their maternity pay.

At the same time, the EOC is also calling on the government to provide HR advice and more financial support to small businesses with a pregnant employee.

Says Jenny Watson, Chair of the EOC: "Women are now nearly half the workforce. There's no turning back from this major social change, so it's vital that workplaces are equipped to make pregnancy at work a good experience.

"If we fail to tackle the knowledge gap surrounding the rights of pregnant women and new parents at work we run the risk of seeing these women drop out of the workforce altogether.

"Those who have been unfairly treated whilst pregnant suffer financially and emotionally and are far less likely to return to their jobs. As well as damaging families, this costs employers millions in recruitment and training and causes significant damage to Britain’s economic productivity."

As a result of the EOC’s investigation, all pregnant women are now given a statement of their rights and responsibilities early on in their pregnancy. Jenny Watson was quoted adding: "Welcome though these changes are, small and micro employers still need further support to manage pregnancy at work if they are to enjoy the benefits of retaining pregnant staff."

Director of Netmums Sally Russell says: "This survey backs up the existence of these problems that we see mums discussing on Netmums every day. Netmums welcomes the work of the EOC in highlighting this issue and in providing this excellent toolkit for employers.

"Mums make great employees and there is a lot of evidence that employers who are sympathetic to the needs of new parents are rewarded.

"It is sad that so many businesses are short-sighted and risk losing loyal, hard-working, responsible staff by making life difficult for pregnant women or new mums returning to work."
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