§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the provisions of the Employment Act 1980 allowing pregnant women time off from work for antenatal care are being fully published (a) to employers, (b) to employees and (c) to the general public.
§ Mr. WaddingtonMy Department's booklet "Employment rights for the expectant mother", which outlines this and the other statutory maternity rights, has been made freely available in antenatal clinics by arrangement with health authorities, as well as in jobcentres, employment offices, unemployment benefit offices, and citizens' advice bureaux. There are also frequent references to this right in the national and specialist press, and my Department monitors these and is often asked to scrutinise them before publication.
I would not wish to burden the general public with too much "official information" that does not relate to them directly, but I would welcome any further suggestions for attracting the attention of those who may be interested.