HR Industry News

New maternity law prompting employers to rethink

— 10 August 2007 —

Recent changes to maternity legislation are making employers think twice about employing women – according to the results of a new survey.

The study by Citrix Online has found that 53% of employers admitted they have reservations about employing women because of the new regulations. It found this attitude especially prevalent amongst SME business owners and managers.

“Having worked in a small business where a co-director was a mother of three, with a demanding life in the community as well as a host of other time demands, I never once saw any deficiency in her commitment or quality of work which highlights the short-sightedness of some employers,” comment Paul Avis of Ceridian.

Having a diverse workforce, reflective of the population, should be the aim of every employer. Equally, flexible working should be encouraged in order to reflect modern lifestyles.

Paul Avis, Ceridian

The firm also uncovered widespread ignorance about the new laws which were introduced on 1 April 2007.

However, its research also found that three in four respondents polled felt the changes will encourage more companies to adopt additional flexible working practices to help working mothers manage the demands of work and family.

A spokesperson for the company said that in spite of the government’s best efforts to encourage employers to provide a family-work balance, its research has shown that attitudes, particularly amongst SME's, have been slow to change.

Mother@Work editor, Denise Tyler, commented that the changes to maternity legislation have been designed to help both women and employers.

She said statutory maternity pay is fully funded by the government and businesses must recognise that giving flexibility to working parents will be rewarded with commitment and loyalty, which will help retain the talents of women within the workforce and save time and money on recruitment and training.

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