For many years now it has been unlawful to discriminate against women who are pregnant or are on maternity leave.  However, many women are still facing discriminatory treatment from their employers.

In this article we focus on some of the key issues pregnant women and women on maternity leave face, and the rights they may have under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act).

In this Q&A, employment law specialist, Duncan, gives advice on the pros and cons of informing an employer of your illness and treatment.

All employees have the right to time off to deal with an emergency involving a ‘dependant’.

Since 6 April 2024 all employees have the right, from day one of starting their job, to make a request to work flexibly.  It’s worth noting that the right is to request to work flexibly, not a right to work flexibly.

Here we summarise the rights of employees, and responsibilities of employers, when dealing with statutory flexible working requests.

In many cases, you’re entitled to a payout if you’re made redundant, but what does this include?

Through no fault of your own, your employer may come to you wishing to start an “off the record” conversation to talk about bringing your employment to an end. They might do so – as they see it - as an alternative to starting formal capability, redundancy or disciplinary proceedings. 

Your employer might call it a “without prejudice conversation”,  a “protected conversation”, or (as mentioned above ) an “off the record conversation”.  That said, the label “off the record” doesn’t actually have any legal status.

Whilst it can be possible for an employer to have these kind of conversations,  we explore below the key differences between ‘without prejudice’ and ‘protected’ conversations, and how they can be used. 

Despite having laws making it illegal to pay men and women different rates for doing the same job since 1970, disparity in pay between the sexes is unfortunately still very much a live issue.

The law has changed in that time, and the legal principles involved in equal pay issues have been hotly debated in both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

But whilst each situation will turn on its own facts, here is a brief overview of ‘equal pay’ and what it means for you.