Employers are not doing enough to help mothers returning to work after having a baby, despite the vast amount of legislation and HR policies in place aimed at successfully integrating them back into the workplace.
Women currently make up 46% of the labour force in the UK (ONS 2006), accounting for approximately 80% of employment growth since 1995 (Equal Opportunities Commission 2004). Female employees with a due date of on or after 1 April 2007 now enjoy the strongest ever statutory right to work and many larger organisations provide considerable enhanced benefits in order to attract and retain employees.
The National Childbirth Trust (NCT) conducted an online survey of 1541 mothers from 1 September to 31 November 2008 which was amplified by a series of qualitative interviews with respondents. It was completed as part of a master’s degree by Liz Morris, and HR researcher studying at Aston Business School.
A massive one in three women (39%) said they found returning to work after maternity leave ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ with 31% saying their relationship with their boss had deteriorated since they had become pregnant. One in three also believed that their promotion prospects had been reduced since having a baby, while 13% said their seniority was reduced since returning to work.
Belinda Phipps, CEO of the NCT said:
’It’s time employers got a grip not just of their policies and paperwork, but of how to help their managers talk to and support mums after what is often the most important and life-changing event of their lives.’
Currently, employees with caring responsibilities for children aged 16 and under have the statutory right to request to work flexibly, enabling them to adjust their working pattern to suit their needs. See also Deborah Nathan’s article ‘The family way’ in The People Bulletin, 24 September 2009.
The vast majority of those surveyed (88%) wanted to do this, but one in six (16%) of them said their request for flexible working practices had gone nowhere. See also Laurence Dunn’s article ‘Flexible friends’ in The People Bulletin 27 August 2009.
Although the research was conducted before the recession bit hard, an economic climate which is putting so many people out of work can hardly help when it comes to ensuring this group of workers is correctly treated. One woman said she had been made redundant while on maternity leave without the appropriate communications and consultations – to the extent that she had arranged her childcare, and come back to work only to find no job at all.
The sumary report can be viewed at :
The experiences of women returning to work after maternity leave in the UK
The NCT also publishes two useful guides for both parents and employers:
Returning to work: A guide for parents
Returning to work: A guide for employers
www.nct.org.uk