§ Lord Vinsonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Blackstone on 2 December (WA 161) whether they are content with a situation where, under European Community law, a self-employed person can be obliged, in certain circumstances, to employ a pregnant woman and so incur some of the costs associated with her condition, even though there is no biological relationship between them: and, if not, what action they intend to take.
§ Lord Simon of HighburyIt is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a woman in employment matters on the basis that she is pregnant. Successive governments have accepted that statutory maternity rights and sex discrimination legislation contribute to competitiveness by helping to ensure that the benefits of women's skills, training and expertise are not lost to the economy when they raise a family.
To qualify for statutory maternity pay (SMP) from her employer, a woman must have completed 26 weeks' work for that employer ending with the 15th week before her expected week of birth. She will therefore have worked for the employer before becoming pregnant. Any employer paying SMP is reimbursed 92 per cent. of the cost of SMP through deductions from national insurance contributions. Small firms may recover 100 per cent. of SMP paid plus 6.5 per cent. in additional compensation. We recognise that some individual employers may incur costs in holding a job open for a woman who is having a baby, and we aim to ensure that these costs are minimised, but we consider that they are outweighed by the benefits.