Sex discrimination law changes could force employers to pay more

Partner Kate Gater said changes to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, which were implemented on April 6 and will affect women who have a due date of October 6 and after, extend the provision of maternity "benefits" for the whole leave period.

And she warned courts could face a raft of litigation from women claiming back payments for missed contributions.

Gater explained: "Potentially employers are open to claims by employees for pension payments during the whole of their maternity leave.

"Because the definition states ‘payments’ to the employee as meaning wages or salary, it can be argued that pensions (which are seen as an employee benefit) are outside this definition.

"This would mean an employer would have to continue contributions for both ordinary and additional maternity leave, whether or not the employee is getting statutory pay."

Gater said the government needed to simplify the legislation that governed maternity cover because it was currently "a patchwork quilt" of laws and regulations that did not fit well together and failed to deal with certain key issues.

She said it would take the Equal Opportunity Commission to take legal action against the government in order for all women in the UK on maternity leave to be entitled to the same benefits as European women.

Gater added: "For employers this could be a nightmare. They trust the government’s position on this, but the government is saying ‘we don’t have to do this’."

She said one possible "quick fix" for employers would be for the government to become more transparent on the terms and conditions that continue during maternity leave. "At the moment they (employers) don’t know what continues and what doesn’t."