Great Britain: amendment to the law on Discrimination on the ground of pregnancy or maternity leave

Several amendments concerning sexual harassment and the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity have come into effect on April 6, 2008. The High Court indeed found out last year that this law did not properly implement the European Directive on equal treatment. (Ref. 080272)
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Facilitating claims for discrimination. Until now, if a woman wanted to sue for discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity, she had to compare her situation to a similar person who was neither pregnant nor on a maternity leave. The High Court recognized that this was not always possible (see our dispatch No. 080235). For instance, a pregnant woman can have to evaluate risks for her pregnancy, which she wouldn’t do if she wasn’t pregnant. Since April 6, 2008, after the amendment to

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