The UK government has confirmed that from 2027, employment tribunals will adopt a stricter approach when handling dismissal cases involving pregnant women and new parents, requiring employers to consider all reasonable alternatives to dismissal before proceeding. The change, announced on Thursday, was confirmed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and will apply to workers across England.
Stronger Safeguards for Families
Under the new rules, pregnant women and new parents will receive enhanced protection against unfair dismissal, raising the bar for employers beyond current requirements. The protections will also extend to employees taking adoption leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave, and bereaved partner’s paternity leave.
The government has published its consultation response on pregnancy protections on the official government website. The new measures will apply specifically to pregnant mothers, new parents, and those on the family-related leave types listed above.
What Changes for Employers
For all other unfair dismissal cases, the existing “band of reasonable responses” test – which assesses how a reasonable employer would act – will remain in place. This means the stricter standard will apply only to pregnancy and family-related leave cases.
Minister for the Future of Work, Kate Dearden, said: “No one should have to choose between starting a family and staying in work.” She added: “Pregnancy and maternity discrimination can have a devastating impact on people’s lives, forcing them out of work at the very moment they need security most. These new protections will raise the bar for employers, making it harder to dismiss pregnant women and new parents unfairly and helping families feel more secure at work.”
Reaction from Campaign Groups
Ali Fiddy, Director of Maternity Action, welcomed the move: “We welcome the move to enhance the protection from dismissal of pregnant women and new mothers. We speak to thousands of women each year who are worried about losing their jobs simply because they are pregnant or have had a baby. Once introduced, we hope that the measures announced today will reduce the poor and unfair treatment experienced by expectant and new mothers and result in more women remaining in their jobs after having a baby.”
The changes are expected to provide greater job security for thousands of workers across England, with the new tribunal approach taking effect from 2027.
