Pregnancy is defined in the Equality Act 2010 as being pregnant or expecting a baby, Maternity then refers to the period after the baby has been born.
This is not a protected characteristic of which we gather data on as it is not perceived to be a necessary requirement from our members of staff or communities. As a protected characteristic it is an area which we ask all staff to consider when completing an Impact Assessment.
For our staff we have a maternity policy in place that ensures that the correct support is provided whilst staff are pregnant as well as during Maternity. Staff who have a period of maternity will not be disadvantaged in their careers as a result.
As a Service we are always looking for ways to improve the support we can offer to underrepresented groups and we are currently working with our Women’s network to identify additional measures that can be put into place to further support the transition back to work following maternity.
We also offer flexible working arrangements to our staff, where possible, which are known to help support parents in managing work and family commitments.