says she contacted her employer to find out why she had stopped receiving maternity pay and was told they had ended her contract while she was away, yet they hadn’t informed her.

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